Project Power
Directed by: Henry Joost & Ariel Schulman
Written by: Mattson Tomlin
Starring: Jamie Foxx, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Dominique Fishback, Rodrigo Santoro, Courtney B. Vance, Amy Landecker, Colson Baker
Action/Crime/Sci-Fi - 111 min Reviewed by Charlie Juhl on 13 Aug 2020
Written by: Mattson Tomlin
Starring: Jamie Foxx, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Dominique Fishback, Rodrigo Santoro, Courtney B. Vance, Amy Landecker, Colson Baker
Action/Crime/Sci-Fi - 111 min Reviewed by Charlie Juhl on 13 Aug 2020
Has there ever been a defense contractor or conglomerate who was not a film’s villain, or at least a second fiddle malevolent force? I don’t recall a hero or damsel in distress exclaiming, “Thank God! The defense contractor is here!” Fair or not, screenwriters exploit faceless and nameless corporations to explain away plot motivations. This needlessly complex plan was all for company profits or this new such and such will alter the nature of warfare. Remember, Tony Stark’s company was merely a weapon’s supplier to the highest bidder before he had a literal change of heart. However, Tony’s eventual Iron Man powers spurred from technological innovation. He lacked the luxury of being born a God or transforming into a green monster via a freak gamma ray goof. But what if all of his virtuoso research and development led to a supernatural pill?
This is Project Power's premise. Pop a pill and for five minutes you can be superhuman. The catch is what your power will be. There is bulletproof skin, camouflage, and bendy appendages, but the powers also come with their practical consequences. If you turn into a fireball, your skin will bear the marks. If you can shoot icicles, you’re also likely to break off some fingers. Like the X-Men, find out what your powers are and harness them for good or evil. Unlike those ultra-modern mutants, stick around for the inevitable consequences.
This is Project Power's premise. Pop a pill and for five minutes you can be superhuman. The catch is what your power will be. There is bulletproof skin, camouflage, and bendy appendages, but the powers also come with their practical consequences. If you turn into a fireball, your skin will bear the marks. If you can shoot icicles, you’re also likely to break off some fingers. Like the X-Men, find out what your powers are and harness them for good or evil. Unlike those ultra-modern mutants, stick around for the inevitable consequences.
This reality-based science-fiction scenario reminded me of another Netflix “what if” storyline, Bright. Remember when human Will Smith worked alongside an orc in a world remarkably like our own, but there were elves and fairies and the like? It turns out the same production company is behind both of these “what if” films, Screen Arcade. While Bright was Los Angeles set, Project Power is New Orleans proud. Loose cannon cop, Frank (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Looper), sports a Steve Gleason jersey and drops unsubtle dialogue to reference the city’s recent past like, “I remember what happened last time we waited on guys in suits to help us.”
The guys in suits show up when someone pops the new street drug, Power, and causes some localized explosions and fireballs. Frank is a user as well, but he sees it as leveling the playing field. Frank’s source is fledgling flinger Robin (Dominique Fishback). Robin is in the game to earn money for mom’s diabetes medicine (how noble) but her true passion is hip-hop. Whenever someone challenges her to spit a rhyme, she rolls right into A-grade bars even though what it means to the story is a little head-scratching. Writer Mattson Tomlin says 8 Mile was a major influence, so perhaps weaving in a wannabe rap artist amidst urban decay was inevitable.
Robin is rolled up by Art aka The Major (Jamie Foxx, Django Unchained). Art is on a quest to find his daughter who was ruthlessly snatched by the shadowy defense contractor peddling Power. Only later did I realize Art is the resident D.A.R.E. advertisement. He urges Robin to focus on her rhymes to find her power, not drugs. Co-directors Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman, who cut their teeth on some Paranormal Activity sequels, probably didn’t mean to introduce an after school special vibe about the dangers of evolutionary methamphetamines, but they probably also didn’t aim for the inevitable Forrest Gump allusion about Power being like a box of chocolates.
There is a nod to the old conspiracy theory that the CIA invented crack cocaine and intentionally flooded the streets with it. Why any entity would dream that dropping free super pills on the streets is the most effective way to study its effects is a ludicrous hypothesis. Poke at Project Power with any amount of effort and its premise falls apart. Foxx and Gordon-Levitt may be here for the paycheck but Dominique Fishback takes it seriously. Her presence is strong enough to sell even the most eye-rolling network Public Service Announcements about the dangers of your brain on dope. Perhaps she would make a strong defense contractor executive one day.
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