'Thunder Force' Review - Spoiler Free

I have personally been looking forward to the release of Netflix's Thunder Force starring Melissa McCarthy and Octavia Spencer for over a year. The action comedy, written and directed by Ben Falcone, was clearly made by a group of good friends who enjoy playing together.

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Not only are Spencer and McCarthy long-time friends in real life, but many of the other actors involved are friends and family as well, such as Jason Bateman who previously co-stared with McCarthy in Identity Thief. Even a younger version of McCarthy was played by her own daughter. 
The characters of Emily and Lydia, created by Falcone, were directly inspired by the personality of the actors themselves. Falcone's writing and direction was felt as each character played to their strengths, leaning heavily on McCarthy's obvious love of physical comedy.

While most of the humor felt natural, there were bits that could be distracting - in a similar vain to the comedy style of recent Kristen Wiig movie, Barb and Star Go To Vista Del Mar. That said, Barb and Star was critically loved for the ridiculous humor and over-the-top moments. 

In addition to seeing Emily and Lydia's heartwarming friendship, as well as the hilarity and action, a true highlight of this movie was seeing two, smart, middle aged, plus size women with agency and layers, and not hearing a single comment about their bodies or size. I cannot remember the last time a female superhero looked like me and wasn't the butt of the joke. Admittedly, there's a joke or two about their ages (which was odd since most of the men on the villain side were also middle aged), but at no point is it discussed whether these women were physically capable of doing anything they did. Their sizes and shapes were never an issue, not even when discussing superhero costumes - which, to be clear, would be the only reasonable place to address the topic. As with other superhero films, these ass-kickers were dressed in super-suits and they looked just as bad-ass as another other action-figure selling hero in the market. 

Although Netflix has not made any sort of announcement, and there's no guarantee that Falcone, McCarthy, and Spencer will even want it, I am personally look forward to the growth of this franchise with at least a trilogy. Hopefully! 

Thunder Force is available to stream on Netflix now.
​Watch the trailer for Thunder Force here.

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For a more in depth discussion about the film, including SPOILERS, watch on a special episode of FANVERSATION's Super Lady Hero Hour here. 

-- Yael Tygiel
@yaeltygiel
Follow @thefatgirlshow on IG