During a freak accident involving an experimental microwave antenna, two tower engineers gain superhuman abilities. While the powers they gain are similar, the paths they decide to take are not. Derek Powers wants to use his abilities to help others and to uncover the truth behind Randall Communications Incorporated (RCI), the company who designed the antenna. Meanwhile, Jay Powers secretly becomes part of the experiments performed by RCI, whose lead scientist, Tina Viccarini, is a former love interest of Jay. This series of events ultimately leads to the birth of a new superhero and supervillian.
The Photon Effect has a well-paced storyline which successfully blends in humor and action with characters that draw your attention. Director/Writer Dan Poole brings his own character to life playing Derek Powers opposite Derek Minter who plays Jay Powers (Photon’s cousin). One thing that could make or break a movie for me is how well the dialogue flows between person to person. While there are scenes in the film that are a bit bland, overall this film had some of the best writing I’ve seen in an indie film. Both Poole and Minter have an undeniable chemistry in their many scenes that you could believe they were cousins and the banters between the two most times come off as real and entertaining. Even separated the two did great.
Ariana Almajan plays Tina, a former flame of Jay Powers. While her acting was good, I felt this character wasn’t developed properly. Sure they made it clear she was bad news but I felt there wasn’t enough there to show why exactly Jay still held a torch for her. In the flashback scenes showing the two’s time together she came off as, well, bitchy and uninteresting.
The effects in the film were hit or miss. The various scenes they showed Photon running alongside a certain motorcyclist came off as very cheesy. Some of my favorite scenes, effect wise, were when Derek faces off against a few members of the RCI’s field team. Not only was the choreography fun to watch but the special effects blended in so naturally, you’d forget this is a low budget film.
Overall, an entertaining film which brings forth real, relatable characters in a story that is worthy of the comic book/super hero genre. I have actually sat and watched this film a few times since bringing it home and am happy to have it in my library for future views. I also hope to see a sequel in the future.
Special Features:
Commentary With Dan Poole, Derek Minter, and Doug Adams: This commentary track is really interesting for those (like me) that enjoy learning what took place behind the scenes of a film and what went into creating a motion picture. I feel this commentary is must listen for the filmmakers with a low budget as it's filled with tips and some do's and do not's of making your film.
Alternate Ending: I'm going to guess this was just for laughs and it succeeded. If you get this DVD, this is worth watching for sure.
Behind the Scenes: This three part section contains some humorous tips for putting a set together on a low budget, filming the scene which Poole and Minker crash through two walls, and filming the sound for the feature. I personally enjoyed the "Double Wall Crash" footage, but all three offered laughs.
Rating: 4 out of 5