In “Thunder Force,” the Netflix Original film released on April 9, Lydia (Melissa McCarthy) and Emily (Octavia Spencer) a superhero team that fights against the “Miscreants” a team of super villains who use their lethal superpowers for evil. Despite the co-stars’ potential, this film fails as both an action and a comedy due to its unengaging plot and overly simplistic characters. Photo fair use of Netflix.com
With a sluggish, unexciting plot ridden with two-dimensional characters, the April 9 Netflix Original “Thunder Force” is a poor use of its stars’ talent and fails to deliver entertainment as an action or a comedy.
Directed by Ben Falcone, “Thunder Force” is set many years after a cosmic-ray blast gave those predisposed to sociopathy deadly superpowers, forming a group of “Miscreants” that have endangered Chicago ever since. With help from her highly intelligent daughter, Emily (Octavia Spencer) has spent her life working to give normal people similar powers to finally fight back against the villains who killed her parents while her childhood best friend, Lydia (Melissa McCarthy), works in construction and is seen as unaccomplished.
After years of estrangement, Lydia seeks out Emily at her lab to encourage her to come to their high school reunion. When Lydia accidentally injects herself with a superpower serum, both friends soon fully assume roles as superheroes, known together as Thunder Force, by taking more doses and training physically to build up their powers and become a match for their enemies. While it would be more realistic for the friends to be shocked by this turn of events, they proceed as if it is relatively usual.
During their training, little changes between the two relationally, establishing a monotonous build up to the climax.
“Emily’s deadpan reaction to Lydia’s shallow silliness takes away from McCarthy’s already clumsy humor, further oversimplifying their roles as crazy contrasting with serious”
While a flashback to childhood attempts to characterize the basis of the relationship between the friends and the dynamic between Emily and her daughter is highlighted somewhat, these elements only bring superficial depth to the characters. Emily’s deadpan reaction to Lydia’s shallow silliness takes away from McCarthy’s already clumsy humor, further oversimplifying their roles as crazy contrasting with serious.
The ending comes predictably, and without characters to care about, final scenes that are intended to be uplifting and inspiring blandly wrap up the film.
Plagued with consistently underwhelming acting and lacking a unique message to the audience, “Thunder Force” is not worth the time of even die-hard McCarthy or Spencer fans. Failing to highlight either of the co-star’s talents, this attempt at combining humor and action will leave viewers unimpressed.
