Movie Review: 'Thunder Force' Share Updated: 4:17 PM CDT Apr 9, 2021 Damond Fudge Share Updated: 4:17 PM CDT Apr 9, 2021 Damond Fudge I’ve written before about how many trailers I see on a regular basis, and how many times I see the same ones over and over again. Of course, that was when I was going to the theaters for my film fix. These days, I have to make an effort to check out the trailer when I hear of an upcoming movie.Yet, the new comedy-action film Thunder Force might actually be a first for me. Get this: I went into this movie completely cold, never once viewing the trailer. I knew a little of what it was about, through those “Here’s what’s coming to streaming” kinds of articles. I thought it sounded fun but had forgotten about it until I got an email from Netflix on Wednesday reminding me of the pending premiere.Back in the 1980s, cosmic rays struck Earth, causing some humans to develop superpowers. The problem was that these powers only occurred in those predisposed to being sociopathic. Thus, the world ended up with many supervillains, called Miscreants, and no superheroes.Emily Stanton (Octavia Spencer) lost her parents in a Miscreant attack when she was young. They were geneticists who were working toward a way to imbue normal people with powers as a way to combat the Miscreants. Emily made it her life’s ambition to finish what they started.Lydia Berman (Melissa McCarthy) was Emily’s best friend in school, though the two couldn’t have been more different. They lost touch over the years, but when Lydia visits Emily at her office, Lydia accidently becomes injected with the serum for super strength. Emily has taken the serum for invisibility, and together they become the first superhero team, hitting the streets to defend them against such villains as The King (Bobby Cannavale), Laser (Pom Klementieff) and The Crab (Jason Bateman).Despite going in with zero expectations, I found Thunder Force to be a very entertaining comedic take on the superhero genre. While not knocked out of the park on the humor scale as McCarthy gems like Spy or The Heat, it’s a big step up from some of her recent comedy flops.McCarthy does her usual schtick, playing the less intelligent, more prone to screwing up, very blue collar one of the pair. Spencer gets the straight person role, the one who’s so serious and protective of the project because it’s her baby, which allows for fun with her personality in the moments where she lets her guard and hair down.Cannavale is obviously having fun chewing the scenery to bits. Klementieff is perfectly icy-cool. The cast member having the most fun, and therefore the one with some of the funniest moments, is Bateman, who spends the film with crab arms and deadpanning it the entire time.Writer and Director Ben Falcone keeps the comedy rolling and shows some flair for directing action, too. He has gotten better in the director’s chair as he’s progressed, but you still have to wonder how much funnier this would’ve been if handled by a more seasoned pro like Paul Feig.Still, Thunder Force is a lot of fun, more fun than I probably expected. It’s also surprisingly family friendly, well-suited for those nights plopped down on the couch with the kiddos.