Thunder Force Review

Superheroes are inherently silly: they wear rubber suits, capes, have "catchphrases" and defeat equally goofy villains who's plans are usually "to take over the world!" Yet a lot of movie adaptations play it decidedly straight, but why? Why oh why can't Hollywood see the humor built into the material!? Sure, there are exceptions, but most are huge spectacles with millions of dollars spent on fights, explosions and other CGI unnecessities that you could easily forget that they originated as colored pictures sold to children.

"Thunder Force," starring Melissa McCarthy and Octavia Spencer, doesn't do that. Of course the budget was probably in the millions, but this Netflix release isn't interested in visual fidelity: instead, we watch our leads fumble their way through an evil politician's plan to win the election, then kill the winner when he loses, to ultimately become President. McCarthy plays the slob and Spencer is the smart one, and well, you could probably write the script yourself based on that description.

The action here is purely to service the punchline, so don't go expecting anything Marvel or DC worthy (or even worthy of Netflix's own "The Old Guard" or "Project Power"). That's fine if the writing is any good, but here, it's just passable. Surely, the team behind "The Naked Gun" or "Austin Powers" were not involved.

There is an amusing subplot involving "The Crab," played by Jason Bateman, who unsurprisingly has crab hands. That's about as far as his "power" goes, which I'm not convinced is a power to begin with. He's one of several henchmen to the baddie here, "The King," played by Bobby Cannavale (and before you ask, "no," there isn't "The King Crab" puns here). This alone is a pleasant diversion, but the film goes further with it. The best part is his relationship with Lydia, played by McCarthy, a few pats of butter and a tin of Old Bay seasoning.

The actual set up here isn't based on an preexisting superhero, but it's narrative is purely based on stereotypes of the "idea" of superheroes. Bad guys who show up suddenly? Check. City unable to stop them? Check. Heroes who inject themselves with a serum to give them powers? Check (not "double-check," Octavia's character takes a pill). The list goes on and so could I, but does anyone care? What you the reader want to know is if this is worth its runtime, and perhaps also if this could be McCarthy's critical comeback. Both of those go unchecked.

I didn't hate "Thunder Force." I chuckled a few times, grinned more than that, and only winced at the one or two corny moments. It didn't have to be this mediocre, but it is. That's good enough for Netflix, and apparently America (the flick is number one at the time of this review). And for a lazy Sunday, it's good enough for me too.

"But!" you ask, "why does this gets two and a half stars yet something like "Wonder Woman 1984" gets only two?" It's a good question; the two aren't comparable! This isn't something designed to compete with the marketing muscle of the two big superhero brands, but instead a breezy, high-concept comedy that sets its sights on mild merriment and nothing else. If you find the sight of Melissa McCarthy drinking beer in inappropriate places hilarious, well, then, put down your own beer and log into Netflix.