Laikals The greatest movie ever made..!

Jeanskynebu the audience applauded

Boobirt Stylish but barely mediocre overall

Ella-May O'Brien Each character in this movie — down to the smallest one — is an individual rather than a type, prone to spontaneous changes of mood and sometimes amusing outbursts of pettiness or ill humor.

FlashCallahan Patrick Channing,born out of an incestuous relationship, and living through an emotionally scarring childhood, gives in to Satanic forces and becomes a murderer known as The Pentagram Killer.He becomes the main target of Detective Russell Logan, whom engages in a battle of wits with Channing in life and after death.It appears that Channing can't be stopped, because sentencing him to death gave him the titular power...If the summary sounds familiar, that's because it was remade in 1997 as the Denzel Washington film 'Fallen'. And while that film is the better known and has the bonus of a more 'talented' cast, this one is by far the most fun.Finally after years of being sandwiched between Kiefer Sutherland, Diamond Phillips gets his own action vehicle, and he's loving every minute of it.His Logan is your atypical yuppie late eighties cop. Wearing trousers up to his chin, holding a gun in a very silly way while running down dark alleyways with Melanie Griffiths less famous sister.And the film gets straight to the point with an outstanding film stealing performance from Kober as the antagonist. Kober must have known that this would have been a breakout performance for him, so he gives it his all, absolutely owning every scene that he's in.Phillips is good, but he's just playing the straight second fiddle cop to the maguffin of the film, namely the killer. So whilst we are following the narrative from Logans point of view, what your really waiting for is what he will discover next, and whose body will be taken over next.It's a good looking film, especially when you consider the budget, and the fact that it could have easily have been stuck in a fashion/music time capsule (there is the trousers though).some of the stunt work is pretty jaw dropping, even today, particularly the car chase, the way once the killer is reborn he knows martial arts, and the films standout scene, the jump from the building, which is alone worth watching the film for.So all in all, it's a forgotten slice of early nineties cheese, but thanks to the recent release of the Blu Ray, it may finally get the recognition it deserves.

oneguyrambling Lou Diamond Phillips has no less than 95 IMDb acting credits since his 1984 debut as "Punk 1" in Interface – yeah I missed that one too. Many of them are starring roles too, though since his big break in La Bamba in 87 none are bigger than his supporting role in Young Guns. Running down his list of credits shows several familiar films where you sorta think you might've seen it but can't be sure… (From a personal perspective I think I have seen around 15 of LDP's films, NONE since the 90s finished. But I quite like a few of his 90s efforts: Renegades / The Big Hit / Young Guns / Disorganised Crime). But especially The First Power. Watching this film provides all the evidence that you might need to write it off as a disposable B movie, only it is so much better than that. Sure there are cheesy moments and a couple of botched ideas, but in between there are some frankly inspired sequences and a couple of really effective parts.According to me this is the most underrated film in recent history. So there's that. That should make LDP sleep a little more soundly in his cardboard box by the side of the road.LDP is a cop named Russell Logan with a reputation for nabbing the big bad guys. Early in the film Logan nabs a guy known as the Pentagram Killer, a guy named Patrick Channing (Jeff Kober) after a lengthy investigation, a knife to the guts and an anonymous tip. It garners big press because Channing is the most notorious serial killer going, a guy who kills all his victims after various satanic rituals are performed, and he has taken many, many victims.When Channing gets the electric chair it is seen as good riddance to bad rubbish, only Logan receives a call from the anonymous tipster reminding him that the death penalty wasn't part of the deal.Too late, barbecued Channing for all! Who wants the lips, they're considered a delicacy? The only problem is that far from dreading and resisting his fate Channing seems to relish his early exit. Gee wonder why? (Kober as Channing is one of the strengths of the film, he is legitimately creepy looking and plays his role to the hilt.) So that's that then? A 25 minute film! I knew it was low budget but geez… No wait: there's more. After the execution Logan begins having visions and hearing things, If that wasn't bad enough someone has started killing again in the same way as the Pentagram Killer, all the way down to the locations and rituals.Curioser and curioser.To explain matters a red-headed psychic named Tess Seaton (Tracy Griffith) shows up unannounced at the station one day asking for Logan. After a brief back and forth Seaton gives information that only the cops or the killer would know; Logan is of course very intrigued. That is until Seaton claims that none other than the Pentagram Killer himself, Patrick Channing is behind the new batch of murders… obviously a wacko.But then people close to Logan start getting bumped off, mainly cops. He has a change of heart and revisits Tess Seaton for her thoughts along with his partner Ali (Mykel T Williamson). Tess explains that Channing's spirit has been released by his execution and is now free to roam free and possess whichever body he wants in order to perform his naughty acts.Channing preys on the weak and vulnerable, alkies, junkies and the homeless and destitute mostly, and if his "host" dies – or if he just gets bored – his spirit simply jumps to the next blissfully ignorant person. This makes him practically immortal and almost invulnerable, a welcome side issue seems to also be that the inhabited body is granted near superhero status. At times during the film they leap cars, walk through huge fireballs and jump off buildings unharmed, not a bad trade off for having one of Satan's disciples along for the ride.After finally coming around and realising there may be a grain of truth to Tess's story, helped along by him witnessing some of Channing's handiwork in person (so long Ali!) – and having a chat with him no less – the pursuit is on.So for the remainder of the film Logan and Tess are at turns hunting and hunted by Channing. They follow the trail to his childhood home, and consult with a local religious expert who explains the lengths they must go to kill him. All the while Channing keeps on killing and leaving a trail of previous discarded "hosts" in his wake.There are two spectacular stunts, a couple of quality setpieces and a few quotable lines, and thankfully the ending is also strong.Sure The First Power isn't a world beater and there are a couple of moments that show poor judgment, but if you like the vaguely sci-fi, supernatural genre there is much to admire about this film.Final Rating – 8 / 10. LDP might not have been kept too busy in recent years – at least in high profile gigs – but there is some cinematic gold hidden away in the 90s that too many are yet to discover. Combine this film with Renegades and you have a great DVD night at home.

bkoganbing The only thing that The First Power really has going for it is that it affords Jeff Kober an opportunity to play one of his lovely variety of psychotic villains that he's done so well in the last 25 years. Kober is a worthy successor to Lyle Bettger who specialized in those parts back in the Fifties.But it's not enough, The First Power is a souped up slasher flick that has Lou Diamond Phillips wasted as an LAPD detective who has a specialty in catching serial killers. Kober is his latest catch, but Kober's in league with a lower power and they're going to team up and make Lou's life miserable for him. Even after Kober is given the gas chamber, his spirit comes back in all kinds of guises.Mykelti Williamson is on hand as Lou's partner who meets a nasty end involving a demon possessed horse and Tracy Griffith as a psychic and Elizabeth Arlen as a nun with insights are around to help Lou. Will he succeed in battling forces from beyond?By the time the film ends, you no longer care. Lou really got trapped in a turkey. Maybe the devil made him do this film.

mobile707 Obviously, a movie like First Power cannot be taken seriously on all levels. But if a viewer is willing to judge it on its own terms, I think there were a few strong scenes in its favor: 1. The scene-- near the beginning of the movie-- where the nun alerts the bishop of her concerns. I particularly enjoyed how the bishop tries to envision how the press will portray the Church if he goes public. One can sense that this man has been burned by the media before, and dreads having to say anything "weird" or "controversial" in front of the cameras.2. The scene where L.D.P. is in confession, and the priest morphs into someone else. The priest's response ("First, I must ask a question of my own") was very effective, and the fact that L.D.P. admits that he has fallen away from the Church shows that he is slowly realizing that he is confronted with something/someone that his own world-view (which is implicitly agnostic) cannot explain or understand.3. The scene where L.D.P. dreams of the execution in the gas chamber-- interesting because the audience thinks it's "real"...I disagree with the other reviewer who could not understand why the villain did not move on to "more important" stuff instead of toying with Phillips. I imagine that corrupting the cop's soul was at the very top of his agenda from the start.Anyway, 1st-Power is hardly a classic, but I thought it did stand out from the crowd of horror-thrillers.