Thunderbolts* Parent Guide

Congress is finally investigating Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (played with gleeful villainy by Julie Louis-Dreyfus), but the CIA director has other plans. She’s got a side gig, running O.X.E. Group and developing a terrifying new biotechnology. She believes that “It’s a new era where I decide how to keep people safe, answering to no one. I’ll be unimpeachable.”

There’s just one catch – a scruffy bunch of anti-heroes who might bring her grand plan crashing down.

Still grieving the loss of her sister, Natasha, in Avengers: Endgame, Yelena (played by Florence Pugh in a standout performance) has been working as a hired killer for Valentina. But the work is soul-destroying and Yelena wants a change; something more constructive. Valentina promises a career switch after one last job and, hoping for a happier future, Yelena agrees and heads off to a desert bunker.

A mile below the earth, Yelena soon faces lethal encounters with other operatives sent by Valentina – John Walker (Wyatt Russell), a former Captain America; Antonia Dreykov, a.k.a. Taskmaster (Olga Kurylenko); and Ava Starr (Hannah John-Kamen), known as “Ghost” for her ability to become invisible and pass through walls. Unexpectedly trapped with them is a civilian, Robert “Bob” Reynolds (Lewis Pullman), a mentally ill meth addict whose memories are scattered and incomplete. Facing gunfire, flame, and a full-on assault, the survivors are forced to cooperate – and even sacrifice for each other. In extreme peril, it becomes dramatically apparent that Bob is more than just another civilian…

With Thunderbolts*, Marvel Studios broadens its franchise, giving fans a group of gritty, damaged would-be heroes. Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), the former Winter Soldier joins in, as does Alexei Shostakov (David Harbour), Yelena’s father figure and the former Russian hero, Red Guardian. They all struggle with the burdens of their past and are desperate for meaning, connection, and, perhaps, redemption. Whether or not you believe redemption is possible for this crew or if they earn it over the course of the film, is up to you.

What is obvious to everyone is the typical quantity of negative content found in this Marvel production. There’s a bit of profanity, some alcohol consumption (once by force), and mention of drug addiction. The real issue is, as always, violence. The film features nearly non-stop scenes of physical combat, involving the usual hitting, punching, and throwing with the disturbing addition of scenes featuring choking and attempted strangulation. People (including a child) are also shot, sometimes at point-blank range. Buildings and cars blow up, and, of course, there’s the usual infrastructure destruction as helicopters crash, bringing down slabs of concrete on the pedestrians below.

I went into Thunderbolts* with very low expectations and was pleasantly surprised. Don’t get me wrong – this isn’t great cinema, and the violence definitely makes the movie unsuitable for kids. But the show is at least tense, fast-moving, and occasionally funny, while delivering messages around loyalty, empathy, and courage. The script even takes a swing at big issues like redemption, self-acceptance, and forgiveness. You don’t have to think about the big stuff as you munch away at your popcorn, but the option is there, which is an unexpected bonus.