"Nerve" directors Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman team up with Academy Award winner Jamie Foxx and Golden Globe nominee Joseph Gordon-Levitt to enliven this action-superhero film about a drug that can grant anyone superpowers for five minutes.
"Project Power" is Netflix's latest attempt following the success of Gina Prince-Bythewood's "The Old Guard." The story follows an ex-military, Art (Foxx), who joins forces with a teenage drug-dealer and aspiring rapper, Robin (Dominique Fishback), and a police officer, Frank (Gordon-Levitt), to find the source of a drug called "Power" and to save his daughter, Tracy (Kyanna Simone Simpson), from a drug syndicate.
On paper, "Project Power" looks like this year's most interesting Netflix original. This movie has all the signs of being great. It has a talented cast, stunning visuals, and a premise that is both unique and open enough to include social criticism.
True enough, "Project Power" has the trappings of a video game-like action movie with a classic bad-guy-versus-good-guy core. It has interesting heroes, played outstandingly by Foxx and company. Foxx is exceptional in playing a family man with a heart of gold. Gordon-Levitt shines as a cop determined to end injustice through his determination and resourcefulness. Fishback also stands-out as Robin, she endears us her character through a bold portrayal of braveness and kindness.
The production design is top-notch amazing. It shows that director Joost and Schulman handled this movie with care. "Project Power" is not a lazy and silly film.
However, there are a few things that this movie overlooked. Yes, it's unique but, after watching it, this movie did nothing to differentiate itself from other superhero movies. It aims to entertain us with flashy superpowers but, it all looks like gimmicks to make a one-direction narrative enthralling. The drama is forced and the stake is so low for a superhero movie that it becomes questionable if it understands its great premise.
Simply to say, "Project Power" is unconscious about its power to influence. This movie is in a position to construct a firm critique on drug use and abuse, the current education, and healthcare system, and racism, but all that gets buried underneath a family-centered melodrama.
In summary, "Project Power" is the movie if you're looking for a generic action-packed superhero movie to spend your afternoon. It's fun and superb with a few lessons to learn from the characters, but it lacks the awareness of why it exists in the first place.
3/5
