Thunder Force, a Netflix original film, is now available for streaming. A movie about superheroes, is the movie appropriate for kids, tweens and teens? And is the movie any good? I’m answering those questions and more in my spoiler free Thunder Force parents guide. With a PG-13 rating that includes action and violence, excessive language and suggestive material, here’s what parents need to know about Thunder Force.
THUNDER FORCE (L-R): MELISSA MCCARTHY as LYDIA, OCTAVIA SPENCER as EMILY. Cr. HOPPER STONE/NETFLIX © 2021.
Thunder Force on Netflix: A Parents Guide
In the movie, Lydia (Melissa McCarthy) and Emily (Octavia Spencer) are best friends who become estranged in high school. Now adults, Emily (a scientist) discovers a way to give ordinary people superhero powers to combat the Miscreants (super-villains who killed Emily’s parents when she was younger). After Lydia unintentionally injects herself with the serum, she ends up with superhero strength. Emily ends up with the ability to vanish. Chaos ensues when Lydia and Emily end up battling Miscreants named Laser (Pom Klementieff), William “The King” Stevens (Bobby Cannavale), and The Crab (Jason Bateman). Here’s what parents need to know about Thunder Force on Netflix.
Why is Thunder Force Rated PG-13?
Thunder Force is rated PG-13 which means that some material is not suitable for children under the age of 13. For example, the movie may contain violence, sexual situations, and/or language. Here, the movie contains all of the above, but more about that below.
THUNDER FORCE (L-R): BOBBY CANNAVALE as THE KING, JASON BATEMAN as THE CRAB. Cr. HOPPER STONE/NETFLIX © 2021.
Language
I usually don’t mind most curse words but the profanity is excessive in this movie, much like the profanity used in The Witcher. Characters, especially Lydia, say words like kick-a**”, a**, f***, he**, a**hole, s**t, b***h, and dip***t. I lost track of the curse words after a while since there are so many of them. As a result, this is something that parents will want to be aware of.
Sexually Suggestive Scenes
There isn’t any nudity in Thunder Force. However, there are sexual innuendos. Characters say phrases like “hold on to your tatas,” “boobs,” “you look like ba**s,” and refer to strippers. There is also a hint of a romantic relationship between Lydia and The Crab. Leave it to Melissa McCarthy and Jason Bateman to make eating seafood (and chicken) sound nasty. The sexual innuendoes are relatively subtle, though. For example, one character asks if another character got “surf and turf” or something to that effect. You’ll never look at seafood (or even chicken) the same way after this movie.
Action/Violence
Since this is a movie about superheroes and villains, you can expect some action scenes that are violent. While the violence isn’t graphic, there is a scene involving a robbery and weapons are used like guns and a taser. There are also shootings and characters punch each other. One characters kills other characters by “cracking their bones.” The action and violence is more cheesy than anything else, though.
Overall Thoughts
Is Thunder Force a good movie? No. This movie is pretty bad, not to mention disappointing. It seems like Melissa McCarthy plays the same type of roles over and over again. As for kids, this movie isn’t really appropriate for them for the reasons mentioned above. Also, the movie is almost 2 hours long which is too long to keep younger kids’ attention. Even as an adult, I found myself bored, counting down the minutes until the movie ended. Yes, it’s that bad.
About Thunder Force
In a world where supervillains are commonplace, two estranged childhood best friends reunite after one devises a treatment that gives them powers to protect their city.
Good write up.