Higher Power stars Ron Eldard as the beleaguered chosen one to save the world from apocalypse by gamma ray burst. Storm of the Century’s Colm Feore plays the mad scientist who believes that his escalating experiments on the widow and father of two will lead to humanity’s salvation. Will the protagonist be able to harness his power in time to save himself, his family and the world? Will the preview be better than the movie?
I saw the preview for Higher Power, immediately added it near the top of my queue then eagerly gobbled it up soon thereafter. I love watching apocalypses and seeing people adjust to having superpowers so I was optimistic that I would enjoy this film, especially since I have enjoyed Eldard since Men Behaving Badly, and Feore is a solid actor. Hell froze over and my mom, who hates fiction, sci fi, action, horror and basically any genre that I love, decided to join me. Well we agreed on this movie-it was dreadful.
Even though Higher Power was only ninety-three minutes long, it felt longer. It was a Lifetime movie for men complete with a dying wife, estranged daughter and daughter on drugs, and did I mention that the protagonist has anger management/addiction issues? The human storyline needs to be just as good as the fantastic one, but someone made the mistake and thought that if both were mediocre, it would be alright instead of duller than dishwater. The pacing was dreadful, and the story was a series of implausibly strung together conspiracies to push one guy to the edge. I think that the film is supposed to make the viewer feel morally compromised for wanting to see the superhero emerge and basically side with the amoral mastermind, but the movie made me feel nothing except a deep sorrow for wasting my time and credibility with my mother.
The real drama of Higher Power is supposed to be the mind games between the protagonist and the mad scientist, but it is too cliché and contrived to get invested in. The villain even plays with steel balls. Eye roll. At least if there was a catalogue for Sharper Image casually open on his desk, I could have chuckled. In the past, Feore basically played a vaguely Satanic baby stealer yet I still could never buy that this disgruntled employee could gather the resources and manpower to execute this plan. Also the plan requires a level of absurd detail and setup that extends beyond the protagonist that when it is revealed, I just thought, “Two plus two equals bread, got it. Can the movie end now?” After another monologue, I felt myself evolving under the torture. Does the entire audience become gods after enduring this verbose villain? How does he get any work done if he talks all the time?
When Higher Power finally gets to the excitement of Eldard wielding his powers, there is not a single memorable moment of action that gave me a thrill. The father gets to beat up the people who exploited his child. Yawn. Anger is my superpower too, but I am not too sure if a movie’s lesson should be screw managing your anger, let it explode to save everyone. Generally angry guys are forces of destruction and death. I know that we are supposed to think of him as a father who so loves his daughters that it will translate into protecting the world, but um, it does not. So we are rooting for the hero to relapse, which is one of the factors that got him estranged from his family? Um, also, how? If the storm does not kill them, then he could kill everyone by simply existing with unlimited power and having an episode, and if not, why? Isn’t a being big enough to destroy a space storm capable of destroying the planet that he occupies? I actually care about the mythology behind the story and never felt as if I could completely buy in on the ground floor. I was only concerned that the protagonist could not afford to lose his security deposit if the whole god thing did not work out. Seven years of bad luck.
If two characters are going to spend the entire movie talking to each other, they should have an intriguing dynamic. There is no chemistry or real sense of common ground. The best interplay is with people who could admire or enjoy each other’s company under different circumstances, but these guys probably don’t even consider eating the same snacks. Eldard’s character is too normal and average to ever be capable of protecting anyone, and Feore’s character is too remote and cliche. Higher Power’s entire story feels derivative of better television series such as the first and weakest season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., movies such as Unbreakable or characters such as The Hulk. I found out after watching the film that the story was like a prequel to Dr. Manhattan, and while I am not a Watchmen expert, no, absolutely not except in terms of the end result of his evolution maybe if I squint, tilt my head and pretend like I know nothing about the character, which is not far from the truth since I have only watched the movie, not seen the television series or read the comic book.
Higher Power is the precise reason that I am tired of villains listening to classical music while harming people. The film is visually redundant and flat. The protagonist’s memories are home movies. Footage of the approaching gamma rays feels like it is the same CGI played on a loop. Are the gamma rays planning a heist and using the apocalypse space storm as a distraction while they steal jewels from Jupiter? While I initially appreciated the color choice of purple instead of green, seeing the same cloud of purple dampened the intended effect. Even the found footage elements failed to raise my pulse, and it is my guilty pleasure.
If I had to think of one reason to root for Higher Power, it is in joy that Winston James Francis, who was great as Jaco during the sixth season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., appears briefly so got a credit to his name and probably paid a bill, but it is not a reason to watch the movie.
I am pretty easy to please. Give me a few solid action scenes, character development, not character regression, and physical evolution, I am a happy camper, but even I cannot think of a reason why you should waste a moment of your time and watch Higher Power. It is not the cast who has done better work elsewhere. If you saw the preview, you already saw the best parts of this film. A low budget cannot stop a good story. Not even a synthetic god could save this movie. Please, dear god, no sequel. I would prefer to live in a world of CW series of gods and apocalypses. Where are Xena, Buffy, the Winchesters when you need them?