The word “Miscreants” is uttered nearly a dozen times within the first fifteen minutes of “Thunder Force,” Netflix’s new superhero comedy starring Melissa McCarthy and Octavia Spencer. It’s an absurd word to say repeatedly and an even more absurd way for writer-director Ben Falcone to drive home the point that his superhero world is filled with only super-powered “bad guys” (yes, known as Miscreants) and they’re terrible. Oh, if only there were a super smart scientist that could one day find a way to give good people powers and fight off these meddling Miscreants! If this kind of subtlety appeals to you, oh boy, does Netflix have a “comedy” for you. And, while McCarthy and writer-director husband Falcone have not exactly been a team of comedy hit-makers — their already-mediocre track record is one of diminishing returns — “Thunder Force” may be a super-powered all-time low for the duo.
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Yes, the team that brought you forgettable tripe like “Tammy,” “The Boss,” ”Life of the Party,” and “Superintelligence” is back to give you their take on the modern superhero film, and — surprise, surprise — it’s more unfunny, trite swill. “Thunder Force” takes place in a world where cosmic rays turn sociopaths into super-sociopaths, leaving the world helpless to defend themselves against a planet full of crazy crime-committing culprits. That is, until former childhood best friends Lydia and Emily (played by Melissa McCarthy and Octavia Spencer, respectively) find a way to give themselves superpowers in order to defend all do-gooders from a mafia-esque group of baddies led by The King, played by Bobby Cannavale.
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The problem here isn’t that we’ve had enough superhero films or that Melissa McCarthy isn’t funny; it’s that Falcone, while a gifted comedic performer in his own right, isn’t a particularly effective writer or director of comedy. His style is to simply leave the camera on McCarthy and pray she elevates the script beyond its mediocre text. It barely works for a scene or two, but, ultimately, the plot and writing are still lazy and lifelessly performed, even by gifted actors like Spencer, Cannavale, and Melissa Leo —and if you can’t get a decent performance out of actors of that caliber, that’s on the director, plain and simple.
There is, however, one bright shining performance in this film that manages to elicit some giggles and make some scenes work, and that is from Jason Bateman, who plays villain/love interest, The Crab. He’s called The Crab because, well…he has crab arms. Yes, it’s certainly a choice. Regardless, in true Bateman form, everything he says and does feels comedically natural,, and he’s willing to fully embrace the ridiculous and downright dumb nature of his crustacean clawed character, saving not only the strained, ridiculous love story but also just about every scene he’s in.
Outside of that performance, nothing really clicks or comes as a surprise. You know what’s coming as soon as you see the strained child-actor performances try to lay out the plot and relationship dynamic between Spencer and McCarthy—one plays a genius, the other a sloppy, shameless every-woman (it goes without saying who is who). They drift apart, one invents a treatment and plan to become a superhero, one bafoonishly crashes those plans, they both become superpowered, bad guys enter, Netflix spends money to make it look neat, and yadda, yadda, yadda—you have a paint-by-numbers superhero comedy with minimal laughs or heart, because the friendship beats you should be focusing on are lazy or tossed aside in favor of McCarthy eating raw chicken or getting stabbed by needles over and over and over again.
Bad characters? Check! Well-worn, uninventive plot? Check! Forced physical comedy? Check! A big-budget and no oversight? Check! Put all of that together, and what do you get? Another bad Netflix comedy from the makers of other bad comedies. Sorry, McCarthy and Spencer, but you’re better than this. [D]
“Thunder Force” is now available on Netflix.