MPAA Rating: PG-13/Genre: Superhero Comedy/ Stars: Melissa McCarthy, Octavia Spencer, Jason Bateman, Bobby Cannavale, Pom Klementieff, Melissa Leo, Taylor Mosby, Ben Falcone, Marcella Lowery, Melissa Ponzio, Kevin Dunn, Sarah Baker, Tyrel Jackson Williams/ Runtime: 107 minutes
I think it is safe to say that even though the genre of movie magic known as superhero films are all the rage right now, the possibility of making one that is both novel and purely comedic seems like an idea that is, at least on the written page, a delightful degree of brilliant. This is because for all the diversity we have seen possible from comic book films (Ant-Man as a heist film and Captain America: Winter Solder as a 70s conspiracy thriller anyone?), there are still distinct parameters that they must operate in which makes a slice of cinematic pie in the vein of new Netflix release Thunder Force one that could possibly try and put a novel and engaging spin on things. There’s just one problem with all of that. For a slice of cinematic pie to even do these things at first it has to be at the very least willing to try. Indeed whilst this slice of cinematic pie does open with an intriguing narrative hook from that point on the film finds itself completely crippled and unable to do anything with said hook and instead chooses to present us with a “dynamic superhero duo” from which a narrative is threaded that is not just one note and dull in the worst way possible, but also at points throughout is completely and utterly incomprehensible as well.
The plot is as follows: So I guess right off the bat I should let you know that the “heroes” in this slice of cinematic pie are a pair of women by the names of Lydia Berman and Emily Stanton respectively. This dynamic duo is a female pair who, when they were growing up, were the best BFF’s the other could ever hope to have. That is at least until they tragically went through a heartwrenching parting of the ways when they were in that tumultuous time known as high school. From there we see that many years later, Lydia decides to attempt a reconciliation of sorts with her former gal friend only to discover to her astonishment that Emily in the years since has transformed herself into a wealthy and quite powerful researcher who has made it her life’s mission to conjure up heroes who would be able to at the very least attempt to try and thwart a menace in this world known simply as “miscreants.” Even more incredible is the fact that Emily is on the verge of a breakthrough……only to have Lydia pop back up in her life after all this time. A fact I mention because we soon witness that, due to an “endearing” mix of both bungling and bumbling, Lydia inadvertently ingests the primary dose on an injection that gives the person injected super strength…..and in the process only gives Emily the chance to become invisible. Thus following what seems like the longest training montage ever put to celluloid consisting our dynamic duo prepping with their new-found abilities, we finally see them head out to the world in order to kick some serious bad guy butt. Of course, it should come as no surprise that by doing so, it isn’t long before our dynamic duo winds up caught up in a nefarious scheme that involves not only a duo of miscreants going by the names of Laser and The Crab respectively, but also Chicago’s mayor who is desperately trying to do whatever it takes in order to get reelected to public office dun dun dunnnnn….
Now right off the bat I guess I should mention that Thunder Force is inspired by an “original script” from Melissa McCarthy’s husband/ producer/film helmer/co-star Ben Falcone. I say that because even though this slice of cinematic pie sadly was not given a budget that could really help it explore in detail the ideas that it is trying to operate with that is still no excuse for both how all over the place the narrative is and just how many cliché ingredients the narrative chooses to poorly implement as well. Not only that, but this slice of cinematic pie takes way too long to truly get where it is wanting to go as first it gives us the “necessary” background, then it gives us the excruciatingly long training montage, and then when it does finally go on a fishing outing over to Plot Lake for a workable narrative, it instead ends up hooking what looks like the tire from the Ford Pinto I drove into the lake because the engine (like this slice of cinematic pie) kept self-combusting at every given turn (go figure) This of course includes the fact that Mr. Mayor (big shock coming up) might not be on the up and up as he is claiming to be (though when you have Bobby Cannavale in the role what did you honestly expect??), but it’s the fact that this plot thread is one we have seen done so many times before that you honestly find that it absolutely cannot keep your attention no matter how hard it may try to do so. Worse than that though is the fact that, finding its tired plot twists are unable to keep your attention, this slice of cinematic pie makes some truly odd narrative choices to attempt to keep you intrigued and entertained such as when a bad guy literally spells out their evil machinations to our dynamic duo…..who then proceed to do absolutely nothing and tell absolutely no one about what they were just told.
I guess I should point out that whilst there are points in this where the movie does dare to be original, these points also by and large left me utterly baffled as well. One of these moments includes a fantasy dance of sorts between Lydia and the Crab during a robbery and I honestly did not know what the heck was occurring in this scene in the movie at all. That is until later on in the movie where we see these 2 inexplicably go on a date that it hit me that this was a downright horrendous in terms of execution example of cinematic love-at-first-sight ughhhhh. Of course, if the concept of gifted and talented actor Jason Bateman rocking a pair of faux crab legs over his arms is something that you just totally like OMG have to see then you’ve come to the right movie (though please know you might get weird looks if you go to Red Lobster). However, I’m just going to go out on a limb and assume that you will find that just as groan-inducing as I did which then means I can tell you that you most assuredly won’t be a fan of what else this slice of cinematic pie tries to hurl your way. I mean this is the kind of film where 3 things tend to happen. The first is that every so often there are moments that make you feel like there was supposed to be a joke, but it accidentally got left on the cutting room floor. The second is that there are jokes, but they are really cheesy and terrible like moments where McCarthy gripes about her suit’s odor or the 2 having trouble leaving their vehicle. The 3rd is when this film bypasses all that and just hurls gross gags your way to try and make you laugh let alone chuckle. A fact that can I back up with the belief that this slice of cinematic pie is clearly under the extremely misguided delusion ladled belief that having the viewer watch Melissa McCarthy repeatedly consume raw chicken is the funniest thing since the mom from Leave It to Beaver speaking jive on an airplane. Suffice it to say not only is nowhere near as funny as the movie wants you to believe, but it’s also a recurring gag that gets old very quickly and very badly to the point that you will literally want to yell “ENOUGH ALREADY!” every time you see it happen on screen.
I mean I guess I should say that, if it really means anything at this point in time during this review, our main dynamic duo that is Octavia Spencer and Melissa McCarthy do actually look like they are having fun making this slice of cinematic pie and they do also make for a wonderful dynamic duo. At the same time though, what exactly they are operating with in terms of material brings everything down to such a level that everything about this slice of cinematic pie is just saddening (like Santa Clause 3-level saddening) in the worst way possible. I mean one of these actresses has an Oscar to her name, the other has been up for one a couple of times, and it is just sad seeing these 2 clearly talented performers portraying characters that the depth of is no more and no less than a simplistic opposites attract type bond to say nothing on how there is absolutely nothing genuinely riveting about what they are working with. I mean yes I did appreciate this slice of cinematic pie giving them the chance to be superheroes, and yes they do get a few moments that are a little bit cool, but they are still let down by the fact that this slice of cinematic pie, to say nothing of its slap shot narrative, doesn’t bring out the best that audiences know these 2 women can bring when given the right material to work with. As for the supporting cast, I can honestly say that they are just as misused as the dynamic duo at the heart of this slice of cinematic pie. I mean Jason Bateman, Pom Klementieff, Melissa Leo, and Bobby Cannavale to name but a few are all incredibly talented actors and the fact that they agreed to be in this is not only head scratch-worthy, but also a little bit depressing especially because I know these are all incredibly talented people who have easily done better work than this before.
All in all you know when you really take a moment to stop and think about it, I think it can be said that Netflix is actually not the worst place in the world for a slice of cinematic pie in the vein of Thunder Force to ultimately wind up putting down roots in. A belief I am able to come around to due to feeling this is one slice of cinematic pie that is going to make for an amazing double feature with whatever godawful Adam Sandler film you choose to watch on the streaming giant one night. Thankfully, this also is where I can mention a teeny tiny little secret about Netflix that you may or may not (my money is on hopefully) already know. That secret incidentally is that if you really want to all you have to do is when you get to this slice of cinematic pie just keep scrolling and try to find a TV show or a slice of cinematic pie that is infinitely more watchable than even the first 20-30 minutes of this proved to be. Yes, this slice of cinematic pie has a solid base in terms of its narrative as well as a genuinely gifted cast to bring it to life, but it also manages to take those ingredients and completely toss them on a burn pile with everything else, get all the lighter fluid it can get its hands on, light a match, and create a slice of cinematic pie that by and large resembles a bonfire at Texas A&M more than an actual Hollywood movie. Make of that therefore what you will. On a scale of 1-5 I give Thunder Force “2021” a solid 2 out of 5.
