Project Power - Review Thread

You know, maybe it's just the quarantine talking, but I ended up enjoying Project Power. This latest Netflix offering centers around a pretty cool idea: that of a pill that when taken, gives you a random superpower unique only to you -- and it could be anything. But the catch is that it lasts for only five minutes. That right there opens up a whole field of possibility and potential, and while the movie admittedly never feels like it fully capitalizes on such potential, I can't deny that it entertained me all the way through. In a year that's seen rather slim pickin's for new movies, Project Power honestly sort of fulfilled a desire for a summer movie, and the fact that it came out in mid-August was a nice landing spot for it. The movie has no pretensions about itself and kind of proudly embraces its pulpier elements, but does so with style. Directors Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman bring lots of energy to the film, but the action sequences in particular. The movie features some pretty cool uses of superpowers in that regard, which kept it consistently interesting to watch, for me at least. The story built around all of the spectacle is fairly straightforward stuff, with equally straightforward characters, but much like how the directors elevate the plot, the actors here elevate the characters. Jamie Foxx and Joseph Gordon-Levitt bring tons of charisma to their respective roles, but the real standout of this movie is Dominique Fishback. The film is equally divided in focus between these three actors, but it's Fishback who drives a good majority of it and thus stands out a lot more. I really did buy into her character, in large part because she brings so much raw charm to the table. If anything, Dominique Fishback is the main reason to watch this movie.