Don't listen to the negative reviews

Boring

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

Blistering performances.

This is not a quirky drama about a misfit boy with supernatural powers. It's a movie about a boy who is born fully Awakened, Enlightened or Self-Realized, who directly experiences the interwoven oneness of all things (he describes as much several times in the film,) and is unable to assimilate into a world full of beings who instead see themselves as separate and hostile to each other. As such he is similar to so many realized masters of the East - Buddha, Ramana Maharshi, etc. - who were always much more comfortable being alone in a contemplative state than attempting to mix with or teach others. If you watch the film from that perspective, you can see his plight poignantly portrayed, as he tries to relate to others, even teach them a thing or two, when he knows that at any moment he can overpower the whole small-town institutional system that's trying to hold him and help him be "normal." A very selfless act, as is the way he helps a gruff sheriff contact his dying wife, or the way he restarts the heart of an "enemy" schoolmate who humiliates and threatens to kill him. This was Salva's intention, to show how a fully awakened being could show us all the beauty & reality of life, if only we would allow him to mentor us, instead of the other way around. Beautifully acted by all involved. See it and let it touch you deeply.

I actually liked the first 20 minutes which included the hospital scene and the basement scene. I thought it had a lot of potential at the point, but instead it fizzled. When Powder has to leave the basement and venture out into the real world, he is bullied and made fun of as you would expect. I figured there were two ways the story could go. One - It could follow a path from outcast, to acceptance to hero as he uses his special powers to "save the day". Two - the bullying could turn him into a vengeful anti-hero who uses his powers to destroy the society which rejected him. Well, I was wrong. It didn't go in either of these directions. It just didn't go anywhere at all. Should be in the bottom 100.

This is a very rare gem of a movie. In a time when movies have a lot of fx to cover up a weak story, to graphic unnecessary violence and sex. Powder basically shows a pure and unique individual that is not accepted in today's society that has become jaded with discrimination, and overall being afraid of someone who looks different. There are several important elements in the movie. There is the paranormal factor that challenges what we know of science and the the human mind can achieve, the extent of human cruelty, love and forgiveness, and a hope that we may advance beyond technology. The most of all, raw emotion the reaches deep into the heart and leaves a impression that will stay with you. What also makes this movie great is that even though it is not a true story it could be. The idea of being different because of looks or something that makes you stand out from the status quo of the different groups, where we can all relate to. This movie achieves this in a powerful, passionate and inspirational way. This movie makes you sit back and take in everything, showing us what the world may be if we stop judging one another and start to accept our uniqueness. What also is shown in this movie is just that just because someone may be different with looks or how they act that they are some weaker or a part of the undesirables. Who time and again in this movie seem to show us that perception needs to be changed. One scene where we find out he has the highest I.Q. ever recorded.,to a scene where a hunter shoots a deer and powder touches the deer and the hunter and shows him the pain the deer feels before he dies that has a profound effect on the hunter. Another scene where Powder helps the local sheriff understand what his dying wife wants, which is to just reconcile with his son. You have a movie that looks like it could be a Carrie type movie but ends up showing the sad inability to treat Powder with any sense of humanity and dignity. No matter what he stays his pure positive self in some scenes showing the error of our ways and then in the end makes a final act that hopefully makes people want to change for the better.

Those you do not like or get the movie or those who feel it's stupid have one thing in common. They never grew up with a disability that made them the perpetual outsider. The one who was jeered at, constantly denigrated, beat up by groups (never just one person). In real life there is no Mary Steenburgen to stand up for them. In most cases the adults and authority figures turn a blind eye and in the worse cases join in.I do know. I grew up as a disabled person. I went through all the bigotry, ignorant taunts and carried the weight of the hate those around me felt for me, for some over which I had no control. Those people in my life and the same type here lack a important trait that makes us human, EMPATHY.