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Both Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Jamie Foxx have accomplished the feat of flying under the radar in an industry bent on making stars out of any celestial body floating around, often for the mere pleasure of watching them fall, writes Naman Arora.
They are phenomenal and recognisable actors who have won their fair share of awards, but they are also prescient enough to throw in a bizarre performance regularly, just to keep star-hunters off their scent. In short, it’s the watered-down Nicholas Cage power move.
However, Project Power is definitely not one of the bizarre performances. Both Joseph and Jamie have dabbled in superpower movies, with mixed results. Like they say (or they should), an astounding Looper cannot keep the eccentric Electro away. Sorry, Jamie, it’s going to be awhile before The Amazing Spiderman 2 is forgiven.
In this movie, the premise is simple to let the performances shine. There is Power, a drug-like pill that gives the user a superpower for five minutes. What power you get is based on your DNA or some animal spirits – it’s not really explored.
Set in New Orleans, the story takes place six weeks after this drug is introduced into the city. Frank (Joseph) is a police officer who sometimes uses the pill to catch super-powered criminals, getting his supply from Robin (Dominique Fishback). Art (Jamie) arrives to find his daughter who has been kidnapped by manufacturers of this drug and what follows is an entertaining, emotionally-wrenching drama that will leave you wanting more.
And perhaps, that is its biggest strength and flaw. We have come to expect more world-building, especially with an intriguing concept like this. Instead, we get a forgettable opening scene where the drug is given to dealers, and then we are thrown right into the chaos.
On one level, it does not spoon-feed us. Yet, there are too many unanswered questions left unexplored. That being said, the on-screen chemistry between Joseph, Dominique and Jamie is perfect, with each pair having their own unique connection.
Particular standouts are the music by Joseph Trapanese, and Dominique’s spoken word poetry and rapping, both of which perfectly add a layer of emotional depth to the action.
Overall, it is a good movie, worth a watch and its 3.5 stars. But I doubt it’s going to make any waves unless it gets a cult following. Or someone gets superpowers from the Covid-19 vaccine.
