Thunder Force (3 Stars)

Do you know that feeling when a film announcement really excites you? You see a trailer or an announcement, and you go "Wow! I've got to see that!"

That's how I felt when I received an email from Netflix announcing "Thunder Force". Octavia Spencer and Melissa McCarthy as super-heroes? That's a teenage wet dream come true! They're two of my favourite actresses, and Octavia's beauty has always made me stop and stare.

So today I sat to watch the film. In the pre-credits scene (the first seven minutes) we see two young girls, totally unalike, forming a bond in school. Emily Stanton is a genius. Lydia Berman is below average intelligence, but she has a good heart. They swear to be friends forever, but in their teens they go different ways.

Then come the credits. 20 years later there's a high school reunion. The two girls meet again. Emily is the CEO of a large company. Lydia is a fork lift driver. Chicago is being terrorised by super-villains called miscreants. Emily's company is developing a machine to give normal people super powers. Lydia gains super strength and calls herself Hammer. Emily gets the power to become invisible and calls herself Bingo. Together their team is called Thunder Force.

Before the first half hour was over I was getting bored. Something was wrong. Octavia Spencer is a brilliant actress, and she has an Oscar on her mantelpiece to prove it, but you wouldn't know it from watching this film. She delivers her lines woodenly without any conviction. Melissa McCarthy doesn't do any better. Their blandness bounces off one another. The only person in the film with any charisma is Taylor Mosby, who plays Emily's daughter Tracy. I know almost nothing about her, but I'm impressed by her talent.

The action scenes are good, but everything else is dull. I like films with strong women, but not this film. It misses the mark on every possible level.

The film is available on Netflix only.