vibrationsofdoom When we look at characters from comic books in the 60's, 70's and 80's, what we generally observe are things like WHY Spider Man feels passionately for the victims and the innocent. WHY Tony Stark decided to develop technology in his own way and abandon the "art of war." We understand the mindset of The Thing from the Fantastic Four; we GET and FEEL his pain... That being said, usually, there's a simple and quick, 5 minute explanation of the creation of super powers, then we're off...For that reason ALONE, this movie deserves a TEN... This ENTIRE story is about the buildup and creation of the character Joe into a force that will have massive implications on the "world scene." We see Joe's frustrations over how one of his daughters turned out; strung out on drugs and bitter over her mother's death. We see and hear his agony over his failures to protect his daughters and make their lives better, a point which is hammered home repeatedly and leads to his mental state. Still, on that front, I thought Joe's acting could have been a little bit more "diverse," if you will, rather than just "aaauagh! Why are you doing this to me?" Surely he would have different questions in mind. But, if we're being analytical, our "creator" kept Joe in situations that required him to do more action and less thinking, bringing to the forefront of his mind "there isn't enough time." The "villain" of this story, if you will, is our God-creator. And it definitely makes you think about one thing (if you're of a philosophical and analytical mind)... How far would you go to protect life? Would you kill one? ten? hundreds? thousands? What really impressed me was the "creator's" unwavering and unbending drive to complete the task before him. High respect to the actor portraying this "villain," though it was nice to see a single tear shed near the end over what had to be. As if the human side FINALLY came through.The special effects. Damn, they were impressive. The creation of this powerful being was a bit scary, and we see that though benevolent at times, the sheer magnitude of his power was awe inspiring. The force of his beams, the faster than light travel, even the way the CGI was crafted told a dual tale. A tale of a powerful yet scary being, and then, near the end, the human side glimpsed through long enough for us to realize that he would need to be "pushed over the top" once again.The movie takes awhile to build up, but one thing you'll be asking close to halfway through the movie is "what happens when he reaches his breaking point." Once you understand what's at stake, you realize what HAS to happen. And the end result was rather interesting to look upon, our CGI enhanced "guardian" trying to look out for our situation in life. The end result is a rather serene but towering final few minutes that will definitely leave an impression. Anyone that understands this movie isn't meant to mirror "real life" understands the bigger picture. A very interesting and intriguing concept that was NOT shot on a huge budget. Still, they did a fantastic job what what they had to work with, and I most definitely enjoyed every minute of this film. And might I mention my surprise to hear true electronic and harsh industrial music contained within, as the music fit so well (though the foray into an industrial/goth "nightclub" was a little odd... One wouldn't think a drug dealer of that caliber would be into this sort of lifestyle, but I digress).

Platypuschow Ever wonder what happened to Mickey Bunce from Drop Dead Fred? (1991) No me neither, but here he is as the lead of this science fiction epic and he's twice the man he used to be *Ahem*It tells the overly convoluted tale of a man struggling to keep his family together after his wifes passing only to find himself dragged into a plot that could mean the beginning or the end of mankind.It's an interesting creature, it really wants to be a Hollywood blockbuster but just doesn't quite have the budget. Because of this the movie flits between looking fantastic and looking like someone just bought a copy of Adobe After Effects.The plot is certainly original but falls apart and gets a bit silly by the end. In fact to be entirely honest by the 2/3 mark I think they were winging it and it simply didn't have quite the structure it did until that point. It's like they were given a fascinating concept but someone forgot to give them an ending.For it's originality alone Higher Power deserves praise and had this been given a sizeable budget, better writers and erm.....maybe better cast this might have been something quite special. There is definetly something there, but whatever it was is sadly neutered, stripped for parts and kicked down some stairs. Poor lil beggar.The Good:Some great sfxVery originalThe Bad:Some poor sfxNothing quite fits togetherEven the usually excellent Colm Feore seemed to be phoning it inThings I Learnt From This Movie:Gods are man made, oh wait no already knew thatMickey Bunce ate Phoenix Cates!

gengar843 Why? I watched this film with no expectations at all, didn't know what it was about, and really didn't care. The buildup is somewhat cheesy but well-done familiar territory, and I was sympathetic to or angry with most of the characters by mid-film. So I was getting emotionally involved, and it didn't hurt that logic didn't suffer too much, even if motivations and dynamics were over-the-top. Then it hit me what was going on, the building of a superhero, so to speak. As if the film understood when I was supposed to get this, it revved up immediately and kept me entranced with its continuous upward arc of lights and sound. Yes, the effects were olden-daze, but I kept saying to myself, "Nice work with a low budget!" After all, who cares if its retro if it's GOOD, right? This ramp-up continued to make me smile until the fine crescendo, and all the implausible yet necessary events collided to make this a mix of Armageddon and Silver Surfer! What hit me is that they told a story simply, without having to appeal to comic fanboys with cute or snarky dialogue, or "correct" characterizations. If the complaint is how many coincidences and untested theories have to be withstood in order to accept the premise, how is that different than Hulk or Spider-Man transformations, or Stryker creating Wolverine's adamantium skeleton? Not at all, if you ask me. So the film also stands on its own as a genre film that has no previous background (of which I'm aware).Strangely, while writing this review, I discovered that director Matthew Charles Santoro worked on, among other things, the VFX for Marvel's Silver Surfer movie! So that makes sense! Woohoo! I was right!

singhmanbir-88048 The story and Graphics are awesome. This will be the next best superhero of all time. The Powers of Superman seems so dim compared to this. The execution of the story is brilliant. And the end is magnificent. Hats off to every1 involved in making the movie. Do not worry about any bad reviews your movie is perfect.