TEHRAN – American director Jake Schreier’s 2025 movie “Thunderbolts” was screened during a session at the Arasbaran Cultural Center in Tehran on Wednesday.

Iranian film critic Kourosh Jahed attended a screening of the film followed by a review session.

“Thunderbolts” is a superhero film based on Marvel Comics’ team of antiheroes. The story centers on a group of morally ambiguous characters who find themselves caught in a deadly trap, forcing them to unite on a perilous mission that could determine their futures and perhaps the fate of the world.

The story begins in Malaysia, where Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) destroys a secret laboratory on behalf of CIA director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus). De Fontaine is scrambling to hide her involvement with the O.X.E. Group’s “Sentry” superhuman project, which has become a political threat. 

Facing potential impeachment, she secretly sends mercenaries—Yelena, John Walker (Sebastian Stan), Ava Starr (Olga Kurylenko), and Antonia Dreykov—to a covert O.X.E. facility with orders to eliminate each other. During the chaos, Ava kills Antonia, and an amnesiac man named Bob is released from a suspended-animation pod. Recognizing they were sent to be wiped out along with evidence of de Fontaine’s misconduct, the group decides to work together to escape.

As they flee, contact with Bob causes Yelena and Walker to experience disturbing visions of their worst memories. De Fontaine quickly learns the group survived and that Bob was a presumed-dead participant in the Sentry trials. She arrives at the facility, where Bob creates a diversion by drawing enemy fire, allowing Yelena, Walker, and Ava to escape. Despite being shot, Bob seemingly remains uninjured, then unexpectedly ascends into the air before crash-landing back at the compound. He is captured and taken to the former Avengers Tower in Manhattan, now called the “Watchtower.” De Fontaine plans to introduce Bob to the public as a super-powered protector, hoping this PR stunt will prevent her impeachment.

Meanwhile, Alexei Shostakov (David Harbour), who overheard de Fontaine’s plans while working as a chauffeur, rescues the team. He calls them the “Thunderbolts,” a nostalgic nod to a childhood soccer team Yelena once played on. As they regroup, they are pursued by de Fontaine’s agents. Congressman Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), who’s investigating de Fontaine, joins them to infiltrate the Watchtower. They discover that Bob has been manipulated by de Fontaine and that he easily overpowers the team under her influence.

However, Bob’s delusions of superiority grow, and he turns against de Fontaine. Her assistant Mel disables him with a failsafe kill switch, which triggers the emergence of the Void—Bob’s destructive alter ego embodying his depression and fractured psyche. The Void engulfs New York City in supernatural darkness, trapping residents in pocket dimensions. Desperate, Yelena enters the darkness to reach Bob’s subconscious. Inside, she confronts her past as a Black Widow and finds Bob hiding in a recreated childhood bedroom, where he endured his father’s abuse.

The team travels to Malaysia, where Bob first volunteered for the Sentry procedure to escape his drug addiction and aimlessness. Confronted with the Void’s destructive power, the Thunderbolts rally behind Bob, reaffirming their belief in his humanity. Their support helps him regain control, banishing the Void and restoring light to the city. The immediate danger is resolved, and the victims are freed.

The team prepares to arrest de Fontaine, but she stages a press conference, claiming credit and rebranding the team as the “New Avengers,” subtly asserting control. Yelena quietly tells her, “We own you now,” signaling their independence. 

On Rotten Tomatoes, 88 percent of 351 critics gave “Thunderbolts” a positive review, praising it as a refreshing MCU adventure with Florence Pugh shining. Metacritic reports a "generally favorable" score of 68 out of 100 from 53 critics. The film received a nomination for Best Picture at the Astra Midseason Movie Awards, with Florence Pugh winning Best Actress.

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