Surge of Power: Where There's Smoke (2024)

-Written by Michelle Vorob.

Surge of Power: Where There's Smoke is the fifth installment in the Surge of Power franchise. Fun, campy and filled with guest stars, Surge of Power: Where There's Smoke turned out to be exactly what I needed after a long day, while still being a family friendly (PG-13) superhero spoof. 

Currently showing at various film festivals, Surge of Power: Where There's Smoke is also available to stream online by heading to surgeofpower.org. You can also find lots of fun and additional information about the entire Surge of Power collection by going to the aforementioned website. 

Surge (Vincent J. Roth) meets and teams up with The Smoke (Eric Moran) to defeat budding villain, Falling Apple (Stephanie Ahn). Along the way, they team up with other superheroes, encounter more villains, and receive sage guidance from Omen (dual role by Nichelle Nichols & Robert Picardo) and Mortrigard (Tim Russ).

Part of the fun watching Surge of Power: Where There's Smoke was seeing so many pop culture icons in one film. I loved seeing Bruce Vilanch as Janus. But wait, there's more! Shannon Farnon, Michael Gray, Joseph Culp, Sam J. Jones, John Davey, Kevin Caliber, Chase Cortese, and Cie Allman all join in the fun. 

There's an extensive cast in Surge of Power: Where There's Smoke and they seemingly all conspired to make me laugh. Yes, I literally laughed a few times. While it works in a live-action format, I could see Surge of Power: Where There's Smoke thriving as an animated series as well. 

What's always been entertaining to me about parodies is the double layer. Despite the fact that you have a story poking fun at the genre it's portraying, you also have a work that has had to “world-build,” same as if it weren't a parody. This inevitably results in say, a dynamic origin story, or a touching moment between characters, same as if it weren't a parody. Surge of Power: Where There's Smoke happens to deliver several of these, all while never taking itself too seriously, or rather, taking nothing seriously. Think The Naked Gun or Spaceballs.

All this to say Surge of Power: Where There's Smoke is an entertaining superhero spoof. Whether you want to watch as a stand alone movie, or dive in and experience the entire collection, Surge of Power: Where There's Smoke is an hour well spent.

Directed by Mario DeAngelis, Jeff Rector, and Vincent J. Roth.

Written by Blake Casselman, Mario DeAngelis, Vincent J. Roth, Enoch Scott, and James A. Ward.

Starring Vincent J. Roth, Eric Moran, Shannon Farnon, Bruce Vilanch, Stephanie Ahn, Nichelle Nichols, Robert Picardo, Tim Russ, Kevin Caliber Thomsen, Chase Cortese, Michael Gray, etc.

8/10 = WORTH RENTING OR BUYING

Don't forget to head over to surgeofpower.com to learn more about the film and the upcoming nationwide screening Fall tour!