Higher Power (2018) User Reviews (80)

NICE CONCEPT, WEAK FOLLOW THROUGH

[kirbylee70-599-526179 · 5/10 · 14 September 2018]

There are tons of movies being made these days, some ranging from spectacular to others the bottom of the heap. Most movies tend to fall into the category of not bad but not quite worth repeat viewings. Setting aside those movies made for zero budgets that cater to a special crowd (splatter drenched horror films, which I love, come to mind) and looking at movies intending to be better we are now presented with HIGHER POWER.

The concept is nice. A maniacal scientist (Colm Feore) is intent of saving the world in spite of itself. His project abandoned he moves forward with it on his own. He searches for the perfect subject to employ and finds one in Joseph Steadman (Ron Eldard). Steadman has a scarred past of alcoholism and violence. His wife now deceased he's no longer in touch with his children, one of whom is a college student who wants nothing to do with him the other a junkie on the streets.

Knocked unconscious Joseph wakes to find a heck of a headache and someone talking to him inside his head, the scientist. He's given instructions on what to do and if he doesn't follow through images are transmitted to his brain that allow him to see his daughters and the danger they are in. With no choice but to follow along he does so, moving from one task to the next. Each task makes him angrier and angrier, those long held back rages he's been dealing with coming to a head.

And with each burst of anger and rage a power is building inside of him as well. Eventually his tasks lead him to a huge generator and it is from this generator that he will be transformed into a hero, one that we need to save the world from a destructive gamma beam headed for our planet that was mentioned briefly in the film's opening moments.

What sounds like a great story is pretty good but would have made a much better episode of say THE TWILIGHT ZONE than a 93 minute film. The effects are the most amazing thing about the film and set it above many others in the same genre. The cinematography is well done as well. The acting is much better than one would expect from a film like this too.

But the pacing of the film does it great harm. It feels like it takes forever for the story to move forward. This is why it would make a better TV episode than film, the amount of time wasted to develop what is happening. The characters feel more like cardboard cutouts, characters we recognize without having to invest much thought into. Even Eldard who I consider a much better actor than the roles he's been presented in the past, can't save this film from mediocrity.

This is also one of those films that if you've seen the trailer then the odds are pretty good you'll be able to figure out what's taking place long before the film itself tells you. It will also provide you with enough footage to figure out what the outcome of the film will be. The movie is not the worst thing I've ever seen and some might find it mildly entertaining for a night but it's not one that will result in repeat viewings or on a list of films you tell friends they must see.

Almost good but it's just not

[iceman88869 · 4/10 · 13 May 2018]

Almost all of the acting is terrible and 90% of the dialog is horrible. You never develop any interest in what happens to any of the characters. The main character just does not seem right for the role. The reason I am able to give this movie four stars is because of the special effects. This movie is low budget, but some of the special effects are pretty amazing for it's budget. The end of the movie is kinda strange, but I can say it was almost good for about 5-10 minutes. The rest of the movie is pretty bad. Though, it is hard to get passed the first like hour and 15 minutes to get to the interesting part because most of the movie is just boring and one of the main character's daughters is irritating. Not the worst movie I have ever seen, but FAR from the best. Easily forgotten aside from that 5-10 minutes.

Expanding brain meme the movie

[ThatOneSimpleGuy · 3/10 · 10 May 2018]

The CGI gives you a throwback feel of what movies 2 decades ago look like.

Nonsensical, unconvincing, rotten, boring

[Netjer-y-khet · 1/10 · 11 May 2018]

Nonsensical story line. Unconvincing acting. Rotten, last century computer graphics. Strawberry syrup blood. Boring, interminable silences. Unbearable.

The highlight of this rubbish is the half second of black and absolute silence at the end of the credits.

If I could have given this unmitigated trash less than 1 star, I would have.

Oof. My brain hurts

[redn_path01 · 2/10 · 13 May 2018]

The story is an amalgamation of stereotypes, failed attempts to engage the audience with the emotional suffering of the (badly acted and even worsely written) characters, and very confusing and incohesive sequences in which the main character gets observed through some flashy monochrome ... hacking interface?

Clearly the person doing the UI visuals enjoyed themselves. Sadly nothing in this movie makes any sense - not even in a humorous way, since it takes itself very, VERY serious. Which is part of the overall problem. Nobody seems to have done a reality check when getting this sort of script handed in to make a movie about.

I have a hard time thinking of anyone to recommend this movie to.... You cannot have a laugh at it, and you cannot enjoy the story. Better skip it.

Higher Power: Tries too hard to be a Hollywood Blockbuster

[Platypuschow · 4/10 · 29 May 2018]

Ever wonder what happened to Mickey Bunce from Drop Dead Fred? (1991) No me neither, but here he is as the lead of this science fiction epic and he's twice the man he used to be *Ahem*

It tells the overly convoluted tale of a man struggling to keep his family together after his wifes passing only to find himself dragged into a plot that could mean the beginning or the end of mankind.

It's an interesting creature, it really wants to be a Hollywood blockbuster but just doesn't quite have the budget. Because of this the movie flits between looking fantastic and looking like someone just bought a copy of Adobe After Effects.

The plot is certainly original but falls apart and gets a bit silly by the end. In fact to be entirely honest by the 2/3 mark I think they were winging it and it simply didn't have quite the structure it did until that point. It's like they were given a fascinating concept but someone forgot to give them an ending.

For it's originality alone Higher Power deserves praise and had this been given a sizeable budget, better writers and erm.....maybe better cast this might have been something quite special.

There is definetly something there, but whatever it was is sadly neutered, stripped for parts and kicked down some stairs. Poor lil beggar.

The Good:

Some great sfx

Very original

The Bad:

Some poor sfx

Nothing quite fits together

Even the usually excellent Colm Feore seemed to be phoning it in

Things I Learnt From This Movie:

Gods are man made, oh wait no already knew that

Mickey Bunce ate Phoenix Cates!

Could have been so much more!

[i_hijump · 2/10 · 27 May 2018]

The superhero flick that never was.

I can summarize this movie in two sentences without giving you any spoilers...

"Ahhh Aaaaaaaarrrrrhhhhhh!!" and "WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME??"

Had this movie had some actors and some dialogue other than the above two sentences it might have been a sleeper hit! As it was, the hero was horribly portrayed and wholly unbelievable. My ears were hurting from his screaming by the end of the movie.

The "villain" was about as good as he was in Riddick, although that's not saying much. However, he was the bright spot in the movie... the only bright spot.

Again... put some actual thought into dialog and make the hero get through the movie without making your own vocal chords hurt and you have a decent movie.

Don't waste 92 minutes of your life

[stefan_markoski · 3/10 · 23 May 2018]

The only thing that is good in this movie are the CGI effects. Everything else is not good (bordering - bad). You can watch the first 15-20 minutes and than jump to the last 10 minutes.

Pleasenly surprised - see it, ignore the rating

[kanenasanonas · 7/10 · 7 July 2018]

Well, another proof that IMDB rating and review quality is going downhill.

After seeing the reviews I almost skipped this one. Glad that i didn't.

Story: 7+ and actually a fresh take on the superhero saga Cinematography: 7 Special FX: 8, they where actually better than Justice League and on a tiny budget Acting: 5+. This is what makes this film hurt. Better star power would make it a true success.

You Be The Judge. Oh, I'm No Robot

[MTZink · 2/10 · 26 May 2022]

Rats. Going down fast; bare 2 stars by now (16 min in, I quit) This looked like it had potential but got suspicious 10 minutes in. Better check IMBD reviews. Gauge worth vs. Waste of precious life left on Earth.

Hmmm. How to decide against an odd mix of SUPER reviews and BAD?

1. Pick and read 1 (or 2) highest AND lowest reviews.

2. Go back to flick for 90 more seconds. What's your gut telling you?

That's all. Besides noting all the rave reviews have odd grammar, unrealistic absence of contractions ("I am" vs "I'm") and sound like the text of your latest camcorder manual.

This work needs appreciation

[lichtographen · 8/10 · 30 October 2018]

It's not like I would watch it again but... 500k and this film as a result needs respect. If I would have made this film I would be damn proud of it. It's cringy and awesome, it's ugly and beautiful. Could it been better? Yes! Should that guy who made that film make more? Yes! Is he able to do it with a 1 Star Rating? No! So here you go with 8!

Enjoyable

[jayflores-29562 · 7/10 · 23 November 2018]

I got into this last night without knowing anything about this movie, not seeing reviews, trailers, honestly never heard of this movie before last night and I was a bit skeptical...slow opening then about a qtr of the way through it hooked me..the ending was very unique, a hidden message was in the final scenes if you looked hard enough....don't skip this one.

Doctor Manhattan What

[macauleyjustin · 1/10 · 16 May 2018]

This movie is perhaps 2018's dumbest movie. Stupid plot and stupid story line and the character is a complete rip off of Doctor Manhattan.

Resisting the universe

[TheLittleSongbird · 2/10 · 9 July 2018]

'Higher Power' drew me into seeing it, with a cool poster/cover, an intriguing if not particularly original premise and as someone with a general appreciation for horror. That it was low-budget, which from frequent personal experience is rarely a good sign due to that there are so many poor ones out there, made me though apprehensive as well as the low rating and poor reviews.

It is sadly however yet another film seen recently, hence some reiteration because the exact same strengths and flaws those films have are present here, that to me was incredibly disappointing considering its potential which it doesn't do anywhere near enough with. 'Higher Power' is very bad, with a plethora of problems (huge ones too and the worst assets are awful) and doesn't do enough with its potential, which was hardly small. There is next to nothing to recommend.

Lets start with the few positives. The setting is atmospheric and spooky and some of the photography is not bad.

Unfortunately, it is not done justice by the rather direct to video schlocky way it's edited and the drab colour palette, so much so it was hard to appreciate it, it was very clear that the film was made in a rush with no care or enthusiasm. The editing makes one nauseous.

Going on further to the negatives, the story does feel paper thin, disjointed and over-stretched and some of it feels vague, under-explained in the last third where the film especially became duller, more predictable, more senseless and less scary. Too many characters are too sketchy and with nowhere near enough to make one want to endear to them. Their annoying and illogical decision making and behaviours frustrates.

Making the film feel bland and forgettable with not enough heart put into it. The effects are ropy at best, the sound quality is obvious and utilised cheaply (being too loud in the build ups and people's reactions) and it's best not mentioning the uniformly lumbering and histrionic acting that shows a huge indifference to the situation and what is going on and extremely awkward prolonged pauses.

Dialogue can be stilted and rambling, with lots of clichés, lots of unintentional humour that makes some of the film play like a really bad spoof and no depth whatsoever, while the pace goes to a standstill very quickly and drags on forever with very little going on worth caring about and useless padding, never recovering. Found too many the supposedly shocking and fun moments not surprising or suspenseful and the atmosphere dreary, due to the excessive obviousness, a lot of dumb and vague moments, attempts to take itself seriously (that it becomes over-serious) and explanations and the lack of tension and suspense. Would not have minded the lack of originality (the film is extremely derivative and in a dumbed and watered down way) if the story and atmosphere were at least alright in execution, in reality they were both very poorly done.

A lot of 'Higher Power' has underdeveloped plot elements and often nonsensical and confusing character motivations, while too many of the things to make you intrigued or shocked are far from creative, intriguing or tense. The ending makes the film finish on an incomplete and confused whimper, as well as a ridiculous one.

There is not enough threat, and what there is of it tends to be used poorly, it is completely unimaginative and more odd than creepy, completely failing to show any sense of horror or creativity. Everything here is neither creative, suspenseful or nail-biting and a lot of it makes very little sense and induces many face-palms. Some badly sagging momentum too that makes one lose interest too quickly too early. The direction is leaden and like their heart was not in it or ill at ease, with the chemistry between the characters and actors coming over as constantly random and aggressive with the subtlety of an axe.

Overall, very bad. 2/10 Bethany Cox

It's what you'd expect from a VFX artist directed movie

[konidias · 3/10 · 20 September 2019]

The dialogue and acting is really... really bad. Let me just get that out of the way first. The visual effects work is really well done, but that is to be expected when a VFX artist was the one directing it. This movie feels more like a VFX artist's idea of "this would be cool to do effects for" than a really well fleshed out movie.

Just the fact that the first 9 minutes of this movie is bloated with exposition and opening credits is enough to know this movie is really pretentious and thinking it's higher concept than it really is. The opening is reminiscent of The Matrix opening, with character's voicing over some tech-y opening screens... but then it just drowns itself in techno screens and VFX opening credits until you're bored out of your mind and just want the movie to be over already.

The lead actor for this movie is definitely an "average Joe" in every sense of the word... and honestly the whole reasoning behind why he's the "chosen one" is pretty dumb. Not to mention his reaction to the entire ordeal is so not in character for anyone who actually had god-like powers bestowed upon him. He seems more like he's just confused the whole time instead of first being surprised and afraid, and then learning to use the powers and have fun with it.

I think anyone who was given immense power like this would surely find it terrifying at first and then quickly realize how cool it is and just revel in it a bit. Nope, not this guy. He is just confused the whole time and really angry.

The other guy... the scientist dude I don't even know his name... he has so much boring dialogue throughout the movie, and is somehow able to follow our "hero" around via microphones, security cameras, drone cameras, etc... as if he's watching the movie with us. It gets to the point where he's seeing shots as we see them, which would cameramen to be literally following the protagonist around. It's a bit unbelievable.

I think the weak point overall is the story itself. The whole way they go about giving this guy power is silly. Why force him into all of this? Why not at least first just ask the guy if he wants god like abilities? He's already pretty much at the end of his rope, so why not just give him the ability? Oh, because he needs to be "angry" like the Hulk or something, to really unlock his potential. Okay, but this could still be done differently instead of just wiring him up with an earpiece and barking orders at him.

Finally the premise of a blast of radiation wiping us out is actually plausible... but the reality is that we would have zero time to detect it, and we'd be wiped out before we even knew what hit us. Not only did they detect this ray of energy coming towards Earth ahead of time, but they had enough time for the boyfriend to shoot the daughter, and for the father to get super emotional, and all of that before the beam even hits. That would be an unprecedented amount of "heads up" time for this type of event to happen. We can barely get a few seconds notice when an earthquake is going to hit.

The movie just isn't very well made. You can tell it's low budget... not by the VFX but by everything else. This type of movie could be really well done with better writing, better actors, and an overall better plot. So in the end, great concept but terrible execution. All 3 stars I'm rating this movie go solely to the neat VFX.

I wonder what the film was like?

[normanshaftnasty · 1/10 · 18 May 2018]

Couldn't stand the seemingly never ending opening credits. I watched eight minutes getting more and more annoyed before giving up. Utterly pointless.

Cause and effect

[nogodnomasters · 2/10 · 9 October 2018]

Loser Joe Steadman (Ron Eldard ) becomes a puppet in an experiment in power and mind control because of his DNA. He is motivated to reunite with his estranged daughters. Meanwhile, a gamma-ray burst is headed straight for Earth and will destroy us in a white light.

The characters were lame. The film has a misconception of the effect a gamma-ray burst would have on the Earth. Also, the bursts travel at the speed of light, so it is impossible to have an early warning from a satellite. They spent a lot of money on special effects, like putting lipstick on a pig.

Guide: F-word. No sex or nudity.

not the moral I wanted to to be given

[kindar-10659 · 3/10 · 2 June 2019]

Higher Power is the story of a broken man turned into a weapon with the goal of saving the earth, no matter the number of people who need to suffer to get there.

The story isn't bad, the relationships between the father and his daughters, as well as his own demons, is interesting to watch, as well as the progression of his character, but ultimately it's a movie that tells us men in power can use whoever they want, so long as their goal is to save more people than they hurt.

I just can't agree with that, and because of that, the ending doesn't work for me.

Amazing Visuals & Some Truly Original Science FIction Ideas

[omendata · 7/10 · 17 November 2018]

I was not expecting much from this but boy was I wrong!

Starts off a bit pedestrian but slowly builds into a really well crafted and visually stunning movie that blows everything else this year out of the water.

Some deep and thought worthy ideas that will make you think and that is what makes this one stand out for me, most especially when you consider the tiny budget it was made on. Compare this to turds like Pacific Rim II which had tens of millions wasted this is a masterpiece in comparison!

If you like your brain tweaked , are desperate for some real Science Fiction ideas that have not been copied a million times over and want to see what clever CGI guys can do with a small budget like John Carpenter and his crew did years ago on similar budgets then give it a go - you might just be surprised - I was!!!

Great visuals

[pauldurso-89647 · 1/10 · 30 September 2021]

Well. For the most I wish Marvel made this as some of the effects were amazing. If I could imagine how I'd line to see a Silver Surfer movie this is it. BUT. The cast were awful, and reminded me of a sci fi version of SAW. Ive been in so e bad films myself ( Red Rrmy Hooligans, Borstal, Arthur's Doll, Scare Attraction) so I know a bad film when I see one but this was awful. The concept is so far fetched that it is just plain stupid and I dont go for philosophical films, I'm more of your Bad v Good superhero films . I can honestly say I've cared more that the postman was 2 min late . I can neither recommend this or say avoid as like in life sone people like marmite , some hate it.

Whoa...

[brotherbrando · 9/10 · 26 April 2019]

This is my kind of movie. Ominous and enigmatic, unfolding into the ultimate highest power. Very beautiful visuals coloring a tale told of a fallen father who rises up after being captured and tortured by some secret, rogue, government scientist project.

No way this deserves such a low rating

[glueShoe · 7/10 · 7 August 2020]

It builds slowly but when the action starts it's explosive and creative. 7/10

?????????

[euronick61 · 1/10 · 22 October 2021]

............What on Earth was all that about ????? .. I haven't got a clue ........... Answers on a postcard please.

Just filling this bot in with nothing as it has to be at least 150 characters.

dog acting

[simonegallina · 1/10 · 9 December 2018]

Despite the unconventional special effects, I was bored after 15 minutes for this totally z-movie. Sorry to tell, but main character unappealing fit to the role, was a reason to leave this flick at once.

A catapult built out of chopsticks

[Kamurai25 · 4/10 · 24 June 2020]

An okay watch, probably won't watch again, and can't really recommend.

I don't really have anything good to say about the cast: Colm Feore is kind of a typecast "creepy villain" and he work the role as best he could, and the only other person I recognized was Jordan Danger (Eureka) (I completely didn't recognize Jade Tailer (Magicians).

This was clearly a passion project on a budget, and production value is good fro what it looks like, but it's surprising to recognize this as a 2018 movie.

The concept was magnificent, but the writing just wasn't very strong: I'm not sure how many "regular" people are familiar with "higher power" in a sobriety support system, and this is rather anti-thetical to that mantra when it comes down to it. This movie is very much about taking control, not living with what one can't control.

I honestly have no idea if the writing or pacing was horrible, whether there were things left out to make me care about this situation more (I don't think there were), or Ron Eldard just under performed (the movie is designed for that character to carry the movie, another point against it).

There are some interesting conceptual parts to this, but for most audiences, stay away.