The Stream: Underwhelming plot, villain, and ending

The Big Screen: Action, cool displays of superpowers and great cast

The Final Bill: Star powered cast and superpowers power you through a typical and boring plot

– Trip Fontaine and S2S: Movie Review
Directors: Henry Joost, Ariel Schulman
Writer: Mattson Tomlin
Stars: Jamie Foxx, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Dominique Fishback | See full cast & crew
Rating: R
Genre: Action, Crime, Sci-Fi 
Runtime: 1 hour 46 minutes
Platform: Netflix

S2S: Trip, I’m too eager to do this review. Please tell the readers what they need to know before I pop!

Trip: Weird, but okay… Ever wonder what your superpower would be if you had one? Yeah, I know everyone has thought about it. What if there were a pill that could give you that superpower for 5 minutes – would you take it? Well, that question percolates in the new movie that premiered on Netflix over the weekend, Project Power. It’s an action, crime drama with splashy visual effects and busy, action-packed set pieces to keep your eyes moving as the movie chugs along. Here’s my take on whether Project Power succeeds.

The basic premise of Project Power is that a pill is being sold on the streets of New Orleans that gives people a superpower for five minutes. A young street pharmacist, a police officer, who is also her client, and a former military man try to track down the source of the drug. It’s fairly straightforward. Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Jamie Foxx play the officer and ex-soldier, respectively. Dominique Fishback exhibits all of the confidence to play the young, rapping dealer in her performance. It is interesting to note that the directing team of this movie also directed the documentary, Catfish. While the premise is interesting, the film quickly shows that it doesn’t have an original take on it. It’s just another action film that you either enjoy as it goes along or you don’t.

S2S: You said it, Trip. JGL is back on the movie market and I’m for it. My guy Jamie Foxx is swaggin’ and surfin’ in this action piece and who won’t enjoy Dominique. And yes, it’s an action film, but I really wish there was a true villain. There was an opportunity missed to pair these three with a notable villainous face. But continue!

Trip: Even though I was rudely interrupted, the show must go on. Where Project Power excels is with the manifestation of the superpowers. Each sequence where the pill is taken amps up the energy of the film. The two earliest scenes, where Foxx chases a dealer (Machine Gun Kelly) and where Gordon-Levitt chases a clandestine bank robber, are super charged and set you on edge. The visual effects of the scenes are fun and interesting. The problem is that the plot doesn’t really amount to anything. The stars feel like investigators chasing a case, which frankly, and unfortunately, is just a weak motivation. While the three leads, Foxx, Gordon-Levitt and Fishback, are good, the characters aren’t really special or memorable – unless you count Fishback’s freestyling.

S2S: You’re right again, Trip. The stars are just that. They do their thing as they typically do in their roles, but the characters themselves are meh. I will say Jamie’s really stepped up his action skills over the years and his sequences alone are dynamic and vicious. He’s a favorite of mine, but even if he wasn’t, the spectrum of emotions and actions he displays in this movie are legit. And don’t forget JGL! He truly is great at mixing roles of action and natural comedy. This role is different from his in Inception, but his performance is close to that. But hurry up and tell the people what you think!

Trip: I won’t deny that Project Power was enjoyable, and I have watched it twice. It however is not particularly memorable, which is disappointing considering the intriguing concept.

Even though I watched it twice, you don’t have to watch Project Power twice. The benefit of the film is that it is on Netflix. I feel like it is a film that you can put in your queue for a while and when you don’t have much else going on, then turn it on in the background. Look up every now and then with a handful of popcorn.

S2S: While I agree with your points, as an action fan though, I was truly pleased. Yes, I could’ve enjoyed a better plot and less anticlimactic ending but that didn’t ruin the ride I took up to that point. The best part of this movie is that it is on Netflix. There is no way you don’t check Project Power. Action, comedy, powers! What else do you need to be entertained? I’d say grab a big box of popcorn and enjoy!