Surge of Power: The Stuff of Heroes

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?

I picked this up as an online rental just because it was highly rated in the gay/lesbian section and I'm glad I did. "Surge of Power" is a cute low budget film with obvious but undeclared gay characters. I enjoyed the story and got many of the insider references placed there just for the gay comics nerds like me. While Vincent Roth's acting skills may not have been super great, his enthusiasm, personality, cute face and chiseled body went a long way in making up for his other deficiencies. Getting through the opening credits, you realize that this is a dream project for Roth and it shows in the script, costumes and other design touches attributed to him.

There were a number of guest appearances by actors associated with comic book and science fiction TV shows like the original Lois Lane (Noel Neill), the Hulk (Lou Ferrigno), and Star Trek's Uhura (Nichelle Nichols). These appearances and other things served to both legitimize as well as poke fun at the movie. Another guest was actor Trev Broudy who was severely beaten in a hate crime in 2002 in his first acting appearance following his recovery.

While the movie may have been a low-budget vanity project, the superhero special effects seemed appropriate most of the time.

I found the movie entertaining as light-hearted fare in the superhero genre. I didn't have high expectations for the movie and was pleasantly surprised at the overall quality of the film. If you are a gay comics fanboy, I do recommend this a fun rental.

I just saw the movie tonight at the Gay & Lesbian Film Fest in Palm Desert, California. It was a funny movie - patterned after other comic book superhero movies, but with gay characters. My favorite parts were the cameos. Nichelle Nichols was awesome & looks as beautiful as she did when she filmed Startrek. I always enjoy seeing Lou Ferrigno of Incredible Hulk fame - and he looks terrific and as muscular as ever. It's nice to see him in a speaking part & wearing his hearing aids - he is a great example of a real-life superhero. The movie had gay characters, but they weren't all just stereotypical buffoons like in many gay movies & sitcoms. Though romance was in the air, the characters abstained from any physical contact - in the tradition of true superheros. It is a low budget, independent film - and as such I wasn't expecting a Spiderman-type blockbuster movie with special effects in excess. Instead, the plot and characters carried the movie, with only minimal special effects. I hope the movie finds a distributer, or at least shows up as a DVD, so I can see it again.

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.

The current rating for this film is about 3, with a large number of 1 votes being cast. I can only speculate, but I suspect the 1 votes are mostly coming from humourless fanboys seeking to view everything that stars like Lou Ferrigno have ever done (like cameos in the two recent Hulk films) checking out this film on that basis, and being unable to deal with its awesome gayness, which is mostly revealed through double entendres in a tamer way than the Ambiguously Gay Duo. (But I am disappointed I didn't detect a reference to Surge Studios...) Either that, or people are not being properly recruited before receiving their gay cards.

Truthfully, it is a bit odd that nearly everyone in the film reads as gay. Even in a Big City, that's not realistic. Not that it has to be realistic (it is a superhero movie after all) but then it should be explained.

The acting in this film is absolutely dreadful. It's NOT the worst I've ever seen, but it's pretty bad. And the effects and editing some times are just as painful to watch.

But there is something so charming about the story. True, some of the charm radiates from Gavin/Surge as a person. But it's a good, sweet, and funny story as well, and the writer deserves the credit. Oh wait! It's the same guy. That's either really adorable or really creepy in a Tom Cruise's ego kind of way. I'm going with adorable until proved otherwise. I wish this film had at least 20 times the budget to see what could be done with it. Consider Hancock, for example.

This film is a treat for fans looking for cameos and references to science fiction or superhero films. You've got the Hulk, Uhura, others (hey, I can't know everyone), and references to pretty much everything.

The recurring appeals to the Christian religion seemed out of place to me. It's a science fiction superhero movie -- not exactly the place to get all religious on us. However, nobody in the film actually received help from a deity to do anything, and that dovetails in with one theme of the film, which is self-confidence.

In summary, I'm looking for more from this team, and somebody needs to fund them properly.