The First Power

Directed by Robert Resnikoff, The First Power follows a grizzled detective (Lou Diamond Phillips’ Russell Logan) as he’s pursued by the spirit of a vicious serial killer (Jeff Kober’s Patrick Channing). Filmmaker Resnikoff, armed with his own screenplay, delivers a progressively lackluster endeavor that fares best within its gritty, briskly-paced first half, as the movie benefits from Phillips’ entertainingly gruff performance and a recurring emphasis on larger-than-life action sequences – with, in terms of the latter, an exciting foot-and-car chase certainly ranking as a highlight within the proceedings. (And this is to say nothing of Kober’s less-than-subtle turn as the menacing, mustache-twirling villain.) It’s disappointing to note, then, that The First Power progresses into an increasingly tiresome midsection focused mostly on Russell’s investigation into Patrick’s past, and there’s little doubt, as well, that the confusion over Patrick’s supernatural abilities robs the proceedings of its stakes and even coherence (eg how is Patrick able to jump from the top of a building without getting hurt? how is he able to appear in more than one place at a time? etc, etc). By the time the somewhat anticlimactic final stretch rolls around, The First Power has cemented its place as a distressing misfire that squanders a solid premise and Phillips’ first-class work.

** out of ****