Thunder Force on Netflix, the superhero comedy starring Melissa McCarthy and Octavia Spencer as two estranged childhood friends who are transformed into superheroes, isn’t getting a lot of love from the film critics since its April 2021 debut. But while reviewers, including CinemaBlend’s own Eric Eisenberg bring up a lot of good points in his Thunder Force review of Ben Falcone’s latest effort, you may be wondering what everyday Netflix subscribers think about the star-studded affair and if maybe they enjoyed the movie.
Well, as it stands, Thunder Force currently has Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score of 25% which is only one point better than its critical response. But it’s not all bad news as a number of the movie’s fans have found several elements of Thunder Force that they actually like, so much so they took to Twitter to let the world know. Here are some of their thoughts.
Whether Or Not They Loved The Movie, Some Fans Loved Thunder Force’s Representation Of Female Superheroes
Just because you don’t like a movie doesn’t mean that you can’t find something within its narrative or presentation that's worthwhile and that seems to be the case for a number of Thunder Force fans, who despite not enjoying the movie all that much, took note of the triumphs it made in the representation department. Throughout the movie, Lydia Berman (Melissa McCarthy), Emily Stanton (Octavia Spencer), and Tracy Stanton (Taylor Mosby) are all treated with respect (well, when Lydia isn’t eating raw chicken) and prove that you don’t have to be prototypical superhero to save the city from a supercharged villain like William “The King” Stevens (Bobby Cannavale) and his band of miscreants.
One Twitter user seemed underwhelmed by the acting and story, but noted that there was a lot of LGBTQ representation, which honestly isn’t something that happens enough in the superhero genre:
Another person who watched Thunder Force shortly after its release and took to Twitter to share their thoughts called the movie “so-so” but enjoyed seeing smart Black women and girls having meaningful roles in the genre:
And then there was someone who, despite describing the movie as “meh,” does seem to appreciate the sight of Melissa McCarthy and Octavia Spencer as the superhero leads of this story.
All of these Thunder Force fans bring up a great point about the way the film handled diversity, which is honestly great to see as it helps break up the movie filled with an obscene amount of absurd and asinine concepts and humor.
Fans Can’t Get Enough Of Jason Bateman
On a lighter note, a lot of people who watched Thunder Force on Netflix the first weekend of its release all seemed to agree on something: they couldn’t get enough of Jason Bateman and his performance as Jerry “The Crab” a half-miscreant whose arms were turned into crab claws following an unfortunate underwater experience prior to the events of the movie. And like a lot of the fan reactions you’re about to see, I too couldn’t get enough of Bateman whether he was scuttling from side-to-side or using his claws for non-criminal activities.
This Twitter user commented on Thunder Force saying that the movie was indeed fun but it was the inclusion of Jason Bateman that made the movie for the them:
Some actors get grief for never changing up their characters, but one Thunder Force fan doesn’t care and actually seems to admire the Arrested Development star for it:
There are some, on the other hand (or claw), who are oddly attracted to Jason Bateman’s crustacean mutation, so there’s that:
And then some people who just want to show stuff like this (I’m not blaming them):
Honestly, it’s hard to not like Jason Bateman whenever he’s on screen in Thunder Force, and if a sequel (or prequel) were to ever be made, I’d love to see the rest of his story.
Okay, We Have To Talk About The Raw Chicken In Thunder Force
Spend enough time on the internet and you’ll find plenty, I mean plenty, of people who are obsessed with all that raw chicken in Thunder Force. Introduced earlier on with Lydia is told it’s the only thing her now-superhuman body can handle, the raw chicken gimmick comes up time and time again. Hell, it even ended up being featured at the end of the movie when Jerry “The Crab” feeds his newfound lover pieces of raw meat with his tiny little baby crab claws. Here are a few of the best reactions to all that disgusting chicken footage.
First, there’s the one Twitter user who went to bed shortly after watching Thunder Force only to wake up the next morning still consumed with questions about the chicken, namely, were they eating actual raw meat:
Another person came up with one remarkable way of promoting Thunder Force with an oft-overlooked segment of the population:
And then there was the Twitter user who came up with what is possibly the best way to describe the plot and character motivations in Thunder Force:
The raw chicken bit, while absolutely disgusting (I mean, dealing with raw poultry is the absolute worst), makes for some of the biggest laughs in Thunder Force, even though they do get a little fowl near the end there.
As you can see, the Thunder Force fan reaction is sort of all over the place. On one hand, you have people who love the way the Netflix movie treated female and LGBTQ characters. Then you have others who loved Jason Bateman’s performance. And then you have those folks who just can’t stop thinking about all that raw chicken, but I think we all are more than a little curious about that business.
If you weren’t the biggest fan of Thunder Force and didn’t think it was one of the best Netflix movies, fear not as there are plenty of 2021 new movie releases to keep you occupied while you get that raw chicken taste out of your mouth.
