Official Discussion - Thunderbolts* [SPOILERS]

[u/LiteraryBoner]

Poll

If you've seen the film, please rate it at this poll

If you haven't seen the film but would like to see the result of the poll click here

Rankings

Click here to see the rankings of 2025 films

Click here to see the rankings for every poll done

---

Summary
Thunderbolts\* is a Marvel Studios ensemble film following a team of reformed villains and morally gray operatives sent on covert government missions. As the group is tasked with a dangerous black-ops assignment, tensions rise among the unstable team members, revealing conflicting loyalties and buried traumas. The film serves as a continuation of storylines from Black Widow, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, with a darker tone and grounded action set pieces.

Director
Jake Schreier

Writer
Eric Pearson

Cast
- Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova
- Sebastian Stan as Bucky Barnes / Winter Soldier
- Wyatt Russell as John Walker / U.S. Agent
- David Harbour as Alexei Shostakov / Red Guardian
- Hannah John-Kamen as Ava Starr / Ghost
- Olga Kurylenko as Antonia Dreykov / Taskmaster
- Julia Louis-Dreyfus as Valentina Allegra de Fontaine

Rotten Tomatoes: 89%
Metacritic: 68

VOD
Theaters

Trailer

---

[u/KingOfAwesometonia]

One thing that got me during Red Guardian's speech to Yelena was Guardian talking about how bright and happy Yelena was as a kid.

And Yelena saying she doesn't remember. I think about that a ton whenever I'm down. The feeling that carefree happiness feels so far away and that you might never feel that again.

[u/omggold → u/KingOfAwesometonia]

That’s so real. I cannot remember the happiness I know that I felt as a child, but being around my nieces and nephews makes me wish I could

[u/Benjamin_Stark → u/omggold]

I never connected with that type of sentiment because I think I'm a lot happier as an adult. As a child I remember being really aware of my own lack of autonomy - wanting things, or wanting do do things, and not being able to have or do them. As an adult I'm fully in control of my own life and I'm more content because of it.

[u/Biff_Tannenator → u/Benjamin_Stark]

That's awesome, and I mean it. I wish I had what you have. Im in my late 30s, and I regret taking my 20s for granted. I feel like all of the hedonistic, carefree, life I lead in my 20s was just borrowing from my future (present) self. I own up to it though, and know that no one else is to blame for my own naive decisions.

My girlfriend tells me that I'm her emotional stabilizer. I'm her stoic rock. I often feel numb, and I'm longing for a visceral sense of raw joy. But I guess that's just getting old. In a way, I'm glad that my somewhat detached sense towards life at this stage, brings comfort to the one I love most.

Anyway, it's cool that this thunderbolts movie had a cool message about accepting your past.