Netflix’s “Project Power”: the Problem With Superpowers …

If you could have a superpower, what would it be?

I ask this after watching Netflix’s “Project Power” starring Jamie Foxx and Joseph Gordon-Levitt. The movie was very enjoyable and fast-paced, with gritty elements and sympathetic characters. In short, everything you want in a science fiction movie.

The plot centers around pills that can bestow superpowers. The superpowers themselves were a little all over the place. They supposedly were extracted from animal DNA and include such things as invincibility, the ability to heal, or camouflage, or generate heat or cold. You don’t know what you’re going to get, and the effect lasts only for five minutes.

Photo: Netflix.com

Some of the superpowers come with painful side effects. Even worse, some people can’t take whatever it is and die a gruesome death.

But that’s the thing with superpowers, at least in the movies. They always come with a catch.

So what sort of superpowers would you want? The ability to fly, time-travel, or move at the speed of light? As for myself, I’d request a package that would include more than one power. So instead of asking for the ability to fly, I’d ask to be Superman. That way, I get to fly as well as have superior strength and invincibility (except, of course, for kryptonite).

Finally, if you do have a superpower, don’t forget Spider-Man’s warning: “With great power comes great responsibility,” otherwise known as the Peter Parker Principle. There’s always a catch.