BY CHRISTOPHER STAMM
GUEST movie REVIEWER
Thunder Force (Streaming on Netflix)
Rated PG-13 (But it’s pushing PG-13 in my opinion.) – For language and violence and a soon-to-be-mentioned scene between consenting adults and a crab. (You really don’t want to know.)
Fans of Melissa McCarthy will no doubt enjoy this film; sadly I am not counted among those ranks.
Where to begin … so apparently back in the 80’s, a pulse of radiation bombarded the earth, and some humans with a genetic disposition to be sociopaths mutated into Super Villains.
Emily’s (the always excellent Octavia Spencer) parents are killed, and she goes to live with her grandmother, and at her new school, she becomes best friends with Lydia (Melissa McCarthy).
Thirty-five years later, Emily is a scientist working on a way to turn non-crazy people into superheroes, and Lydia is a loser. Through the standard series of hijinks, they both end up with superpowers and start to fight the Super Villains and there is the plot.
To be fair, there are a few moments that did make me laugh out loud. But unfortunately, they did not outweigh the pure unadulterated torture of watching Melissa McCarthy chew up every scene she is in with her yelling and overacting; her character is as likable as a trip to the proctologist.
The supporting cast is excellent. As mentioned, Octavia Spencer (The Help) is great, Pom Klementief (Guardians of the Galaxy) is a hoot as a Super Villain, and Jason Bateman (Tropic Thunder) lends his talent to what can only be described as the most disturbing scene between consenting adults I have ever seen, so be warned.
Thunder Force squeaks by with two out of five stars due to the supporting cast, but only by the skin of its teeth.