In his return to the screen, super hero Surge leaves Big City for a visit to Las Vegas where he’ll find adventure, love, and celinedionium. While trying to save the city and possibly the world, he also attempts to help a friend and figure out more about life.
Written by Antonio Lexerot, Vincent J. Roth, and John Venturini with Lexerot directing in collaboration with Roth; Surge of Power: Revenge of the Sequel is a sequel that is easy to watch without having seen the first one and an adventure in its own right. The film is light-hearted, good-hearted super hero adventure with its heart in the right place. It’s a simple enough story with some outrageous bits here and there that keep the audience entertained and interested. The story is simple and the outcome can be guessed early on, but it does not deter from its entertainment value. The humor in the film is fun and light with a few odd jokes here and there. The film as a whole is funny and fun; something the writing clearly had a lot to do with.
Also having a lot to do with the humor is timing and the cast chosen to deliver it. The cast is led by Vincent J. Roth as Surge. His work is decent, with a few moments of brilliance, but also a few moments that are not so good. His acting gives the tone for most of the film with performances that are decent overall with some good and some bad moments. The overall effect is that it’s uneven even when it’s decent with a few bright spots. The fun of the film for some will come in the random casting of people that can only be called “Convention Regulars”, part of the film is even short at a comic book convention where people comment on Surge as a superhero. Some of that cast is fun to watch but some of them are flat out cringe-worthy unfortunately. Some play themselves, some play characters, the choices as to who does what seems arbitrary and a bit random, but it’s still interesting to watch.
The cinematography by Mario DeAngelis looks good and gives the film a bit more visual interest. The drone shots of Las Vegas as stunning but feel a bit like stock footage unfortunately. This does not mean that they are out of place or not well done, just not in the same style as the rest of the film which is something that distracts a bit from time to time. The way Vegas is filmed otherwise is not the usual “glitz and glam” way of most movies set there and is a welcomed change.
Surge of Power: Revenge of the Sequel is a fun, light watch with its heart in the right place. The people involved are clearly talented and doing what they want to do in life. The result is unfortunately uneven which is one of those “too bad” situation as the film has a ton of potential yet it doesn’t fully bring forward in its final result. It’s a decent watch with lovely ideas and people behind it.