Maximum Surge (2003 TV Movie) User Reviews

Fascinating but Failed Attempt at Virtual Reality

[tabuno · 4/10 · 23 January 2019]

1 April 2005. If only this movie had had a better script, better acting, better budget. This cinematic ally compelling but uninvolving movie sputters with a series of possible fascinating starts and stops in its way to a so-so ending. This great looking virtual reality series of scenes, reminiscent of Brainstorm, the premise of this movie is good - with lots of exciting, but usually poorly executed scenes with our star-virtual reality expert seemingly outmatched under most circumstances. Not a lot of brains here nor a lot of sympathy as our star actor gets punched and bruised and in some instances, almost seems to deserve it. There are some nifty cameos, poorly used. It is unfortunate that this movie couldn't have lifted itself higher because the creative idea and the photography was there. The storyline barely holds together, the dizzying spectacle of multiple virtual realities had promise. Overall, perhaps it was only the bare legs of the our feminine heroine who even seemed helpless, ditsy self that made the movie watchable. A lukewarm four out of ten stars.

This movie is just awful

[canuck-bc · 1/10 · 23 December 2003]

I appears to me that this movie was originally filmed with the intent to be used for a video game.. Almost the entire movie is filmed in the first person shooter format.. and you can tell when the input of the gamer/watcher is required. It is my guess that the original format was rejected as a game and never used... So to try to salvage something out of it, the film maker decided to make a movie out of it.. This movie is so bad, I think it may even gain momentum as a cult following like that of others in this category like "Attack of the killer tomoato's"

This move is a "C" rated movie if not lower,

Avoid it unless you are studying how bad a movie can get

It's not even good at being bad !!!

[nixx_vfx · 1/10 · 25 October 2007]

This... it's... this is just... I mean, it's...

Talk about loss for words ! Like many movie fans I suppose, I usually love bad movies, the worse, the better - they can make for great entertainment. But this merciless waste of screen space is not even good at being a bad movie. If you 're into bad movies as alternative entertainment, well - forget about this one. No, really. No, honestly, really. It's so bad-bad it's not even funny.

If you 're reading this because this movie just came on and you 're quickly checking IMDb to see what it's about, and you 're still thinking about actually watching it, please think again : are you sure your socks are all properly matched ? Perhaps now would be a good time to check, and re-match them if necessary. Actually... re-match them anyway.

I 'm struggling to find *something* good about this one. Let's see... OK, the girl ("Elaine"), and the end credits. No, wait - they sucked too. Just the girl then.

Now, where's that "Aaaah! My eyes, my eyes!" vote in IMDb's vote drop-down list...

Quite possibly the worst movie I have ever seen

[thebrucecarter · 1/10 · 25 January 2005]

...and I've seen some bad ones. While watching this (we picked it up on a "5 for $10" table, so we weren't expecting much) I said to my wife "This looks like it was cobbled together from a bunch of failed video games". Came here to IMDb to look it up, and lo and behold, it was. Acting is horrible. Plot? What plot? And it is obvious that several different technologies were used to film (video tape) the live action and effects. I can only imagine that Walter Koenig was clipped in so that they could put "Walter Koenig" on the box to hopefully snare some unsuspecting Star Trek fans. I don't know what would be a spoiler for this, since there is nothing to spoil. Even the so called "supercomputer" looks like a beer keg with the top of the robot from "Lost in Space" jammed into it. Add to that the cheap porno soundtrack and background music, and you have to wonder how this ever saw the light of day, much less got stamped into a DVD. Simply awful. And yet, they left it open for a sequel at the end.

Oh God, the Pain

[dravenlee · 1/10 · 8 April 2004]

Please. Do yourself a favour and AVOID THIS FILM. A self proclaimed Bad Movie Fan, this transcended the realm of "bad" and entered the world of "ow. ow. that's not nice. good film doesn't deserve this. ow."

With top billing going to Bleeth and Koenig, you'd at least expect some sort of ACTING out of them. Bleeth bounces around for about a full 15 minutes of the film with minimal dialogue and no direct shots of her face - unless, of course, she's yelling at the not often seen first person main character. Not even a decent body shot, which is what we all know the boys are looking for. Koenig delivers a lackluster, also hardly seen performance as the digital embodiment of a computer gone unsatisfactorily explained haywire.

Now. The movie. It wanted to be The Matrix. It wanted to be eXistenZ it wanted to be Hackers and it wanted to be Mission to Mars. In fact, it wanted to be almost Every Movie Ever. It failed. on all counts.

The plot, without giving it away (not that there's much to give away) is that the government has comissioned a supercomputer. to take over the world. by destroying it. only it's a top secret non existant branch of the government with no real chain of commaned and crap ass direction. the plot holes are so big in this baby that i could drive a mac truck through them.

y'know, i don't really want to spend the time and mental anguish neccessary to review this film. just DON'T SEE IT AVOID IT AT ALL COSTS. no matter WHAT your options are, i promise that something, anything at all, watching paint dry, is a better use of your time then this disgraceful piece of half assed cinema.

This film will bring you closer to your grave.

[Twelvefield · 1/10 · 19 January 2008]

I joined IMDb with the intent of writing about Maximum Surge. In the event that something may have happened to me before I signed on, I would have been unable to warn people away from watching this terrible, awful film. That, I imagine, would have been extremely bad for my karma. It's taken a few years since this film was made, but now perhaps my soul will find peace.

First and foremost, Maximum Surge is just excruciating to watch. Beware of films that are so bad, they are good, this isn't one of them. Likely you will only see it on television, if you do, you must change the channel or turn it off lest you become one of those sad, lost minority who sat through the whole thing.

Much of the filming took place at a school I used to work at. The filming was brief. Although the school had a policy of showing films every weekend, Maximum Surge was never shown. This was the film shot in the one place you'd figure would guarantee that it would be shown. Nope. It was so bad, you couldn't even show it to the people who worked at the location is was shot in. The school has since been sold to a large American conglomerate.

Maximum Surge will induce maximum purge of brain cells, of slack, of life force, of anything that you value as important to your life and well-being. Stay away at all costs.

beyond "not a good movie"

[capcanuk · 1/10 · 20 June 2009]

I always take the "this is the worst movie ever made" critiques on IMDb with a massive grain of salt... after all, there are threads stating that "War of the Worlds" and "The Day the Earth Stood Still" deserve that moniker. Needless to say, this film most heartily deserves the title of "One of the absolute worst films ever made". If it had been done in fun, with a light touch, as a comedic film, for kids, it MIGHT, just might have been forgivable. This film plods along, taking itself deathly seriously with some of the most dreadful acting I have ever witnessed (and yes, I've watched tons of Hammer films, and even Ed Wood films!). Just take everyone's advice, and steer clear of this stinker.