About Two Notches Below TV Movie Status
This is a film I just knew I wasn’t going to like, based on several factors, with the cast being just one of them. The nice poster too, sort of gave me pause for thought, for when I see a low-budget movie with a better poster than they should have been able to budget for, it makes me wonder. Sean Patrick Flanery has been riding the coat-tails of The Boondock Saints since 1999, when he played Connor MacManus, but that isn’t his fault I suppose. He just doesn’t seem to be getting any much needed breaks, although he’s doing his thing in the Dexter final season. Then we have the still very much sexy Kristanna Loken, who co-starred beside Arnie in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines which should really have been her big break, but sadly, it was not to be. Instead Kristanna has had a string of low budget affairs and TV show appearances, which means she’s at least working, but she could have been a contender. A shame really. Chris Carmack is another actor who floats about the TV movie circuit, where being able to act (or not) isn’t always an issue. His choices of role aren’t always the wisest, nor are some of the titles, like Masturbate for Life, for example.
- Dark Power
- Director
John Milton Branton - Cast
Sean Patrick Flanery, Kristanna Loken and Chris Carmack - Release Date
9 July, 2013 - Ed’s Grade: D-
The direction was a bit shaky at times but my problem is with the script, written by Dark Power producer Miguel Pagan. Well, I’m not sure how this story came about but I suspect it was written very quickly, without anyone pointing out the obvious lapses in reason, or an editor to say “no, no, no!” as the plot-holes and silliness piled up.
The Mayor gives a press conference telling unhappy reporters he’ll do his best to help combat crime. He decides to work late, but as luck would have it, a brand new security guard is starting that very night (tsk tsk Mr Pagan), who clearly doesn’t know his backside from his elbow. The head of security quickly explains the system, showing him the alarm keypad and telling him the number to arm it, should anything go wrong. He’s then shown the shotguns, where he’s asked if he knows how to use them. You would think if a senior public official needs protecting, the last thing ever considered, would be to hire someone cold, without asking if they have at the very least rudimentary firearms knowledge or even basic combat skills. Instead, they hire a young man who I can only describe as a modern day Charlie Chaplin, minus the cane of course. He effs about with shotgun shells, then decides to not bother when something clearly suspicious is happening. His actions when he sees a red laser dot on the Mayor were laughable. Instead of attempting to swat it away, he would have done well to simply duck — or move. Anything but that!
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After the Mayor is killed, another official is murdered in the same way, and they have a suspect who sticks out like a sore thumb anyway. It was like being at a Christmas show, where the kids yell out “It’s behind you!” A budding young photographer has his camera recording time lapse. It catches the killers in the act, so obviously the photographer becomes a target (after much hullabaloo) and our crime fighting duo must deal with a dark force of useless killers, who appear to enjoy giving pointless injections to people, and tying them to chairs they later knock over. This really is a movie to watch when absolutely nothing else is available. Even watching the beautiful Kristanna in action wasn’t enough. Sadly, this one isn’t worth the effort.
Review by Lead Entertainment Writer, Ed Blackadder
