When a pill that gives its users unpredictable superpowers for five minutes hits the streets of New Orleans, a teenage dealer and a local cop must team with an ex-soldier to take down the group responsible for its creation.
Tagline: What would you risk for 5 minutes of pure power?
Starring: Jamie Foxx, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Dominique Fishback | Directors: Henry Joost, Ariel Schulman | Writer: Mattson Tomlin | Genre: SF Crime Action | Language: English | Source: Netflix | Starred Review
Project Power Review
I passed up Project Power several times on Netflix before finally deciding (simply because I was tired of looking for something I thought might be good) to give it a shot. The basic idea (a pill that gives you super powers for a limited amount of time) intrigued me, but the logline is hardly what I would call exciting. In fact, I’d go so far as to call it downright boring sounding.
So, obviously, wasn’t expecting much. That might be why I ended up so pleased with what I watched.
I didn’t love this movie from beginning to end, but there were parts of it that had me glued to the screen. I thought all three main actors (Fishback, Foxx, Gordon-Levitt) did a great job together, though it was the scenes between Fishback and Foxx that I liked best together. Gordon-Levitt shone best in his scenes not involving the two of them. (His shower scene had me giggling, so did the dock scene.)
Foxx plays a temporary father figure of sorts to Robin, and it was refreshing to see straight talk that wasn’t condescending in their discussion around her occupation. I also appreciated the way he built her up, and I liked that Fishback’s character could, would, and did hold her own with the both of them. Side note: Fishback could have done a better job delivering the lines that she rapped (written by Chika!), but that’s really my only issue with her performance.
Now, no bullshit, the plot of Project Power is thinner than a sheet of cheap toilet paper and there are some interesting choices made at times. However, as an action movie, it delivers enough shoot ’em ups, beat ’em ups, and blow ’em ups to keep a Lilyn very happy.
Not a movie that will leave you thinking for hours afterward, but a fun popcorn watch nonetheless.
Lilyn G is the founder of Sci-Fi & Scary, and leader of the Kali Krew. She does book and film reviews for both genres the site focuses on. Her tastes run towards creature features, hard science fiction, and lots and lots of action. She also has a soft spot for middle-grade fiction that rears its head frequently.
Though no longer involved with Ladies of Horror Fiction due to other responsibilities and a too-full plate, she was one of the original 4 co-founders.
Feel free to chat her up on Twitter as long as you aren’t hitting her up to review your book.
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