[Review] Project Power(2020) {6.5/10}

Directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman from a screenplay by Mattson Tomlin, the film stars Jamie Foxx (Art), Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Frank Shaver), and Dominique Fishback (Robin Reilly).

The plot follows Jamie Foxx (Art)who is a desperate ex-military operative whose daughter has been kidnapped by the tech drug cartel because she has shown the ability to access her powers permanently, rather than for only five minute intervals. They want her for medical experimentation and take her when she won’t come willingly. Art employs a scorched earth policy in search of her so the cartel starts the rumor that he’s the one behind the threat. To that end, a New Orleans PD Captain sends one of his most tenacious officers, Frank (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), undercover to find and (if possible) apprehend Art. Caught between the two men is Robin (Dominique Fishback), a teenager with a gift for rap who deals the drug to make ends meet. She is Frank’s supplier and becomes Art’s target when he wants an “in” to the distribution chain. The trio eventually team-up to stop the distribution of the pill that gives the user superpowers for five minutes.

The cinematography is gorgeous. The three main characters occupy separate story lines that periodically overlap before being braided together. The humanity of the leads fills up the hollowness, putting flesh, or at least charm and attitude, on their archetypes. Foxx holds the center easily with the kind of imposing physicality and emotional stoicism. Comfortably and without any of the self-consciousness that can sometimes make him seem unproductively uptight, Foxx plays well off the other actors, especially Fishback. She in turn securely shares the screen with him and the amusing, showboating Gordon-Levitt, whose accent slips and slides among the punches and bullets. Other than that, there’s nothing else here that feels remotely personal, including the direction by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman. The screenplay do not take full advantage of its premise. People will watch movies like this if they have a good hook and can hold their attention, both of which are true in Project Power’s case. Things that are missing are a strong, coherent story and well-developed characters. Underwritten yet nevertheless enjoyable on a visceral level, Project Power is a passable popcorn entertainment. It is a two-hour distraction in the age of COVID-19 that won’t stand the test of time but was never intended to.

Project Power is now available on Netflix.