Project Power

I really burned myself with this movie choice on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. The preview intrigued me, but in the end, it’s a film that won’t be remembered even a week later. The initial concept caught my interest, but the problem with Project Power is simply the script. I haven’t seen such a straightforward and uninteresting affair in a long time; the film doesn’t attempt to shock in any way and plays it safe, which bothered me a lot. One of the few positives is the cast; Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Jamie Foxx perform at a decent level, though it's nothing groundbreaking (don’t expect Oscar ambitions :D), but they did deliver above standard performances. The main protagonist, however, was a poor fit for the entire concept; her chemistry with the duo didn’t work at all, making it a significant drawback. The action could have salvaged it, it really could have (and there are a few hints of it), but it played such a minor role that it was disappointing. It’s a shame. The special effects were decent, but they didn’t blow me away (for $85 million, the technical aspects are a joke; I’d expect a much lower budget). The music also didn’t improve the overall impression. All in all, it’s the kind of film where the potential was entirely wasted. I give it 50%. (08/18/2020)

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)

Netflix unfortunately continues to struggle with film production. It certainly succeeds in attracting actors who may not have the same allure to draw people to the cinema anymore, but I dare to say that audiences are still happy to see them in something, and this streaming platform is perfect for that. Just a week ago, I was at the cinema watching Tenet, and I was wondering where Gordon-Levitt had disappeared to. Along with Jamie Foxx, they are the main reason and generally one of the few reasons to watch the movie. Actually, I would rather say that if these two didn't star in it, I would easily skip Project Power just like the recently reported disaster The Last Days of American Crime. The camera work is unpleasantly shaky, the action and the story don't captivate, and it's really just the actors carrying the whole film. Unfortunately, a plain average and I am starting to fear that Netflix is satisfied with this because a few clicks always throw it up and it doesn't cost them as much as 6 Underground or The Irishman...5/10 (08/16/2020)

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)

If there was something done right by Netflix here it was its choice of actors. I quite missed Jamie Foxx and Joseph Gordon-Levitt and even though Project Power is quite dumb I was able to watch it because of them. Moreover the action scenes weren’t boring at all. The premise was really stupid and I could imagine these actors in something a lot better. But I would probably have to wait for it... (08/17/2020)