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Powder

Powder

Drama · Fantasy · 1995

Harassed by classmates who won't accept his shocking appearance, a shy young man known as "Powder" struggles to fit in. But the cruel taunts stop when Powder displays a mysterious power that allows him to do incredible things. This phenomenon changes the lives of all those around him in ways they never could have imagined.

Movie details

Powder

“An extraordinary encounter with another human being.”

1995 Drama · Fantasy 1h 52m

Critical arithmetic

The consensus, allegedly.

IMDb

6.6 / 10

35.5K votes

Rotten Tomatoes

50 %

Tomatometer

TMDB

7.1 / 10

Community rating

External scores via OMDb · CC BY-NC 4.0. Values normalized for display; availability varies by title.

Harassed by classmates who won't accept his shocking appearance, a shy young man known as "Powder" struggles to fit in. But the cruel taunts stop when Powder displays a mysterious power that allows him to do incredible things. This phenomenon changes the lives of all those around him in ways they never could have imagined.

CriticWise case file

What this film says about your taste.

Not a recommendation score. A measure of how closely the film’s taste signals resemble yours.

The archetype split

Who fights over Powder?

The split comes from the same five-axis model used by the test, not audience ratings or review sentiment.

Taste neighbourhood

Nearby on the taste map.

TMDB supplies the candidates. CriticWise reorders them by craft, strangeness, prestige, emotion, and pace.

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Where it lives

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Streaming availability data supplied by JustWatch.

Names above the title

The people responsible.

Directed by

Victor Salva

Written by

Victor Salva

Mary Steenburgen

Mary Steenburgen

Jessie Caldwell

Sean Patrick Flanery

Sean Patrick Flanery

Jeremy 'Powder' Reed

Lance Henriksen

Lance Henriksen

Sheriff Doug Barnum

Jeff Goldblum

Jeff Goldblum

Donald Ripley

Brandon Smith

Brandon Smith

Deputy Harley Duncan

Bradford Tatum

Bradford Tatum

John Box

Susan Tyrrell

Susan Tyrrell

Maxine

Court is in session

Put Powder on trial.

Two incompatible taste archetypes. One film. Read the arguments, then issue a completely binding cultural ruling.

The defence The Prestige Tourist

“Sincerity is not manipulation.”

The film risks embarrassment to make emotion communal, and that openness is harder than fashionable detachment.

The prosecution The Popcorn Loyalist

“The strings are showing.”

Every cue tells you exactly what to feel and when, leaving sentiment to do the work character should have done.