Stars: 5/5
Relentless in his task to rescue his daughter, Art and Robin, played by Jamie Foxx and Dominique Fis back, scour the Crescent City in search of locating the source of power.
Hitting the ground running, one of Netflix’s newest films, “Project Power” delivers a potent punch of action wit in the first 10 minutes of the film. It leaves the audience wanting for more, having back to back fight scenes and subsequently introducing the main characters of the film and the strength of power.
So what is power?
Shown in the first moments of the film, power is a pill. Built in capsule-like form with half colored black and the other half transparent with a sparkle cloud of yellow smoke, the power pill gives its ingestor a select power for a total of five minutes. The kicker? They have no idea what their power will be.
Shown throughout the film, the animal derived enhancements given can be anything from the power to freeze to turning into a human fireball.
“But that’s only if you happen to have a good power. Not everybody does. Some people take it and just blow up. So the question is, what’s your power? Might be good. Might be bad. Nobody knows,’’ said Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s character, Frank, as he attempts to persuade a teenage knucklehead to not take the pill while at gunpoint.
With those types of repercussions, what would make anyone want to take the power pill?
The rush. The thrill. The intrigue of the unknown.
Focused on getting his daughter back, Foxx strategically tracks down power dealers with the intention of getting closer to its source. Having been tested on during his time in the military, some of the remnants of power were still within his system, causing an automatic genetic transfer to his daughter, making her the first human to possess the power of the power without ingesting the pill.
Enthralled with capitalist greed, the scientific and financial benefactors of power wanted more. With no regard for the death and destruction in their path, they infiltrated the drug culture as a way to test their products on humans.
Sound familiar?
Making moves for their own benefit, the powerful exploits the powerless.
Determined to stop at nothing until he finally reaches his daughter, Foxx delivered a flawless execution of his character, fight scenes included. Thankfully, he rarely disappoints.
In addition to the presence of the characters, the special effects are some of the best that I’ve seen in quite a while, leaving out cheesy transitions and effects that don’t even closely appear to be real.
Visually pleasing and well executed, “Power” also highlighted some of the best aspects of our beloved Louisiana, paying homage with an aerial view of the Mercedes Benz Superdome at night, an additional aerial shot at sunset over the Lake Pontchartrain Causeway bridge and music from Louisiana native, Lil’ Wayne.
An age-old story told in the form of an action thriller provides a delightful plot twist. Unable to tear my eyes away for all of the three times that I viewed the film myself, I’d highly recommend popping some popcorn, grabbing your favorite snacks and pressing play.
