I saw "El Poder de Shakti" - Remastered
Sam (Joseph Lando) is chosen to become a "Shakti" warrior to combat the evil Cherenz and his apprentice Crowley. For this, he has to overcome several deadly tests and reach the supreme goddess to receive the powers and fulfill his destiny.
In 1996, "El Poder del Shakti" was the first attempt to make a Puerto Rican superhero movie mixing action, martial arts, special effects and fantasy. It was the first time that a production tried to get out of the mold of sociocultural films that dominated local cinema at the time.
The film had all the elements to be a megahit from a rumored budget of around $2 million, top-notch actors like Miguel Ángel Suárez, Alba Nydia Díaz and Gladys Rodríguez, good set design, and Wilkins singing the theme song.
I remember as yesterday, that Thursday night, some friends and I, after leaving the university, instead of going to the Ibiza nightclub as was the custom, decided to go in a caravan to the cinemas in Plaza Río Hondo to see "al Shakti " on its opening day. And we left convinced that we had just seen the worst Puerto Rican movie ever made.
"El Shakti" faded into the shadows without a trace for nearly 30 years becoming a legend of local cinema. I was always intrigued as to what my opinion would be if I could see her again.
Last night I had that opportunity... "The Power of Shakti" returns to the big screen remastered, reissued and digital special effects. The first thing I am going to say is that it is clear that the transfer is from a VHS or television copy, because it looks stretched. But they did a good job of improving picture and sound quality.
I don't remember much of the original, but this edit meets my requirement of establishing the plot in the first scene. It seems to me that they eliminated subplots and irrelevant dialogues, because the film maintains a rhythm that is not boring and prefers to jump to another scene before slowing down.
At the center of this film is a message that in 1996 seemed ridiculous and childish but when I watched it last night it seemed to hit the mark.
"Let's corrupt today's youth with clubbing, drugs and sex so we can control them when they're old," said the villain.
That made me see the film from another perspective and better appreciate the Shakti's battle to bring light to a society submerged in shadows.
In the end I was pleased and even surprised at how much I enjoyed the movie that even has a post credit scene.
"The Power of Shakti" is not a movie for everyone, and the visual quality is distracting at first, but then you forget about it and get caught up in the action.
So after so many years talking bad about "El Shakti" now I have to change my position and say that it entertains, and surprises with how ambitious it was in 1996.
