Back in April of this year, I reviewed a Netflix original film titled Code 8, which I described as a generic amalgamation of X-Men and District 9, but without anything that made those movies enjoyable. When watching the trailer for today's film, Project Power, It's understandable to assume that it was yet another retread of the same idea. However, while the plot does involve people with superpowers, that is the extent of its similarities to Code 8. Unlike that dull and unimaginative slog, Project Power has something which makes it genuinely superior to Code 8; personality.
Set in New Orleans, the main plot centers around a revolutionary drug called Power. One pill can give whoever takes it a specific and incredible supernatural ability for five minutes, such as invincibility, electric powers, and fire. A mysterious and shady entrepreneur has enlisted local drug dealers' help to sell it and report back to him. Meanwhile, the story follows ex-soldier called The Major (Jamie Foxx), who is on the search for his daughter, who was kidnapped by the evil entrepreneur. He captures a teenaged girl named Robin (Dominique Fishback, a part-time street dealer of the Power drug. The Major wants Robin to help him find the source, hoping that it will lead to his daughter. Things get a little complicated when he discovers Robin has a close friend in the Police Department named Frank (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), who has been supplying him with the drug to "level the playing field" as it were. Will they bud heads and take each other down, or will they join forces for the greater good?
In general, the movie is pretty solid. It has a decent script with likable and textured characters, and the action scenes are justifiably visceral. The acting is as excellent as you would expect from the top-level talent on screen. Also, the visual effects are genuinely impressive. It is worth mentioning that a good portion of the special effects is practical with CGI assistance as opposed to CGI exclusively. A practice that is always appreciated. Also, there are some clever parallels to the mistreatment of soldiers and civilians by the uber-wealthy and powerful not often done well in action films like this.
While I did enjoy this movie and I do recommend it, it is not without its flaws. For one, the cinematography is not my favorite. While parts of the neon lighting design did intrigue me for about five minutes, it did bother me how overly saturated the colors were, not to mention the occasional headache-inducing use of shaky-cam. The violence, while understandable for the film's tone, did get too excessive for my taste from time to time. Plus, for some reason, this movie is yet another victim of horribly balanced sound design. I can't tell if this was an issue with my TV or the film itself, but it could not find a proper balance between the loudest and the softer parts, so whoever has been overseeing movies sound design as of late needs to be sacked and hard.
Project Power may not bring a whole lot of new stuff to the table, but it manages to deliver some expected goods with enough personality to make it worthwhile. If you need a cool and fast bit of fresh action schlock, give this one a shot.
Ladies & gentlemen, I am TheNorm, thank you all for reading.
No comments:
Post a Comment