Powder

1995

SF elements

strange child with weird powers

Review

Every now and again a mainstream writer will have a go at SF, and will produce something they seem to think is new, fresh and original, but just makes the SF-literate groan "oh no, not that old thing again". That's the feeling I got when watching Powder .

A shy, gentle, bald albino teenager is found living on a remote farm when his grandfather dies. He gets taken to the local school, where the pupils treat him as a weirdo, he displays an affinity for electricity, and the teachers discover he's a genius. There's a sequence of mostly unconnected scenes where his strange powers are used to help, amuse, and often frighten people, leading up to the Grand Finale, where he has to leave because he's obviously too Good and Advanced to live in our Ignorant and Corrupt world.

Slow, disjointed, and not very original. The saccharine theme music just contributes to the feel of Someone Trying To Give Us An Important Message.

Rating: 5

[ unmissable | worth watching | passes the time | mind candy | waste of time | unfinishable ]