Thunderbolts* could be Marvel's best post-endgame gamble, earns 88% on Rotten Tomatoes, as critics applaud

Was Marvel’s Avengers: Endgame the real, last blockbuster from the franchise? . Since then, Marvel’s post-Infinity Saga slate, from its scattershot Disney+ series to underwhelming film entries—has struggled to recapture that cultural high. Let’s be honest: is Thor: Love and Thunder ever discussed outside conversations about Christian Bale’s résumé?

Marvel has always thrived when it dares to be less Marvel. That’s why WandaVision felt like such a revelation—until its final episode gave in to formula.

Enter Thunderbolts, the potential turning point fans have been waiting for… or just another misfire à la Thor’s aim in Infinity War.

So, what’s Thunderbolts about?

The film brings together a ragtag team of morally conflicted antiheroes, forced into a covert operation led by CIA director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus). But as layers peel back, the team discovers they’re pawns in her larger agenda—and decide to take her on. Thunderbolts tackles themes of redemption, trauma, and what it really means to be heroic, shifting the spotlight from gods and geniuses to broken people just trying to do the right thing.

The cast is stacked: Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, David Harbour, Wyatt Russell, Olga Kurylenko, Lewis Pullman, Geraldine Viswanathan, Hannah John-Kamen—all bringing emotional nuance to Marvel’s grittiest ensemble yet.

A promising start

Thunderbolts premiered with a 95% critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes, just behind Black Panther (96%), a striking feat in the post-Endgame era. Though its rating has since dipped to 88%, it still outpaces most of Marvel’s recent, overstuffed spectacles—reminding us that heart and storytelling still matter.

What are critics saying?

The BBC calls it “fluffy, down-to-earth fun,” praising its scrappy style and comedic flair. “It isn’t the epic tale of indestructible titans saving the Universe, let alone the multiverse; it’s a comedy-tinged caper about bungling secret agents who are deemed a liability by the very company that used to employ them.

Tyler Taing of Discussing Film dubs it “one of the biggest surprises of 2025”—a film that proves Marvel still has magic left. Esquire’s Eric Francisco adds that Thunderbolts is “essential summer movie escapism,” and perhaps the clearest signal yet that Marvel Studios can still capture lightning in a bottle.