Project Power – A Hidden Gem

Chris

March 12, 2021
March 14, 2021
3 min read
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project power jamie foxx joseph gordon-levitt dominique fishback super powers action scifi sci-fi netflix science fiction

So the other day I’m flipping through Netflix, looking for more new sci-fi to add to my list, and I see “Project Power,” starring Jamie Foxx and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. What? Why have I not heard of this.

*click*

And you know what? I really like this movie.

The plot centers around a new drug that’s hit the streets of New Orleans. It gives you a random super-power, unique to you, and based on your DNA or whatever. The catch? Well, two, actually. One, there’s no guarantee your superpower will be useful, or won’t just make you explode (this actually happens) and Two, it only lasts for five minutes. Like, exactly five minutes. Yeah, I didn’t say it was perfect, but I get the need for making a call like that.

There’s a cop, Frank (JGL) who uses the drug now and again to turn himself literally bulletproof. He’s paired up with his informant, a girl named Robin (Dominique Fishback.)

Also meet Art (Foxx), a former army major, and one of the people this drug was first tested on. He’s searching for his daughter, Tracy, who as it turns out, was actually born with a super-power, and doesn’t need any super cool light-up twisty pills to activate it.

Frank’s investigation into where the drug is coming from soon crosses paths with Art’s search for his daughter, and they find themselves up against “Biggie” (Rodrigo Santoro) the local mob dude who’s running this stuff.

[Cue major actually cool fight scene]

They eventually find that not only is Art’s daughter being held near by, but also by the same people putting this stuff out on the streets. Oh, did we mention its the doctor who ran the original experiment, looking to figure out how to make everyone like Tracy? Yeah…

So predictably, they get Tracy out, Art uses his heretofore hidden and extremely powerful ability, and the good guys win.

Yeah, its actually about that simple, but you know what? This is actually a really good little sci-fi action movie.

Project Power is well written, has actual actors who can actually act, the effects are really, really good, its well shot, the soundtrack doesn’t suck, and its just a fun two hours that you don’t have to think too hard about.

If I have a gripe, it was the inclusion of some “rap” sequences that I guess were there to give Robin something to feel proud about… but to me they just seemed forced and irrelevant. Maybe its just me.