From the genetic mutation of the X-Men, to the radioactive spider-bite of Spider-Man, to the cosmic blast absorbed by the Fantastic Four, the moment superheroes receive their powers on page or screen tends to be an irrevocable, life-altering event that forever changes their very DNA. Not so in Project Power. Netflix’s action-thriller offers an intriguing tweak to the superhero mythos — here, those who take a ‘Power’ pill are gifted supernatural abilities for just five minutes per hit and they don’t know what hidden ability they hold until they take one.
Despite finding a fresh angle on one of cinema’s most oversaturated genres, Project Power never fully capitalises on that potential. Like the streaming service’s other summer genre exercise The Old Guard, its hooky premise is trapped in a generic plot involving a shadowy organisation led by a cabal of boring baddies.
The way in is more interesting. Anchoring the film is Dominique Fishback’s dealer Robin, who has a streets-eye view as the Power pill spreads through a vibrant New Orleans setting. Fishback, in what could be her breakout role, lights up the screen — Robin makes for an entertaining and empathetic heroine, a young Black woman trapped by circumstance, and holding her own as she crosses paths with Jamie Foxx’s crusading former military man, Art. Foxx’s natural charisma remains present as his personal vendetta to find the source of the pill becomes the central through-line of the plot, though the character himself remains largely unmemorable. Gordon-Levitt is most underserved as by-any-means-necessary hero cop Frank, a thin role that already feels out of step with current sentiment towards the police in the wake of the recent BLM protests.
In a summer of no blockbusters, Project Power is a flashy — if ironically underpowered — diversion.
Director duo Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost — previously behind the original Catfish documentary (or was it?), two Paranormal Activity sequels and cyber-thriller Nerve — make good use of their signature digital aesthetic, imbuing Project Power with glossy visuals that paper over considerable cracks. Scenes pop with colour, cinematographer Michael Simmonds’ camera finding interesting angles to shoot from, all edited with flair. When one shady customer pops a Power pill — a glowing, yellow, twist-to-activate capsule — his synapses frazzle in close-up, sparks flying as he erupts into flames. While the action sequences themselves aren’t particularly special, they’re slickly delivered — Project Power manages to look interesting, even when it isn’t.
The real disappointment is a lack of invention. Only one pill-activated power — a chameleonic camouflage ability — feels fresh, the rest overly familiar, cribbed from any number of X-Men movies and occasionally delivered with sub-par CGI. Amid all the razzle-dazzle is a half-hearted exploration of the idea of power itself — who wields it, how they attain it and how it’s distributed — in need of more oxygen, while Amy Landecker and Rodrigo Santoro are wasted as the two-dimensional villains. Still, in a summer of no blockbusters, Project Power is a flashy — if ironically underpowered — diversion.
