“Thunder Force” is currently streaming on Netflix. It received negative reviews from critics and streamers alike.
This review contains SPOILERS. If you’re interested in watching this movie, read at your own risk. Keep in mind, this is a short review. This particular superhero film isn’t a grand scope epic like “The Dark Knight Trilogy” or a rewatchable psychological crime thriller like “Joker.” Is Thunder Force’s power level great or underwhelming? Time to find out.
Mighty & Weak Aspects
Mighty: Melissa McCarthy & Octavia Spencer both did a hilarious job for their respective performances.
Other Cast Members such as Bobby Cannavale, Jason Bateman, Pom Klementieff (Mantis from Guardians Of The Galaxy) & Melissa Leo all did a good job for their respective performances.
Melissa’s real life husband, Ben Falcone has a role as The King’s henchman named Kenny, who gets killed by The King. Speaking of which, somebody named Kenny who’s killed by a random event is a reference to “South Park” running gag.
Fun Fact: Both Melissa & Ben are passionate Marvel fans. You can tell they tried their best to make their own superhero movie. Melissa will appear in the upcoming “Thor: Love And Thunder.”
Action Sequences are pretty good containing visual gags and fight scenes.
Humor has some funny moments. My favorite part is Lydia calling Melissa Leo’s character Jodie Foster nearly lost my breath. Perhaps a subtle jab at Jodie’s dislike towards superhero films. I also nearly lost my breath when Lydia did an Urkel impression.
Chemistry between Lydia & Emily serves as the main highlight. Both Melissa & Octavia are best friends in real life.
Visual Effects aren’t fake yet decent. No sign of a digitally removed mustache. Does Henry Cavill’s digitally removed mustache from Joss Whedon’s reshoots of “Justice League” ring any bells? I’m so glad The Snyder Cut drastically improved.
Costume Designs for Lydia & Emily look organic than Fan4Stic’s horrendously outfits.
Weak: Ben Falcone didn’t do a great job crafting a cohesive narrative.
Cinematography suffers from terrible Shaky Cam. Who’s in charge of filming Woody Woodpecker drinking too much Red Bull?
Lydia stumbles upon a secret lab with no security whatsoever. She manages to acquire her powers by accident in the laziest you can possibly imagine.
A Plot Hole involving why Jason Bateman’s character Crab, (just go with it) is actually a nice guy and not a psychopath. The opening scene establishes only psychopaths gain powers. He never utters out his real name.
Crab is perhaps the lamest character. He only has pinchers for arms. He doesn’t have any other powers. He’s straight up boring as in staring at wet paint until it dries off.
An early romance with Lydia & Crab happened. I don’t like two people instantly hooking up. In real life, it takes a week or two for a pair to get to know one another until a relationship is fully established.
When Lydia & Crab see each other for the first time, a random fantasy sequence with them dancing with each other in a cheesy 80’s music video pops the heck outta nowhere. Has nothing to do with the plot. I thought Crab’s power was to manipulate Lydia by making her instantly fall in love with him like Poison Ivy from “Batman” using her powers to manipulate her victims. I have no choice but to Double Down this flaw that made some of my brain cells died from graphic stupidity.
The Final Verdict: D-
From my point of view, Thunder Force is an underwhelming superhero film lacking a greater power level like Goku from “Dragon Ball Z.” If you wanna watching something better outside Marvel or DC, I highly recommend “The Boys” on Amazon Prime. So far, only two seasons are available. I cannot wait for “Black Widow” & James Gunn’s “Suicide Squad.” They better be worth a long wait.
Nickthemoviecritic.com 