The Mosley Review: Project Power
In a time where you can throw a rock and hit a film about superheroes, from time to time the rock will land on something that doesn't really push the genre forward, but is unique nonetheless. This film introduces a great concept that thankfully only last for 5 minutes at a time and it makes for some great set pieces. If it weren't for that great detail and sense of urgency, I think this film would've fell flat. The style of the storytelling reminded me of the film Babel and how each of the 3 main characters have a connection. Handled correctly, this storytelling aspect can be fantastic or too scatterbrained to focus on. The film meets both of those ideas in the middle. Its a good story that is cliche at times, delivers kinetic action packed visuals, but takes a while to focus up on the main plot.
The cast in the film do great across the board. Joseph Gordon-Levitt was fun and light as the energetic New Orleans Cop Frank Shaver. He gets to have some great action scenes and I liked his "Clint Eastwood thing". I got a few chuckles at how accurate it was. Jamie Foxx is always fantastic and I loved him as Art/The Major. He once again nails that leading man role and he is great in all of his action scenes. The scenes between him and the character Robin Reilly were the standout moments. Those scenes bring the backstory and heart of The Major out in glorious fashion. Dominique Fishback is a fairly newcomer and she holds her own as Robin Reilly. She was the heart of the film and her performance was great. As I said before, her scenes with Jamie Foxx were the highlights of the film and deliver the core of the film. Her scenes with Joseph were great too and you get more comedic moments when they're together. Dominique shows Robin's strength and attitude without overdoing and making not likable. Her rap moments were the most powerful moments. When they all eventually come together, its absolutely fun. I liked Rodrigo Santoro as the man villain, Biggie. He was your stereotypical drug dealer as he sells the power pill. He is perfectly slimy and I liked that.
The score by Joseph Trapanese was excellent and really shined towards the end of the film in a particular scene. Visually the film is stunning and the kinetic energy and inventiveness of the action scenes will keep your eyes from wondering. I loved that the power pill only last for 5 minutes and it was fun to guess what power each person would get when they took it. The only problems I had was that it lacked a focused plot for the majority of the film. It almost relied on the mcguffin too much instead of crafting a compelling story. Overall, I really had fun with this film and I would say its a great summer action film that is perfect for a big bucket of popcorn. The Netflix Original film is now streaming. Check it out!
