Project Power

Actually, this is exactly what I was expecting. Joost and Schulman have already shown in Nerve that they can make movies that look nice, which ideally overcomes the fact that they are pretty stupid. This is exactly the same case. Project Power is visually a lot of fun, Jamie Foxx is good at playing badasses in movies and clearly enjoys it, Gordon-Levitt didn't seem to get bored on set either, and I'm definitely curious to see what Dominique Fishback will do in the future. There's a lot of action, there are a few ideas too, and there's quite often something banging or someone shooting, so it goes by quickly. I had fun, and it wasn't actually until the end credits that I realized how silly this is and how unimaginatively it rips off the X-Men or, say, the semi-forgotten Push. Project Power is just as silly as the recent The Old Guard, but unlike the immortal Charlize Theron, Foxx and co. are pretty aware of that. Above all, Project Power is supposed to be a nice looking spectacle with a few cool scenes where you can turn your head off and enjoy the fact that it bangs along nicely and looks pretty. Of course I would appreciate if there was something more to it, but then again I have no problem with a B-movie that knows about its B-movie-ness, isn't ashamed of it and occasionally manages to pleasantly surprise with a cool catchphrase or an imaginative action scene. OK for me, and if Netflix wants to milk a series out of it, I'm fine with that, too. (08/18/2020)

Project Power is sort of alternative, black version of Push (has it been 11 years already?), with a lot of rapping and talk about oppression. It moves along quite well, but you soon forget the generic storyline, even though the original idea and the world where it all takes place are interesting. Thanks to the great cast and the setting in New Orleans, Project Power is a really good watch. The action scenes are very convincing, but contain nothing new. All said, this is a good TV flick. (08/14/2020)

I have sympathy for it because, with its empowerment message, it gets on the nerves of the herd of local brownish bastards. It has balls and an idea, but unfortunately they can't replace the naivety, the cumbersome start and the chaotic editing. Similarly to Extraction, there is no clear villain, and as in the case of every Netflix original, the playwright went on vacation and never returned. (08/17/2020)

Jamie Foxx and Joseph Gordon-Levitt are fine actors, but when they have nothing to play, it's tough. Project Power is yet another generic Netflix movie where all the racial quotas were dutifully observed and where at least one scene contained a completely direct critique of racist white behavior. I'm getting tired of it. I'm naturally accepting that racial issues are all the rage these days and that Netflix needs to go with the times. But that contemporary paradigm can't obscure the fact that, from a filmmaking standpoint, this film is subpar in every way, and the appeal to #blacklivesmatter here feels terribly empty. (08/17/2020)

This anticipated Netflix new release is not as good as we all expected, yet I'm quite happy and grateful at the same time, since if it weren't for Netflix, we'd see almost nothing this year. A new drug starts to be distributed in New Orleans that gives people super powers for five minutes. The film has a nice comic book feel to it, and most importantly it's R-rated, with a few gore shots that pleasantly surprised me. Jamie Foxx and Joseph Gordon-Levitt give decent performances, the mutations produced by the drug are delivered in a fun way and I was most impressed by the camouflage ability where the colours change according to the environment and also the ability to bend joints. The action is more in the second half and is filmed very decently, and the pacing suited me, so although more could certainly have been made with the concept, I still had an exceedingly good time. Plus also for the music. Story***, Action****, Humor***, Violence****, Entertainment****, Music****, Visuals****, Atmosphere***, Suspense***. 7/10. (08/15/2020)