Text © Richard Gary / FFanzeen, 2018
Images from the Internet
Surge of Power: Revenge of the Sequel
Directed by Antonio Lexerot
Lexerot Enterprises / Surge of Power Enterprises LLC /
Indie Rights Movies / Salty Horror Productions
Indie Rights Movies / Salty Horror Productions
90 minutes, 2016 / 2018
Surge of Power (Surge for short) may
not be the first gay comic-style superhero, but he is quite possibly “cinema’s
first gay superhero” (emphasis mine), as the publicity for the live-action film
proudly states. The original was the 2004 release, Surge of Power: The Stuff of Heroes, but there is a 17-episode
television show, “Surge of Power: Big City Chronicles” either out (no pun
intended) or in process, which is also a talk/interview show; shades of
1993-2008’s “Space Ghost: Coast to Coast!”
Getting back to Surge and crew, I
have to be candid and say that I have seen neither the original film, nor the
television show, so I’m going at this as a stand-alone. Also I am approaching SoP as an Ally straight white male.
There, now that the formalities are out of the way…
Most superhero films these days are
not just multi-million-dollar extravaganzas, they are big; much bigger than they need to be to be interesting, actually,
in my opinion. Be it Marvel (X-Men, Black
Panther, etc.) or DC (Wonder Woman,
Batman vs. Superman, to name just a couple), they go on for hours and have
multiple plot-lines; Panther, for
example, had at least three stories in it that would have made that many decent
films, rather than three-in-one abbreviated tales, as is the trend. The digital
SFX are so huge, that the stories
lose the humanity in them through the chase for the WOW factor. This is why I don’t see many of them anymore, though I
still consider myself a comic geek.
Vincent J. Roth |
In this much smaller-scale indie film
that thinks big, Gavin Lucas (co-writer, Vincent J. Roth) is the alias of
Surge, who can focus energy, living in Big City, California. His adventures in
the first film, to get us newbies up to speed, is expositioned (yes I know that’s
not really a word) in abbreviated – and animated – form during the opening
credits. Basically, through a Flash-like accident, super powers show up in
Gavin and his co-worker (and ex-lover) Hector Harris, who becomes the
Magneto-like Metal Master (John Venturini, another of the film’s co-writers). Also
like Magneto, MM is Jewish (indicated at first by seeing him sitting alone at a
bar, spinning a dreidel). The first part of the film feels like it’s his story,
more than about Surge.
Stripped of his powers (in the first
film) and recently out of prison, MM is turned away by his parents (played by
Linda Blair and Gil “Buck Rogers” Girard), who are more disturbed about him
being gay than a master criminal. The Jew is me balked at these seemingly non-Orthodox
(but religious) Jews reacting that way; religious-niks, I can somewhat
understand, though I am repulsed by homophobia by any religious group, though
especially my own. Spurned and angry, MM is looking for a way to get back in
the Evil game, and a Magical being named Augur (Eric Roberts) has an evil plan –
and agenda – to help MM out in that direction. After the first 20 minutes or
so, the focus is back on our Christian hero, Surge.
I won’t go into the story too much, I
promise. The action does take us from California to Las Vegas and the Hoover
Dam in search of a mysterious crystal called Celinedionium (if you don’t get it,
say it out loud), drag queens, and a possible new love for Surge-io. In case
you haven’t gotten this yet, it’s all very campy and silly, and abundantly
enjoyable fun.
Gil Gerard and Linda Blair |
The humor is broad (oxymoron pun intended this time), with a near-constant
stream of jokes and ohhh-yeah references.
Some of it is a bit subtle, such as many in the cast reading the book Zen and the Art of Super Vehicle Maintenance,
or the knowing looks some characters give the audience directly by looking at
the camera.
There is a lot of blatant and subtle
(there’s that word again) references by characters of the Marvel, DC, Transformer,
Roddenberry and LucasFilms universes. Part of how they get away with this is
whenever there is a newscast, the scroll underneath the conversations that
usually contains other news stories
is actually an announcement that recognizes the copyrights of Disney,
LucasFilms, etc. If you’re a comic nerd, there are multiple bells and whistles
that will make you smile.
John Venturini and Eric Roberts |
The acting is quite decent (though
Roberts does his best John Lithgow
sit-com level purposeful over-acting), and the tone is way more chill than
most superhero films of these days. Rather than angst-filled heroes who are
fighting their own demons as well as foes, other than MM and his parents, the
deepest worry is whether Surge will find a romantic interlude. Other than cameos
(which I will discuss shortly) there is a high level of gay characters that the
odd straight one seems out of place, which is smile-worthy. I don’t seem to
recall any lesbians though… perhaps in the next film? What can I say; I’m an
Ally to all.
Nichelle Nichols |
What really makes this film sparkle
is the sheer multitude of cameos, which are Legion. The obvious ones are Blair,
Girard, etc., but the others come and go really fast. In full James Balsamo
mode, the crew went to conventions and got some great names that way, but there
are just too many to mention all, such as the last appearances of television’s
Jimmy Olson and Lois Lane, namely Jack Larson (d. 2015) and Noel Neill (d.
2016) from “Adventures of Superman” (1952-58). Some are listed in the trailer
below, but there are so many others, like (and this is such a partial, factional
list) various Power Rangers, Walter Koenig, Michael Gray of TV’s “Shazam!”
(1974-76), Cathy Garver (a voice in many television Marvel superhero cartoons,
and was also Cissy in “Family Affair” [1966-71] for my generation), and… Jeez,
Mariann Gavelo |
I could just go into IMDB and spend hours looking everyone up, it’s quite
stunning. Often, there is some hint of the association, such as Rebecca Holden
standing with the original K.I.T.T. It’s enjoyable to view just for this alone,
but the story is equally watchable.
Unlike most of the superhero films
being released these days, this one doesn’t take itself too seriously, and the
better for it. And, as a straight white male, there is something for me, too,
in the form of the relatively ironically named Mariann Gayelo. And then there’s
also Dawn Wells. ‘Nuff said.
Meanwhile, I’m hoping a third film
will come soon, and it won’t take more than 10 years.
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