Hitting theaters next week, Marvel’s C-team of reluctant heroes makes their collective debut in Thunderbolts, and the first reactions to the movie have arrived online. Following the poor reception of Captain America: Brave New World in February, this second MCU theatrical release of 2025 is sure to earn more positive reviews if critics’ remarks on social media are any indication. They’re calling this one of the best Marvel movies in years, with an appreciated representation of mental health and another great performance from Florence Pugh.
Here’s what critics are saying about Thunderbolts:
I really dug Thunderbolts!
Thunderbolts is FANTASTIC.
Thunderbolts is truly fantastic.
I laughed, cried, cheered, and had a fantastic time.
Absolutely LOVED the team dynamic!
A legit good character ensemble piece… Yay. I liked it.
That was pretty great!
(Photo by Chuck Zlotnick/©Marvel)
Best MCU film in a long while!
Thunderbolts is easily one of the best MCU movies in a long time (and maybe one of my new personal faves).
Thunderbolts isn’t just the best Marvel movie in a while – it’s flat-out top-tier Marvel.
I haven’t felt this giddy leaving an MCU movie in YEARS!… [It’s] top shelf Marvel!
I think this is the best-looking MCU movie in years.
It may not be the flashiest, funniest, or strongest Marvel film, but its rough edges and imperfections somehow all feel fitting for this anti-hero team of misfits.
Thunderbolts is better than Marvel’s last movie… The second half is a typical MCU, formulaic comic book movie that abruptly wraps everything up and didn’t work for me.
(Photo by ©Marvel Studios)
I cannot overstate how much this plays like a spiritual sequel to James Gunn’s Guardians trilogy, brimming with heart and sincerity.
I was going to make the same comparison (Earth-bound Guardians of the Galaxy), but held back because I didn’t want people to interpret it as James Gunn humor and soundtrack. It’s not that, but it is another story of rejects finding their family.
The biggest compliment I can pay Thunderbolts is that it felt like Infinity era MCU. A focus on the characters and story, rather than fan service or future set-up.
Really felt like old MCU.
It’s gritty, emotional, and unlike anything Marvel has done before.
Thunderbolts is, in many ways, different from other MCU films that have come before it, and that freshness couldn’t have arrived at a more opportune time, when the franchise is in need of new blood and direction.
Deadpool and Wolverine was a highly entertaining event for fans. But this feels like an actual movie and an important piece of the bigger MCU story.
Heavy themes of mental health… hit hard.
It’s overtly about depression, loneliness, and purpose. The whole point is they’re reject characters.
Finally, a Marvel movie that treats mental health and depression as a serious matter and not like undercutting it for the sake of a quip.
It’s some of Marvel’s darkest material to date, dealing with the emotional wreckage of broken individuals grappling with their past choices and finding camaraderie amidst the emptiness of their lives.
For me, Thunderbolts worked because it peeled back layers on a subject I have long fought with… I also cried at a story I think people will relate to.
[It] tells a genuinely emotional story you connect with. A tear was shed.
An emotionally resonant superhero film that pushes mental health to the forefront.
Thunderbolts is basically a group therapy session in comic book form—but I wish it pushed harder.
Hilarious.
David Harbour is consistently funny.
I laughed… Weird in places, in the best way.
(Photo by Steve Swisher/©Marvel)
The film’s story hit me like a ton of bricks; it’s bold, important, and so well-written.
All the emotion helps distract from the fact that not much actually happens in its formulaic plot.
The action sequences are very strong.
Sentry is incredible in action! Great fight sequences.
There is a larger focus placed on practical action and character-driven work that fulfilled me as a viewer.
While it is not action-packed, it still works!
Florence Pugh, in particular, is superb; [she] just walks away with it.
Florence Pugh continues to be a standout.
While the entire roster is amazing and delivers a freshness to the MCU that is much needed, Lewis Pullman and Florence Pugh steal the show and bring the heart.
This may be a team-up film, but it very much belongs to Florence Pugh, who carries much of the dramatic weight of the movie on her back, while Lewis Pullman delivers a complex performance as a sympathetic character at war with himself.
Lewis Pullman might be the stealth MVP.
(Photo by Chuck Zlotnick/©Marvel)
The score by Son Lux stood out to me more than other MCU films.
Stay for both end credit scenes because the last one is a doozy!!
You’re gonna wanna stay in your seat for the second post-credit scene. It’s a biggie.
Feels like the MCU is coming together and building towards something again.
Thunderbolts opens in theaters on May 2, 2025.
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