PAGE 18 • GO! MAGAZINE
Thursday, april 15, 2021 • ThE BullETiN
MOVIES & SHOWTIMES
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‘Thunder Force’ lacks ... thunder
Melissa
McCarthy,
left, and
Octavia
Spencer
in a scene
from
“Thunder
Force”
(2021).
BY MAKENZIE WHITTLE • The Bulletin
H
ollywood should really stop greenlighting every Ben Falcone/
Melissa McCarthy movie. Netflix’s “Thunder Force” makes the
fourth time a Falcone-written, directed and produced project has
featured his actor-wife, and each time they fall flat with films full of unfunny
antics. (The others are “Tammy” (2014), “The Boss” (2016) and “Life of the
Netflix
Party” (2018). HBO Max’s 2020 film “Superintelligence” was not written by
Falcone, but he did direct and produce it.)
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The film lays out that in 1983 the planet
was struck with some cosmic rays that ge-
netically altered a select group of the popu-
lation giving them superpowers. The prob-
lem is the powers were only unleashed in
those who already had some sociopathic
tendencies and they became supervillains
that are called Miscreants.
The plot is incredibly formulaic and lazy
as it follows two best but estranged friends,
Lydia and Emily (McCarthy and Octavia
Spencer), who reunite 20 years after going
their separate ways.
Lydia works a forklift in a Chicago ship-
ping yard while Emily has gone on to run a
research company. The two haven’t spoken
in all those years, and when their high school
reunion rolls around, Lydia takes steps to re-
unite.
When they do, she accidentally takes a se-
rum that will give her super-strength. Emily
in turn takes an invisibility serum and the
two form a power duo called Thunder Force.
Meanwhile, a mayoral election between a
grassroots candidate (Melissa Ponzio) and a
typically greasy politician named The King
(Bobby Cannavale) is threatened by a Mis-
creant named Laser (Pom Klementieff) who
has been wreaking havoc on the city for a
while.
The story is so by-the-numbers you can
almost predict down to the second when a
“twist” is going to happen, and you can see
them plainly from early on in the run time.
As for the comedy, any slightly funny situ-
More Information
“Thunder Force”
106 minutes
Rated PG-13 for some action/violence, lan-
guage and mild suggestive material
ation is quickly ruined by the apparent need
to repeat the joke as many times as possible,
as if someone was saying, “Here’s the joke.
Did you catch it? I’ll say it again. Did you
hear it? Did you see it? We’ll just keep ham-
mering it into the ground for ya!”
There may be a nice, slightly heartwarm-
ing story in there about reconciliation, em-
powerment and friendship, but it is bogged
down under the blanket barraging of bad
jokes, overused gags and tired storytelling.
One of the most infuriating parts of this
movie might be the fact that it is full of good
actors, ones that have been nominated for
and won awards and shown off their com-
edy and overall acting chops countless
times. And while it looks like they’re at least
enjoying themselves (many of them have
worked together in the past, and Spencer
and McCarthy have been actual friends for
20 years), nothing can save the uninspired
superhero attempt.
e e
Reporter: 541-383-0304, mwhittle@bendbulletin.com