Surge of Power: The Stuff of Heroes

Saw this flick last night at a midnight movie presentation in gay ol' Ft. Lauderdale and, interestingly enough, the "star" Vincent Roth introduced the movie. He is cute and well put-together, but his public speaking skills are on par with his acting ability, and unfortunately for all of us, that is not good. The movie doesn't really tread new ground, in fact, for a gay-themed movie, it wasn't really that interesting of a story. Very lame acting, with many over-weight actors who didn't fit their roles well and left some of us thinking that if we give enough money to an independent movie producer that, we too, could star in a movie! Vincent Roth is rather one-dimensional in his portrayal of the lead and only adds a bit of luster in one scene which is too little, too late. In fact, his body AND acting belong in an entirely different genre of film...PORN! Overall, the film lacks any charm...the only stand-out in the cast is the lead characters science-goober friend, who, unlike any of the others, COULD act his way out of a paper bag! Sorry girls, if you want an entertaining gay-themed movie to see, skip this one...but if you want to see gym-bodied guys with impossible-to-recreate "high cheek bones", in too tight spandex shirts running around like queens...this one is for you! I gave it 4 stars out of 10 just for the few scenes that DO work and the raw nerve it took to release this narcissistic piece of fluff!

I rented Surge of Power from Blockbuster and found it to be good, clean campy fun. Even though I agree with some of the comments regarding the weaker acting performances, but overall I thought some of the strongest performances came from Tangen, Roth, Venturini, and the slew of guest stars like Nichelle Nichols, Lou Ferrigno and Noel Neill. This was kind of a throw-back to the old campy Batman series starring Adam West and Burt Ward, so I think the performances were supposed to be tongue-in-cheek and over-the-top. I especially liked the battle scenes between Surge and The Metal Master and I really enjoyed the bank robbery scene with Noel Neill. The costumes were great and the cheesy effects added to the kitsch. The gay stuff was ambiguous so I think everyone of all ages could enjoy this movie. I can't help but wonder -- is there going to be a Surge 2?

Well, I will tell you right up front: avoid this movie at all cost. What could have been a fairly interesting spoof on super heroes (gay one's at that) is one of the dullest films to come out since the invention of film. "Surge of Power" is quite possibly the longest 85 minutes in the history of the movies. Surge does have a power: to make it seem like time is standing still.

The script is half baked and lacks anything close to a believable story line. Let's hope Vincent J. Roth never writes another screenplay. The story never seems to move forward or amount to much of anything. Is this a comedy? A spoof? Comedy? Bad timing and bad acting just make it a bad film. There is no wit...just a bunch of nit wits. who probably think this film is great. Go back to film making class.

The acting is horrible. Let's not even call it acting...no one is even trying. The cast is packed with instantly forgettable actors. Most seem to be walking through their parts...or making it up as they go along. The actor who attempts to play "Surge" is worst of the bunch. Hot guy but not much else. He has no sense of timing...no sense of character. Thus the film makes no sense. You will find it odd how he never seems to be looking at the people he is talking with. Or is he just stoned? Celebrity cameos - and I am being quite generous using the word celebrity - are simply embarrassing. Oddly the high point of the film is the appearance of Nichelle Nichols (you remember her from Star Trek) as a character named "Omen." The lady does a lot with 10 lines of dialog and makes every else look bad. Sadly, she is gone after a few minutes and the film again sinks into mud.

This is what gay and lesbian films have come to? Producers Vincent J. Roth, Tom Tangen, and Michael Donahue should be ashamed of themselves.

My friend got the movie and we sat down to watch. The main elements that immediately stood out to me was the "theater" style acting associated with many inexperienced screen artists. We have often seen this, even in our auditions, where someone who is used to the drama and overly expressive voice projection of theater often carry this into the film and create an unrealistic film environment. (The film public expect more today than ever.) This was not the case with all the actors since Vincent Roth did show some signs of comedic promise, but in my opinion, could have been hampered by some of the others.

As far as writing, well, I think it worked well and some very clever comic comments nestled in was very well done with this type of story. Now, if this is a low budget film, and they used what they had, well, I think they did a good job. Overall, however, I believe the acting was weak and that the director (Sorry, Mike) should have been looking for better if that were possible. Matching budget with talent with effects is always a challenge. Sorry, y'all, but I cannot rate it highly under such conditions.

From the Midi file soundtrack of the opening titles, to the recycled cast of (what I must assume are) passer biers with no camera experience this movie was an experience whose mere mention will produce in me a bitter guttural response years from now when I'm lying in my dying bed. I am sorry, I am sorry if you made this movie (for hell awaits you), I am sorry if I offend anyone involved, but most of all, I am sorry I ever rented this thing. I know that the idea of a gay superhero is attractive to many people (but hey, aren't all superheroes gay anyway?), I have no quarrels with folk trying to support gay productions, there ought to be more out there, but anyone (gay or straight) with the strength to sit through this movie from beginning to end is in my mind a true SUPERHERO!