I wasn’t expecting much so I wasn’t disappointed with Netflix’s latest venture into action originals. Project Power had potential, with a reasonably enticing sci-fi foundation, but turned into a (mostly generic) vigilante revenge flick with a “superhero” facade.
An ex-soldier, who was part of military science experiments, sets out to rescue his kidnapped daughter. In the process, he crosses path with a local cop trying to stop the spread of a black market pill that gives its user superpowers and his informant who’s part of the distribution chain.
I’m generally a fan of all those genres but there’s no fluidity to in combining them here. If you were to remove the sci-fi and superpowers, almost nothing changes except for a few visual effects shots (which did look great). That tells me the gimmick of the super pill was more to broaden the appeal than to service the story.
The solid cast is probably the biggest selling point. As usual, Jaimie Foxx delivered with his usual panache while Joseph Gordon Levitt battled through a rough New Orleans accent to give a good performance. Dominique Fishback has chemistry with both of them and it’s easy enough to get invested in their combined trajectory. Sadly, Rodrigo Santoro is wasted as a one-note villain. His charisma is enough to make him an appealing antagonist but Mattson Tomlin’s script undermines the performance. The end is mostly a foregone conclusion and simply doesn’t have enough gravity to make the investment worth the journey.
It was cool to see a movie filmed in New Orleans but it only scratched the surface when it came to including the city as more than a location. Michael Simmonds cinematography elevates the aesthetic with excellent color and framing but this is one of those instances of style over substance, which isn’t surprising when you look at the track record of directors Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman.
Recommendation: It’s not egregiously bad and the soundtrack is great, so it can be a piece of mindless fun, but there are better options out there.