In this, the summer without superheroes, we must take whatever thrills we can get. Anything with huge special effects and characters we know and love is being held until theaters reopen, meaning the scraps being thrown our way are one-off entertainments from streamers who never could’ve anticipated that now would be their chance to break into blockbusters. If they had they probably would’ve thrown more money at these projects. Instead, we have hesitant, prohibitively small efforts like Project Power, which isn’t a blockbuster so much as a mirage, one with all the trappings you want from big entertainment that vanishes as soon as you reach for it.
The setup is a pretty blatant X-Men ripoff: a drug has been unleashed on New Orleans that gives users five minutes of superpower. What you’ll get can’t be predicted, and there’s a chance that whatever ability is hidden in your DNA will be detrimental to your health (i.e., you might unlock your spontaneous combustion skill). So, there’s a drug that gives people a variety of superpowers instead of simple puberty, but the end result is the same: these enhanced people have a bunch of varied and inventive fights, all the while larger forces try to either quell or take advantage of these newfound abilities.
Hot dog, it’s a blockbuster from Netflix, right? Well, it does look like one, but in execution, it’s so much less. Nothing about this is big enough to fill those shoes, not its fights, its thrills, or its ideas. More commitment upfront might have given Netflix the big-budget breakthrough it wants, but this half-baked, overly ambitious effort does nothing but lets us down.
What’s In A Script
Few things are more frustrating than an unpolished script, which creaks with forced plot beats and formulas that aren’t integrated into the story. Someone (in this case screenwriter Mattson Tomlin) knew what they need to do but didn’t take the time to smooth it out, and from the finished product, it’s hard to tell where exactly it went wrong. Was the movie rushed into production? Was the screenwriter simply incapable of doing the polish? Was it hacked apart in editing?
When looking at the profound failure that is Project Power, it’s hard not to lay the blame at the feet of Tomlin. The issues are simply too numerous, too fundamental, and ultimately too fatal. Plot threads fade away, a central villain never emerges, and the film’s main metaphor never delivers a meaningful punch. The infuriating thing is that the fixes wouldn’t require major changes. A few tweaks could’ve solved them, which makes their sloppy presence all the more irritating.
Take the issue of not having a primary villain. These action movies need a big bad to confront in the climax, one you introduce early and build up into a final boss who feels like an accomplishment to overcome. Think Jude Law’s Yon-Rogg in Captain Marvel or Ruby Rose’s Ares in John Wick: Chapter 2. They don’t have to be the brains behind the operation, but they should be formidable and in the way of our hero throughout the movie. In Project Power, Jamie Foxx’s Art specifies that he’s searching for a specific dealer of power early on. That’s it, the mysterious and imposing guy in the photo he shows should be his big final confrontation. Instead, this guy is killed partway through the movie, so other henchmen and muscle must be introduced late in the game for Foxx to battle.
It’s. A. Fundamental. Mistake. I’m not intimidated by the guy who appears five minutes before he dies. Build up somebody fearsome, build up anything so the climax is a payoff, and not a minor blip of success.
And for the love of God, if you dedicate multiple scenes to a character’s hidden talent, have it be crucial to winning the final fight. Otherwise, all that time invested in discovering this thing about a central character will feel like a waste of time, and guess what is set up and doesn’t pay off in Project Power?
Mistakes, basic mistakes like these make Project Power a frustrating watch, but a good central metaphor might have made these forgivable. Here, Tomlin is tantalizingly close to getting it right. He’s got a setting notorious for racist policies and atrocities. He’s got an industry notorious for racist policies and atrocities. Project Power is going to have something to say about the misuse of black people by Big Pharma and America’s willingness to turn a blind eye if the results are profitable, right?
Well, it definitely points these things out (nice non sequitur about Henrietta Lacks, there, evil brains of the operation), but it doesn’t really go anywhere. It’s not very novel to point out that these things exist. Where’s the cathartic overthrow of someone who embodies Big Pharma? Where’s the impassioned plea to bring these practices to an end? The climax isn’t big enough to really confront such large issues, so they are left hanging in the background, not integrated enough to provide a meaningful backbone to an otherwise sloppy script.
What’s In A Visual
Nothing. There’s nothing in the visuals of Project Power because they don’t vary from jittery, frenetic images that barely hold long enough to get a decent look at what’s going on. Visual language thrives on contrast, or at least clarity, neither of which were prioritized in this mess.
Not that there’s much to look at. Outside of the fine but bland performances from the three principles, Foxx, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Dominique Fishback (who, to be fair, didn’t have much to work with), there’s a nagging sense that there wasn’t enough money to pull off this special effects extravaganza.
Early on, when Foxx must fight a Human Torch-like fellow, the glimpses we get of the inflamed man are laughably blobby. It’s equivalent to turn-of-the-millennia CGI. In 2020. Inexcusable. The effects don’t get any better, so yeah, they probably did need to obscure all the action to hide these embarrassing effects.
But why is the rest of it also a shaky, woozy mess? The story is a gritty reality with a splash of sci-fi, so why are the visuals heightened to the point where everything looks like a fantasy? And of course, since apparently no one thought anything in this movie though, there are actual fantasy sequences that you can’t distinguish from reality because the visual style doesn’t change to clue you in!
Yes, the script was bad, but a lot of the blame for this colossal failure must go to directors Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman as well, who did the project no favors with their pushy style. Not that they’re particularly known for their restraint (they’re most famous for the documentary Catfish, but they also helmed Nerve and a couple of the Paranormal Activity sequels). I guess Netflix got what they wanted, but I’m sure they would’ve preferred the style to be matched to the story being told. Apparently that was too big an ask for Joost and Schulman.
Conclusion: Project Power
This is pretty much an unmitigated disaster. What should’ve been a thought-provoking piece of entertainment squanders any chance it had to make a point or provide a thrill thanks to a shoddy plot and oblivious direction. It is frustrating, so if the adage that you have to care about something to hate it is true, I guess it does make you care. Then it makes you pay for it.
What did you think of Project Power? Did you find any redeeming qualities? Let us know in the comments!
Project Power is available on Netflix worldwide.
Watch Project Power
Does content like this matter to you?
Become a Member and support film journalism. Unlock access to all of Film Inquiry`s great articles. Join a community of like-minded readers who are passionate about cinema - get access to our private members Network, give back to independent filmmakers, and more.