Superhero movies have always had a special place in popular culture, and there have been quite a few recent attempts to provide new ways of looking at the genre. Of course, the traditional big-ticket superheroes from the Marvel and DC Comics universes have proven to be huge box-office draws, especially with the Marvel Cinematic Universe breaking all records over the last few years, but the recent increase in interest in superhero-based content has also seen some interesting takes on such roles. The Amazon Prime series The Boys has been a great example of this, which looks at the possible ramifications if people with superhuman abilities begin using their powers for selfish reasons, rather than the good of humanity and society. Netflix has come into this genre as well, with the release of Project Power, where a drug can give people five minutes of superpowers.
Set in New Orleans, the movie stars Jamie Foxx and Joseph Gordon-Levitt as the two main stars of the movie. Foxx is on the lookout for the pill for his own reasons, while Gordon-Levitt plays the role of the cop trying to hunt down the source and stop the spread of the drug, working in tandem with one of the dealers, played by Dominique Fishback. Another interesting angle seen in this flick is that those who take this pill do not know what abilities they will be granted for the next five minutes, and so this leads to a lot of interesting outcomes in the movie.
However, this is still a fresh take on the genre, and in a summer where there have not been any blockbuster releases due to the pandemic, the Project Power could become a cult favourite. In fact, the PR representative of Winz.io casino online has said that this superhero TV series could inspire many new casino slot games, due to the fact that new movies from Marvel or DC will not be released for some time to come, and so fans of superhero movies could need new content to keep them engaged at casino slot games.
This movie from Netflix is quite a refreshing take on the superhero genre, but fails to build upon it, with clichéd bad guys and a mysterious criminal organization responsible for the pill and its spread. However, it is not all bad. Fishback does a fantastic job as the dealer Robin, and this could well be her breakout role, showing a ground-level view of the pill’s spread on the streets of New Orleans and the effect it has on people. Foxx’s personal mission to find the source of the pill becomes the film’s central theme, and the actor’s natural charisma carries him through this role, as the character itself is quite unmemorable and is another one which you feel that you have seen in multiple movies earlier. Gordon-Levitt’s turn as the cop who will do anything to stop the spread does not do justice to his talent, while it is also uncomfortable viewing to see a white cop discharging his duty by any means necessary in the background of the protests against police brutality currently taking place in the United States.
Ariel Schulman and Henry Joost, the director duo with the two Paranormal Activity sequels, the original Catfish documentary, and the sci-fi thriller Nerve on their credits, do a good job with the visuals, imbibing their signature digital style to this movie which gives it a very polished and glossy look. That does help paper over some significant cracks, with the cinematography proving to be excellent as well, as Michael Simmons finds interesting new angles to shoot from. The action sequences also look good, without actually bringing anything new to the table, and that can be said to be the case for the entire movie as a whole.
