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Project Power

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Project Power
Official promotional poster
Directed by
Written byMattson Tomlin
Produced by
Starring
CinematographyMichael Simmonds
Edited byJeff McEvoy
Music byJoseph Trapanese
Production
companies
  • Screen Arcade
  • Supermarche
Distributed byNetflix
Release date
  • August 14, 2020 (2020-08-14) (United States)
Running time
114 minutes[1]
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$85.1 million[2]

Project Power is a 2020 American superhero film[3] directed by Henry Joost and Ariel Schulman, produced by Eric Newman and Bryan Unkeless, and written by Mattson Tomlin. It stars Jamie Foxx, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Dominique Fishback, alongside Colson Baker, Rodrigo Santoro, Amy Landecker and Allen Maldonado, and follows a drug dealer, a police officer, and a former soldier who team up to stop the distribution of a pill that gives the user superpowers for five minutes.

The film was released on August 14, 2020, by Netflix. It received mixed reviews from critics, who praised the performances of the cast, action sequences and visuals but criticized the screenplay for not taking full advantage of its premise.[4]

Plot

In near-future New Orleans, a mysterious distributor offers a free supply of “Power”–a pill that grants various superpowers for five minutes–to a group of drug dealers, including one named Newt.

Six weeks later, Newt's teenage cousin Robin, a dealer herself, is nearly robbed by customers seeking Power. She is rescued by NOPD Officer Frank Shaver, one of her regular buyers. Art, a man hunting for the distributor “Biggie”, tracks down Newt, who dies after a struggle when he overdoses on Power. Frank foils a bank robbery by a Power-enhanced thief, but is suspended for using Power himself. His captain reveals that government personnel are pressuring him to terminate any investigation into Power, and gives Frank a picture of the man they suspect to be the source of the drug: Art.

Using Newt’s phone to find and abduct Robin, Art forces her to take him to the drug cartel's safehouse. He is shot while eliminating several of the cartel's men, and discovers that Power users throughout New Orleans are being monitored as test subjects for the drug. Art bonds with Robin as they treat his wounds, and reveals that after leaving the military, he was recruited by Teleios, a private defense contractor who experimented on him to create superpowers. His daughter Tracy, born after the experiments, exhibited powers without ever taking the drug, and was abducted by Wallace, a Teleios operative.

Art and Robin find Biggie hosting a private demonstration of Project Power for a potential buyer near the Superdome, where large groups of Saints fans are arriving for a home game. Biggie claims that Power represents “the next evolution of the human species”, with the pill’s powers derived from the abilities of animals, such as the chameleon or the wolverine frog. Art interrogates Biggie at gunpoint and learns of a ship, the Genesis, but Frank intervenes, having tracked other users to the demonstration. Biggie takes a dose of Power, forcing Art, Robin, and Frank to flee as Art kills Biggie in an explosion.

Frank arrests Art and informs his captain, but Art explains that the Power epidemic in New Orleans is mass testing to stabilize the drug, and that Tracy is the source of the drug’s powers. Having convinced Frank that his captain is actually taking orders from Teleios, Art purposely has himself captured by Teleios and taken aboard the Genesis. Frank and Robin infiltrate the ship, and Art persuades a guard to free him. Frank and Art kill Wallace, while Robin finds Tracy and reunites her with her father.

As the four attempt to flee, Robin is captured by Dr. Gardner, the head of Project Power, who demands Tracy in exchange for Robin’s life. Art confronts Gardner, revealing that Power gives him the abilities of a pistol shrimp, which he uses to kill Gardner and her men and rescue Robin. Using his power costs Art his life, but Tracy resurrects him with her own powers, and they all escape the ship.

Frank intends to expose Project Power to the press, while Art decides to move on. He gives Robin his truck and a bag full of money to cover her mother's medical needs, telling her to use the greatness inside of her. Art and Tracy depart, finally free. Meanwhile, Robin begins a new career as a rapper.

Cast

  • Jamie Foxx as Art; a U.S. Army Major and Delta Force operator who was one of Power's original test subjects; he possesses the ability inherited from a pistol shrimp, thus being able to launch powerful heatwaves from his body. However, he goes into a coma-like state as his powers take a toll on him.
  • Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Frank Shaver; a NOPD detective. He receives Power that hardens his skin, effectively making him bulletproof. This ability is probably inherited from an armadillo and does not give invulnerability, but just lowers the amount of damage received to the point Frank does not receive any serious injuries. His ability also gives him a strength boost.
  • Dominique Fishback as Robin Reilly; a street-smart Power dealer who aspires to be a rap artist.
  • Colson Baker as Newt; Robin's cousin and fellow Power dealer, who possesses the ability of thermal regulation that allows him to generate fire from his body. However, this ability only offers him limited fire resistance, leaving him with serious burns on his body from overuse. He dies after overdosing on the drug, causing him to self-detonate.
  • Rodrigo Santoro as Biggie; one of Power's creators, who possesses the ability to rapidly increase in size and strength.
  • Amy Landecker as Gardner
  • Allen Maldonado as Landry
  • Kyanna Simone Simpson as Tracy; Art's daughter who possess the ability to heal organic matter; her powers were inherited from her father and come naturally.
  • Andrene Ward-Hammond as Irene
  • Courtney B. Vance as Captain Crane; Shaver's NOPD commanding officer.
  • Casey Neistat as Moto, Candy's boyfriend.
  • Jim Klock as Mr. Luker
  • Luke Hawx as Bouncer
  • Janet Rose Nguyen as Deli Girl
  • Rose Bianco as the Matriarch
  • Tait Fletcher as Wallace; an employee of Gardner's who possesses the ability of superhuman strength probably inherited from a rhinoceros. Downside is that he receives damage as usual since he does not have an ability to protect his body from taking damage. He died after receiving two shotgun shots in the chest from Art.
  • Yoshi Sudarso as Knifebones; a henchman of Gardner's who possesses the ability of turning his bones into weapons. His power was inherited from a hairy frog.
  • Jane Chika Oranika as Akeela; Robin's classmate.
  • Jazzy De Lisser as Candy; Moto's girlfriend who was given a pill to test it out. She inherited an ability of thermal regulation, but instead of Newt's immolation, she can lower the temperature of her own body and her surroundings to extremely low temperatures. However, like Newt, she only received limited cold resistance and eventually freezes to death after the experiment chamber's control panel was damaged.
  • Cory Demeyers as Griff; a Power user and bank robber, that Frank pursues. He inherited the ability of skin camouflage from an octopus or chameleon.
  • Azhar Khan as Guello; one of the drug dealers standing higher in the chain after Robin. Art asks Robin to go to him to find information of the one who kidnapped his daughter. He inherited an ability of spontaneous regeneration, allowing him to heal with increased speed from a lizard.

Production

In October 2017, it was announced that Netflix had acquired Mattson Tomlin's spec script Power in a bidding war with several other studios. Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost would direct the film, with Eric Newman and Bryan Unkeless producing.[5] In September 2018, Jamie Foxx, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Dominique Fishback joined the cast of the then-untitled film.[6][7] In October 2018, Rodrigo Santoro, Amy Landecker, Allen Maldonado, Kyanna Simone Simpson, Andrene Ward-Hammond, Machine Gun Kelly, and Casey Neistat joined the cast of the film.[8][9] In November 2018, Jim Klock joined the cast of the film.[10] In December 2018, Courtney B. Vance joined the cast of the film.[11] In July 2020, it was announced that the film would officially be titled Project Power.[12]

Filming

Principal photography began on October 8, 2018 and concluded on December 22, 2018.[13][14] Filming took place in New Orleans.[15][16] On October 31, 2018, Joseph Gordon-Levitt was injured during filming while riding a bicycle.[16] The film had a total production budget of $85.1 million, with $80.4 million spent on-location in Louisiana.[2]

Reception

Viewership

Project Power was released by Netflix on August 14, 2020.[17] It was the top-streamed film on the platform in its first two weekends, before finishing in second place in its third.[18][19][20] In October 2020, Netflix reported 75 million households watched the film over its first four weeks of release.[21] In November, Variety reported the film was the 12th-most watched straight-to-streaming title of 2020 up to that point.[22]

Critical response

On review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes, the film holds an approval rating of 60% based on 169 reviews, with an average rating of 5.7/10. The website's critics' consensus reads: "Although it wastes some of the potential of its premise, Project Power is a slick, fun action thriller - and features a star-making turn from Dominique Fishback."[23] Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 51 out of 100, based on 35 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[24]

Writing for The Hollywood Reporter, David Rooney said that "what makes Project Power entertaining is its canny combination of familiar ingredients in a textured real-world milieu that gives it fresh flavor."[25] Kate Erbland of IndieWire gave the film a "C+" and said that "Project Power wrestles with a litany of thorny moral issues (and not only those of the 'great power, great responsibility' vibe) but never fully engages with them. There's broad strokes about the impact of Hurricane Katrina on New Orleans residents, and a paper-thin exploration of the criminal implications of a cop not only using the drug, but buying it off a teenage dealer."[26]

References

  1. ^ "Project Power". Netflix. Archived from the original on August 11, 2020. Retrieved August 5, 2020.
  2. ^ a b "Initial Certification Search" (Type "Power" in the search box). Fastlane NextGen. Archived from the original on June 15, 2020. Retrieved August 1, 2020.
  3. ^ "'Power' player: Jamie Foxx on his new Netflix film and becoming the first Black Pixar lead". EW.com. Archived from the original on August 20, 2020. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  4. ^ Ho, Pang-Chieh (August 14, 2020). "Is The Jamie Foxx Superhero Movie 'Project Power' Any Good? Here's What The Reviews Say". DIGG. Archived from the original on August 16, 2020. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  5. ^ Lang, Brent (October 16, 2017). "Netflix Wins Bidding War for 'Power,' White Hot Spec Script (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Archived from the original on September 4, 2018. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
  6. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (September 20, 2018). "Jamie Foxx & Joseph Gordon-Levitt Join Netflix's Untitled Henry Joost-Ariel Schulman Sci-Fi Feature". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on August 18, 2020. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
  7. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (September 27, 2018). "Jamie Foxx & Joseph Gordon-Levitt Netflix Sci-Fi Movie Finds Female Lead In 'The Deuce's Dominique Fishback". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on February 12, 2020. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
  8. ^ N'Duka, Amanda (October 10, 2018). "Rodrigo Santoro, Amy Landecker, Colson Baker & More Join Jamie Foxx/Joseph Gordon-Levitt Netflix Film". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on July 16, 2020. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
  9. ^ Neistat, Casey (November 5, 2018). "weird flex but ok". YouTube. Archived from the original on December 19, 2018. Retrieved November 5, 2018.
  10. ^ N'Duka, Amanda (November 28, 2018). "Bree Condon To Play Kimberly Guilfoyle In Jay Roach Fox News Film; Chelsea Harris Books 'Top Gun: Maverick'". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on August 9, 2020. Retrieved November 28, 2018.
  11. ^ Schulman, Ariel (December 20, 2018). "That's a wrap on @courtneybvance . guy is cooler than a polar bears toenails". Instagram. Archived from the original on August 20, 2020. Retrieved December 25, 2018.
  12. ^ Hersko, Tyler (July 15, 2020). "'Project Power' Trailer: Jamie Foxx, Joseph Gordon-Levitt Team for Netflix's Next Summer Tentpole". IndieWire. Archived from the original on August 19, 2020. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
  13. ^ Schulman, Ariel (December 22, 2018). "🥂 THATS A WRAP 🥂 Love to every single person that worked on this thing. coming to Netflix in a little while..." Instagram. Archived from the original on August 20, 2020. Retrieved December 24, 2018.
  14. ^ Schulman, Ariel (October 8, 2018). "Day one cheesin. 🎬". Instagram. Archived from the original on August 20, 2020. Retrieved October 11, 2018.
  15. ^ Scott, Mike (November 5, 2018). "Is that Joseph Gordon-Levitt wearing Steve Gleason's Saints jersey? Yep. Here's why". NOLA.com. Archived from the original on July 22, 2020. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
  16. ^ a b Levine, Daniel S. (November 1, 2018). "Joseph Gordon-Levitt Injured in On-Set Bike Crash". PopCulture.com. Archived from the original on July 17, 2020. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
  17. ^ EW Staff. "The 25 must-watch movies of the strangest summer ever". Entertainment Weekly. Archived from the original on July 29, 2020. Retrieved May 17, 2020.
  18. ^ Brueggemann, Tom (August 17, 2020). "Canadian Box Office Reopens as 'Unhinged' and 'SpongeBob Movie' Take the Lead". IndieWire. Archived from the original on August 20, 2020. Retrieved August 20, 2020.
  19. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on September 28, 2020. Retrieved September 1, 2020.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  20. ^ Brueggemann, Tom (August 31, 2020). "'Bill & Ted Face the Music' Tops Multiple VOD Charts as Chadwick Boseman Films Soar". IndieWire. Archived from the original on September 24, 2020. Retrieved August 31, 2020.
  21. ^ Low, Elaine (October 20, 2020). "'The Old Guard' Viewed By 78 Million Households in First Four Weeks, Says Netflix". Variety. Archived from the original on October 21, 2020. Retrieved October 20, 2020.
  22. ^ Bridge, Gavin (November 4, 2020). "DATA: 'BORAT 2' SECOND ONLY TO 'HAMILTON' IN MOST-WATCHED U.S. SVOD MOVIES OF 2020". Variety. Archived from the original on November 4, 2020. Retrieved November 4, 2020.
  23. ^ "Project Power (2020)". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on August 19, 2020. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  24. ^ "Project Power Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on August 20, 2020. Retrieved September 13, 2020.
  25. ^ Rooney, David (August 13, 2020). "'Project Power': Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter. Archived from the original on August 16, 2020. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  26. ^ Erbland, Kate (August 13, 2020). "'Project Power' Review: Jamie Foxx and Dominique Fishback Fight Pill-Popping Superheroes". IndieWire. Archived from the original on August 20, 2020. Retrieved August 13, 2020.
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