The Sunday Mail
Film Review Tinashe Kusema
Standalone superhero movies are often too shabby, but that is not the case with “Project Power”.
It exceeds expectations with a modest cast and excels in the visual department.
However, it falters in one common but frustrating department by having weak antagonists.
Nonetheless, I am finding it hard to discredit this Netflix release for falling into this timeless trap.
This is because multi-billion-dollar juggernauts like Marvel, Sony and DC have also tumbled by the wayside in the credible villain department.
The film
When a new drug — that purportedly grants its user superhuman abilities for five minutes arrives on the market, a near-future New Orleans is plunged into chaos through a spike in crime.
A lone cop, Frank Shaver (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), decides to fight back and finds unlikely help in the form of a teenage drug peddler/aspiring rapper, Robin Riley (Dominque Fishback), and a mysterious man known only as the Major (Jamie Foxx).
It turns out the Major was one of the original test subjects and passed on the gene to his daughter Tracy (Kyanna Simone Simpsons), who is now at the epicentre of research into the drug.
Likewise, Tracy is a captive of its creators Biggie (Rodrigo Santoro) and Gardner (Amy Landecker).
The film is then viewed through the eyes of Major in his mission to rescue his daughter.
Major partners with Robin and Shaver to put the drug off the market.
Now, as I alluded to earlier; the film’s only weakness is that not enough time and material was dedicated to its antagonists, Biggie and Gardner.
Biggie is felled way too easy midway.
Similarly, Gardner does well with her limited material in the third act but does not have enough of a back-story or clear motives for us to care.
While some may argue the film’s open ending leaves room for a sequel, which the writer Mattson Tomlin confirms, it could have then used a little foreshadowing of a hidden hand.
Or, a higher power could have been used in all the shenanigans that occur much like we saw in the colossal disappointment that was “Fast and Furious presents: Hobbs and Shaw”.
Yes, Idris Elba is wasted as “Brixton Lore”, but the existence of the hidden entity pulling his strings leaves room for a second go at crafting an antagonist of repute.
Marvel has written the blueprint of how it is done.
Figures of their combined “Avengers Infinity” war and endgame box-office sales, which stand at US$4,84 billion, act as evidence of positive results of having matching heroes and antagonists.
That being said, let us give credit where it is due.
One of the film’s biggest merits is that unlike most in the superhero persuasion, “Project Power” hits closer to home.
The rationale behind the drug’s molecular structure gets a pass from me, as I am no scientific genius.
The explanation and big words made sense.
It appeals to human curiosity and addresses old questions like; would it not be cool if there was a drug that could grant one power?
The film’s setting (New Orleans) and how our three main characters are painted as flawed individuals helps make them relatable in that sense.
While Robin sells the drug, she is doing it to help her mother.
Major is a dad who just wants to rescue his daughter and put an ending to drug testing, being a former victim himself.
The fact that the proprietors of this drug are disguising their research as drug trafficking, was a smooth touch that I almost missed.
Foxx, Gordon-Levitt and Fishback all put up stellar performances, all worthy of the material they are given.
This could be one of the best superhero movies outside the Marvel brand.
And yes, that is a slight dig at the other superhero films available on Netflix, like the Vin Diesel flop “Bloodshot”, the gravely over-hyped “Old Guard” and the many DC properties.
