Project Power (2020)

Project Power takes a familiar superpowered premise and jolts it to life with a street-level urgency: imagine a superhero movie that smells like rain on hot pavement, where power is literally a drug and every five-minute high could be a miracle or a curse. Set against a vividly lived-in New Orleans, the film moves with propulsive energy, delivering punchy action and clever, often striking visuals that make each new ability feel dangerous rather than cute. Jamie Foxx and Joseph Gordon-Levitt bring grit and momentum, but it’s Dominique Fishback who gives the movie its pulse—funny, fierce, and human in a way that keeps the spectacle grounded. If you want a clean, four-quadrant capes-and-quips ride, the drug-fueled edge may not be for you, but if you’re craving a slick, charismatic sci-fi crime thriller with real texture, this one goes down easy.

Project Power is clearly aiming for a gritty New Orleans superpower thriller with a timely “drug-as-upgrade” hook, and for about five minutes at a time it actually works. The problem is the movie keeps piling on plot threads and big ideas it doesn’t fully develop, so the pacing starts to feel like it’s sprinting and stumbling at once. If you’re hoping for tight world-building, clean rules, and a focused crime story, this can feel muddled and weirdly bloated by the back half. Still, the cast is likable (Fishback in particular brings real spark), and the action has a few inventive moments—just don’t expect the premise to be explored as sharply as it deserves.