Project Power (2020)

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1. 

   Torgo

   Starts off as an actually catchy blend of Traffic, Limitless, Fantastic Four and Training Day with some neat special effects but hardly stays engaging for more than half an hour.
   
   It's weird that the same guys created the highly original Catfish a decade ago only to end up with such a blown-up formulaic piece of sci-fi action. Well. 3 years 8 months ago
2. 

   Siskoid

   Though it has a less open-ended resolution than The Old Guard, Project Power nonetheless feels like another Netflix would-be movie franchise built on a high-concept action premise that, if it gets enough views, could spawn another go. This one's about a Big Pharma conspiracy to test a drug on the streets of New Orleans, that gives you super-powers for five minutes, or if you're not so lucky, makes you blow up. The production has access to a collection of cool effects and three protagonists whose stories will dovetail in time for the finale, and the structure thus feels like this was originally written to be a TV show. Between this and the enemy's agenda, it is very much The Old Guard. What saves it from being too generic are the three leads. Jamie Foxx, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Dominique Fishback are people you want to watch, and though the first two characters, on the page, are as stock as stock can be, the actors are able to bring something extra in their performances. Not bad, but not particularly memorable either. 3 years 8 months ago
3. 

   Hasturion

   It feels more like an extended first episode for a TV show. In fact, I thought I was until I realized I was halfway through.
   This movie stands up mostly thanks to the character of Robin, the only one dignified by a glimpse of her daily life, since none of the two male action leads get much more characterization than there core motivation and archetype (one is a young cop who loves his city and doesn't play by the rules, the other is a ruthless ex military out for revenge).
   the other draw, is the visual aspect: poor, damp and run down, the new orleans of the film looks pretty cool, in accordance with the presentation of the powers: messy, leaving stigmates on the users, like burns, or saggy skin, scars... we have the feeling of an experimental, dangerous drug rather than the clean superpowers of most similar media.
   
   That said, the plot is so flimsy, I wouldn't even call it predicable: I wasn't engaged enough to push me to try and predict anything. The villains have very :little personality or buildup, beyond the evil pharma company shtick (the old guard wasn't half as visually stylish , but at least it had an enjoyably punchable villain), and it really cuts down on the excitement of finding what powers our protagonists will have to face next.
   the choreography of fights is dynamic, and the presentation inventive at times, but it also goes for handheld camera and lots of cutting, and while this messy style feeds into the overall mood, it's not very engaging.
   
   watch it for the art direction, the actors and the concept, but don't go in expecting too much. 3 years 8 months ago

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