THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
Just when I thought the superhero genre was slowing down, Netflix kept the pace going. PLOT
Project Power takes place in a fictional New Orleans, where a drug dubbed 'Power' is being sold. The drug is capable of giving people superpowers for only five minute. Six weeks after the distribution, aspiring rapper Robin sells Power distributed by her cousin Newt (Colson Baker aka Machine Gun Kelly), in order to provide for her diabetic mother. Art is looking for the distributor, Biggie (Rodrigo Santoro), but is unable to get information from Newt who overdoses from the drug. Officer Frank Shaver foils a robbery caused by Power enhanced thief, but gets suspended for using the drug (bought from Robin) to even the odds. With Newt's phone, Art finds Robin and abducts her, in order for her to lead him to a cartel that could likely lead him to Biggie. It goes awry because when finding the safehouse of the dealer, he gets injured in the process but discovers a room full of screens, monitoring people in the city buying the drug are test subjects, as this was not approved by the government originally. Robin chooses to treat his wounds when he reveals that he reveals that he is searching for his daughter. He explains that he was recruited by a private defense contractor known as Teleios, he was experimented on to create superpowers. When he had his daughter Tracy (Kyanna Simone Simpson), she was born with her powers. Eventually, Teleios took her from him and now hold her captive, because she is source of the drug. He and Robin are able to find Biggie at a private demonstration for a potential buyer. When the two get there, another shootout occurs. The only information Art can get was the name of a boat called 'Genesis'. He is only able to get this piece of info because at the time, he gets arrested by Frank who had been hunting him down, as he was told by his captain that he's the source. Robin tries to defend him and explain the truth but the officer does not believe her. Art however is able to convince him otherwise, explaining that New Orleans is being used as mass testing to stabilize the drug. He allows himself to be captured by Teleios in order to board Genesis. He does encounter the creator of Power and head of Teleios, Dr. Gardner, who believes that Power is part of the next step of evolution, due to the how the pill's powers derive from actual abilities that originate from animals. As he is held captive, Frank and Robin to break him out. Once they board Genesis, they find Tracy as well. After getting through many guards, Robin is captured by Gardner who demands Art to come forward. He chooses to save her by summoning his power, a heatwave that kills Gardner and the rest of his goons. Robin does avoid the blast but his power took the toll of his life on him. Tracy acts quickly by saving her dad, as her power is to resurrect the deceased once making physical contact. Before everyone parts ways, Frank reveals to blow the whistle on Teleios, while Frank gives Robin keys to his truck, with money left for her to pay for her medical needs. As the film ends, we hear her music played on a radio station.
THOUGHTS
This was a film I had no idea about until it was released on Netflix in 2020. I honestly wasn't sure if I wanted to check it out but by the time someone explained the premise to me, I got on board. And thankfully, this was one actually impressed me. I think that directors Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman were able to craft a different kind of movie that kept me invested. When you think about superpowers, you see it as a cool thing to have and the idea to have it as a drug is bold in all honestly, that sounds real the more you think about it. This is the kind of power that the world would desire, especially if you are a fan of this genre. And I believe that if this fictional drug existed, our drug problems today would be worse. What also makes this concept interesting is that the powers come from animals' abilities. Since there are thousands of animals in the planet, you can only imagine the amount and the kind of powers that could've been seen. I'll complain about story elements later but the one thing I wasn't on board in general was the visual effects. I can't say it was a hit/miss because it was mostly a miss. I wasn't creeped out seeing Newt on fire because that is how unimpressed I was. I may not be crazy about composer Joseph Trapanese as of writing this, but I enjoyed his score for setting the right mood(s). When I saw the poster, I knew that I was gonna see and enjoy the movie due to an interesting cast that beheld my eyes. Jamie Foxx is pretty good with Art as he presents him as a ruthless man, willing to do anything to save his daughter. A simple goal like that makes it easy for us to like him, even before we see his bizarre power. When he shortly made a baby laugh at a gas station, it was nice to see the heart he had deep down before he ever explains his intentions. Now that he succeeded, I hope he and Tracy have a permanent happy ending. I really dug Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Frank because he was smart, charming and not afraid to do the right thing. He knew New Orleans wasn't perfect, but that didn't stop him doing whatever he thought was necessary. The only time I was actually impressed with the visuals was when we see him survive the gun shot due to his power being bulletproof. Breakout Dominique Fishback successfully held her own with Robin because she expressed her as someone who is misguided, but gets her guidance in an unexpected journey. She never had the confidence of her own to express her rap skills to others, but Art encouraged her to go for it and luckily, she did. Getting to hear it, I gotta say she got bars because I am a sucker for that kind of music. Hearing her music play on the radio is indeed a clever way to end the movie happily as it simply implies how as long you know talented you are and not afraid to show it, success could come your way. This movie is pretty cool but despite that, there were many things in the story that bothered me. First off, why is Biggie annoyed of Newt asking questions of what he's supposed to sell? As a professional drug dealer, he shouldn't be surprised of it, whether or not they're being a smart ass. Also, even the teenagers in the beginning shouldn't be surprised on the drug being expensive. Considering that many movies involving drugs have had the same trope, it feels like one of them would be aware that there'd be a literal high price to pay. I know we want to see the array of powers when the movie starts, but why does Newt use the drug when he could've just ran away and take a window? I know the scene is telling us he's addicted to it, but he should've thought it threw. This is also the same mistake Biggie and one of his henchman made. Since Robin could care less of education, how has she not dropped out at that point? I feel like if she really stopped caring, she'd already done it and figure out how to keep it secret from her mom. It is honestly smart of Frank to use Power in order to even the odds in the robbery, but how is he caught once? If he is vocal about playing fire with fire, I feel like he'd be caught more than once within the total six weeks. I get that Art has to be tough on Robin to get to his daughter, but why doesn't he explain this to her from the beginning, like after he lets her out of trunk of the truck? If he needs her help, than telling her everything from the top would've been better, because I feel like she'd listen immediately if that was the case. I know the Teleios agents are trying to scare some information out of Robin's mom when pulling the guns, but why don't they have fake badges? If they want to sell the act, a badge makes it more convincing. Also, why was he in the front seat when Frank apprehended him? Based on other crime films and real life, the apprehended are supposed to be in the backseat. And lastly, I know Frank is smart to use the phone from Robin's mom to track down the Teleios agents, but when exactly did he get it back? I want to laugh when he casually hands it to Robin herself, but I have a hard time believing he made time to get it back. Having said all of that, I still think you can enjoy this movie if you ignore all said flaws. In short, Project Power is a movie that pulls off being unique and fun. If you have Netflix and love superhero movies, I think you'll have soft spot for this one too.
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