Yet another superhero movie, one might think. But the story of Higher Power is actually an intriguing idea, sprinkled with good visual effects. Only a pity that the plot is not crafted to its potential.
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Higher Power illustrates the story of Joseph Steadman (Ron Eldard), a widowed man struggling to get his family together while battling his inability to control his anger. He became the best subject for a maniacal scientist to test his invention, which puts Joe through trials and phases, thus imbuing him with a power bigger than the universe.
The Good
For a movie low on budget, Higher Power has pretty good visual effects. At least it is one thing done right to bring across the sci-fi and superhuman elements.
The Bad
Although the premise of Higher Power is good, the scriptwriting did not do the movie justice. The build up is slow and makes one wonder when all the action will begin. And when it does, the climax is nothing near spectacular. Running at 93 minutes, the movie definitely felt longer.
The tension and anxiety that the world is ending (gamma ray burst of a dying star shot in the direction of Earth) was not conveyed well, which makes it feel like the objective of making Joe stronger and to realise his true potential is vague. As a result, the conflict between saving the world (successfully utilising the power) and destroying the world (failure to control the power in addition to the imminent gamma ray burst) is almost non-existent.
And The Summary
Yet another superhero movie, one might think. But the story of Higher Power is actually an intriguing idea, sprinkled with good visual effects. Only a pity that the plot is not crafted to its potential.
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