Thunder Force

15 Replies

Okay, I’ll say it: I liked it.

I don’t typically think Melissa McCarthy is at her best when her husband Ben Falcone writes for and directs her and this movie hasn’t exactly changed my mind about that, but it was just good enough to make me smile.

McCarthy’s charm is her saving grace; even when she’s not exercising the full spectrum of her talent, she’s still extremely watchable. Joined in Thunder Force by Octavia Spencer, these two ladies have fun chemistry and an even funner premise. A mutation has rendered a handful of lucky sociopaths into supervillains, but unfortunately for the world, no heroic counterparts exist. Thankfully Emily (Spencer) is a real brain, and she’s developed a special treatment that would grant the kind of powers so people could really fight back. It’s possibly that Emily and her childhood friend Lydia (McCarthy) are not the best choices to receive this treatment, but let’s not dwell. It’s happening. Lydia’s getting super strong and Emily’s going invisible and you better believe Lydia’s pretty pissed that Emily’s training is so much easier than hers. Of course, the training’s going to pale in comparison to fighting Chicago’s worst villain lineup, including The Crab (Jason Bateman), The King (Bobby Canavale), and Laser (Pom Klementieff).

Thunder Force is 100% stupid of course, but also like 55% funny. My laughter was often out of sheer confusion, but the kind of confusion that’s curious and maybe even a little awed. It’s still not a great equation but I’ll take it. I may even watch it twice.

15 thoughts on “Thunder Force”

  2. Robert Jantzen

    We just watched this the other night. Two high profile actresses who don’t fit the Hollywood actress body mold combining for a tongue-in-cheek film that does not take itself seriously at all, with a rematch of Melissa with Jason Bateman (Identity Thief) with great chemistry. And Melissa’s daughter plays her at age 12! And Bobby Cannavale! Dumb is dumber stuff. But fun! Octavia Spencer! More exclamation points.

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  3. Liz A.

    I’m not hearing good things about this one. This review isn’t converting me, either. I suppose people will find it funny, and for that it sounds worthwhile, but it doesn’t sound like my kind of humor.

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    1. Robert Jantzen

      Let’s face it. Humor is super subjective. My wife is not a native English speaker so rarely gets jokes because of the way jokes often rely heavily on language. But even physical humor depends on the viewer. This is like a kid friendly unsophisticated movie that a few of us adults who like MM can also enjoy.

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    1. Halim

      I just watched this and my same thought exactly. She’s excellent in everything else I’ve seen her in but I guess she can only do so much with the material given to her. Still enjoyed the movie though

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  6. ombradelluragano

    This is the kind of movie that if I paid full price to see it in the theater, Iā€™d probably be angry about wasting the money. But I didnā€™t. I saw it on Netflix which I already subscribe to, on a rainy pandemic day, when I had nothing else to do. Yeah, it was the stupid kind of funny, but it was exactly what I expected. After watching it, I watched it a second time with the kids. They laughed too. Is it a great movie? No, but it was worth it just to see the awkward love scenes with Bateman in the ridiculous crab claws. So, the movie has its moments.

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