Now on their fifth outing as collaborative partners (their first being the matriarchal misfire Tammy), Melissa McCarthy and director/husband Ben Falcone have struck a comfortable rhythm in their filmmaking. McCarthy funnels her brazen energy into an imperfect, often gauche comedy lead, while Falcone hones in on the foul-mouthed talents of his comedy partner. The surrounding film often feels thin and aimless as a result.
McCarthy's performance is defined by the crotch-gag brand of comedy which once characterised her career.
For Thunder Force the pair tackle a high-concept, family-friendly sci-fi. While McCarthy’s Lydia and Octavia Spencer’s Emily wrestle with the dynamics of their longstanding friendship — Lydia is protective but cavalier, Emily, motivated by grief, is devoted to science — a small band of caricature mutants attack their city. After a calamitous incident at Emily’s giant genetics company where she's developing her own superhuman abilities, Lydia also gains powers and joins her friend in the quest to take back their home city.
With each McCarthy-Falcone film, the strength lies in the central relationship. Even when portrayed by a younger cast Lydia and Emily maintain a loyal though never mawkish bond while subverting misfit tropes. “She’s not a nerd, she’s smart,” is a running line. Spencer imbues her role of the straight arrow with sweetness and turns in a note-perfect rendition of Seal’s ‘Kiss From A Rose’. McCarthy's performance, however, is defined by the crotch-gag brand of comedy which once characterised her career and now — with an Oscar-nominated performance for Can You Ever Forgive Me? under her belt — seems to knock it off course. As a superhero, it’s refreshing to see McCarthy’s size used predominantly for strength and less as a punchline, but the film’s half-baked premise still relies too heavily on her taking a circus mallet to the groin to be impactful. A surreal dance number with Jason Bateman sporting crab pincers for arms will no doubt raise a few titters, but not enough to save this hackneyed comedy from being another middling entry in the Falcone canon.
