Thunder Force (2021)

Directed by: Ben Falcone | 106 minutes | action, adventure | Actors: Melissa McCarthy, Octavia Spencer, Jason Bateman, Bobby Cannavale, Pom Klementieff, Melissa Leo, Taylor Mosby, Marcella Lowery, Melissa Ponzio, Ben Falcone, Nate Hitpas

In no time, the Netflix-made superhero spoof ‘Thunder Force’ received the ‘worst movie on Netflix’ designation. That makes curious! The streaming service was already in full swing with pulp like ‘The Wrong Missy’ and ‘Just Say Yes’. A film that has to be even more disastrous than the aforementioned titles has to come from good (read: bad in this case) house to win this label…

In ‘Thunder Force’ Melissa McCarthy plays the clumsy Lydia. This loner gets lost when she gets into a fight with her nerdy best friend Emily (Octavia Spencer). Years later, when Lydia receives an invitation to a school reunion, she takes the plunge and decides to bring her estranged friend with her. Emily, however, is engulfed in an experiment that allows her to gain superpowers. With these powers she wants to fight crime. However, an accident gives Lydia these special gifts. The old friends decide to settle their differences and go through life as superheroines.

Admittedly ‘Thunder Force’ is not good, but this Netflix filling is not as terribly disastrous as the media has suggested. This film by director Ben Falcone (not coincidentally McCarthy’s husband) takes too long, lives on stale jokes and looks rather old-fashioned. The acting is not bad, although McCarthy plays the same screaming type for the thirtieth time (Lydia is a variation on ‘Tammy’, her character from ‘The Heat’ and ‘The Boss’). Too bad, because the actress has much more to offer and can also take on more serious roles. Spencer, on the other hand, plays quite subdued and seems secretly ashamed of her participation (although her pay stub will reimburse a lot).

Thunder Force is mostly boring. There is little to tell and after a whole lot of superhero films, the news has worn off. The superpowers shown (invisibility and superpower) are also uninspired. The tempo is also quite slow, which makes the film seem to last longer than the actual running time indicates. With two very good actresses in the lead roles, you can expect more fireworks. Falcone is not very interested in character development, good jokes or cool stunts. It never becomes clear what he is interested in. ‘Thunder Force’ is a film that comes fifteen years too late and already seems dated.