The big new original movie on Netflix this week is Thunder Force, a superhero comedy featuring Melissa McCarthy and Octavia Spencer. The pair star as two old friends who accidentally give themselves superpowers, leading them to decide to suit up and protect their home city of Chicago from the supervillains that rule it, including The Crab (Jason Bateman) and The King (Bobby Cannavale).
As you’d expect, the film instantly shot up the rankings to become the most-watched title on the platform this weekend. Here’s the thing, though. Just because it’s being viewed by a lot of folks, that doesn’t mean they’re loving it. In fact, Thunder Force is being roasted on social media, as Netflix users are labelling it as “terrible,” “bad” or, in some cases, one of the “worst movies ever,” as you can see below.
Thunder Force – Just awful, no plot, not funny. Spencer is slumming it.
1/5#filmreview #film #NETFLIX— 10 Word Film Review (@10WordFilmRevi1) April 10, 2021
Will never watch a Ben Falcone movie again. Holy smokes Thunder Force is awful 😞
I mean holy crap that’s bad.#ThunderForce #Netflix— ⚒Kevin Wesley⚒ (@Kalel12Wesley) April 10, 2021
Wait until you watch Thunder Force. Ugh. It’s awful. Where are the writers?
— jamokequeen (@jamokequeen) April 10, 2021
10 minutes into this thunder force movie and it is horrible
— tushy dunkin (@cocoamilkbich) April 9, 2021
@JeffDLowe Thunder Force 17/100 . Horrible writing , horrible acting
— C_H_ (@C_HANN_ING) April 10, 2021
https://twitter.com/Brandale1854/status/1380859246372339712
https://twitter.com/Ayoowenzde/status/1380882640732061698
Just left a review of the movie Thunder Force on IMDb. It was awful and cringy. If you’re a fan of Melissa McCarthy then you can tolerate it. Octavia Spencer was horrible, not the role for her.
— koach_dbailey (@DbaileyKoach) April 10, 2021
https://twitter.com/fatiabdullah_/status/1380598458776702981
Not great for laughs or action.
Well Thunder Force was pretty terrible. It’s not particularly funny, nor does it contain any competent action. A big fail 👎🏼
— Scott Weatherly (@Scottweatherly) April 9, 2021
“Don’t waste your time.”
“Thunder Force”: since the good cast involved, I was hoping, at least, to have a few laughs. No. It’s just really bad in everything. Don’t waste your time.
— Matteo Pansa (@Cmdr_Cody) April 10, 2021
And they haven’t even finished it.
Thunder Force on Netflix is one of the worst movies I’ve ever seen I haven’t even finished it yet
— nico robin (@jhutcherdad) April 10, 2021
But there is such a thing as being so bad it’s good, and many people are actually enjoying Thunder Force by that logic.
thunder force was terrible but in a good way
— jenny seigh quan (@atrocioous) April 9, 2021
So terrible it’s amazing.
https://twitter.com/AdamRosenbucket/status/1380768880122036224?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1380768880122036224%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwegotthiscovered.com%2Fwp-admin%2Fpost-new.php
That makes sense.
https://twitter.com/kaylanator17/status/1380926740411908099
This is a nice glass half full way of looking at it.
Every so often you need to watch a truly bad movie to help appreciate the good ones.
Thunder Force is the bad movie I wish I hadn’t just sat through. But I guess I’ll appreciate whatever I watch next!
— Brock Wager (@BrockWager) April 10, 2021
The Twitter reception of Thunder Force – the fifth collaboration between McCarthy and her husband Ben Falcone, who wrote, directed and produced – is echoed in its none-too-impressive Rotten Tomatoes score. According to the aggregate site, just 25% of critics have given it a positive review. As the critics consensus sums up: “It’s got a few chuckles, but Thunder Force is largely a superhero comedy that’s neither exciting nor funny — and an egregious waste of its co-stars’ talents.”
This might be McCarthy’s first superhero flick, but it certainly won’t be her last. She’s been spotted on the set of Thor: Love and Thunder in what sounds like a hilarious cameo and funnily enough, that MCU blockbuster also features Guardians of the Galaxy star Pom Klementieff, who likewise turns up in Thunder Force as a villain. If these reactions haven’t put you off, you can catch it on Netflix now.