Neil Burger
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Connections, in both directions
There’s no question that Project Power is borrowing from other movies, such as Bradley Cooper’s underrated Limitless and elements from the Marvel and DC Comics universe.
The idea drove the plot of both Limitless (2011), which featured NZT-48, an experimental brain-enhancing ‘smart’ pill and Luc Besson’s Lucy (2014) with CPH4, an atomic-powered formula which boosts the human brain capacity from 10% to 100%.
Project Power takes the Limitless concept and runs with it to glory.
I suppose their new film, “Project Power,” is an attempt to blend the relentless energy and pacing of “Nerve” with the cerebral context of “Limitless” and the result is a tired misstep that lacks any punch and desperately needs a drink of its own medicine.
Each time the drug gets popped, there are montages of dilating eyeballs and triggered synapses that crudely mimic the ones in “Requiem for a Dream,” and the whole this drug will make you amazing! concept feels like a lift from “Limitless,” the terrific 2011 dramatic thriller that established Bradley Cooper as an actor who could do more than strut through a “Hangover” movie.
The film is part "Limitless" and part "Lethal Weapon," with superpowers thrown in for good measure.
— sometimes playing like Limitless remixed by Godfrey Reggio.
You will never shake the fact that "Lucy" is a borrowed concept from films like "Limitless" and "Transcendence" and anime classics like "Akira."
…fantasy on the order of 2011's Limitless .
He makes no bones about ripping off other movies (“D.O.A.,” “The Time Machine” and “Limitless” come quickly to mind), nor is he shy about throwing a wrench into the mechanics of quality filmmaking.
Then again, Besson probably got the idea by opting to use only 10 percent of his own noggin to make this movie, as the accomplished writer-director of The Fifth Element and La Femme Nikita doesn't seem especially interested in presenting anything particularly memorable with this concept — even Bradley Cooper's so-so Limitless, a 2011 offering with a similar plot, provided a bit more food for thought than Lucy.
It’s an even wilder ride than what we’re used to seeing from Besson in what amounts to a rather artsy film that’s a sort of “Limitless” combined with “The Tree of Life.”
A variation on a theme of the 1968 Academy Award winner “Charly,” “Limitless” asks us what we would do with superintelligence and then gives us the wrong answer, however stylishly.
This sort of mental rags-to-riches progression has inspired a lot of movies; ever see Cliff Robertson in “ Charly ” (1968)?
There’s a similar, but different enough, storyline between Neil Burger’s new film and 1969?s “Charly,” a multi-award winning feature starring Cliff Robertson—who won an Oscar for his performance as a shy, mentally challenged man turned massively intelligent savant via a drug-induced scientific experiment.
The Hunger Games (2012)
Directed by Gary Ross
influenced Divergent (2014), Voyagers (2021)
Themes Plot
Say what you will about “The Hunger Games” movies, there is a human touch in the performances, direction, and design of those films that somehow, repeatedly, gets lost in films reminiscent of the Jennifer Lawrence uber-franchise.
Divergent has been compared to The Hunger Games, but at least Suzanne Collins’ fantasy had some sort of real-world relevance, even edging up to social satire.
Since the Twilight series ended and The Hunger Games quadrology started, teen-aimed adaptations of novels with fantastical or supernatural themes – among them, The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones and Beautiful Creatures – have been a timid bunch that made an even more tepid total at the box office.
Putting aside the obvious “Harry Potter” rip-off here, allow me to propose a faction for our times: Wannabe knockoffs of “Twilight” and “The Hunger Games.”
Divergent lacks the simplicity in concept of The Hunger Games, an obvious influence and brass ring; it takes exactly 10 words to explain “children must fight to the death for the state’s entertainment,” and a heck of a lot more to unravel why Dauntless and Erudite take their names from adjectives, while the other factions warrant nouns.
With strong themes of female empowerment and individualism mixed in with budding romance and a healthy helping of post-apocalyptic violence, it admittedly bears a more-than-passing resemblance to “The Hunger Games” franchise.
The creative visual effects combined with Bradley Cooper’s voice over had me thinking a lot about David Fincher’s Fight Club .
Morra’s out-of-body experiences have hints of “Fight Club” and “Requiem for a Dream,” but Burger’s camera work never entirely matches the coolness of the idea or his star.
Limitless doesn't add up terribly well, but director Neil Burger (The Illusionist) plunges into the material at such a headlong pace and with sufficient adrenalized style (Fight Club being an obvious narrative and visual touchstone) as to propel this essentially trashy thriller and distract from the abundant loose ends.
The film is imitating not just the drug-rush look of David Fincher's "Fight Club," but some of its giddy cynicism.
Pallidly aping the opening pre-climax and jaundiced first-person narration of David Fincher’s zeitgeisty black comedy Fight Club , Leslie Dixon’s screenplay instead displays a satirical aptitude on a par with her biggest hit, Mrs. Doubtfire .
While Dixon was neglecting her duties, director Burger saw fit to distract us with fancy visuals and a Fight Club -style framing device.
The 5th Wave (2016)
Directed by J Blakeson
influenced by Divergent (2014), Voyagers (2021)
Themes Plot
So how does The 5th Wave compare to The Hunger Games, Divergent, The Maze Runner, or the other YA novels hitting theaters?
And in execution, “The 5th Wave” is probably most equal to the “Divergent” series, which also tried to copy “The Hunger Games” but has just become increasingly derivative and convoluted with each installment, like last year’s “Insurgent.”
I haven't read Yancey's source work, but hear it was generally well-received, even if being clearly derivative of and certainly riding the coattails of earlier related works such as the "Hunger Games," "Divergent" and "Maze Runner" franchises.
And although an admittedly decent third-act twist injects some life into the pervasively tedious proceedings, The 5th Wave ultimately falls right in line with such by-the-numbers young-adult fare as the Hunger Games and Divergent series - with the movie's open conclusion sure to provoke groans and eye-rolls from even the hardiest of audience members.
The 5th Wave joins, or at least aspires to, YA-fiction titans The Hunger Games and the Divergent series.
After “The Hunger Games,” “Divergent” and “The Maze Runner” series have jammed multiplexes in recent years, “The 5th Wave,” indeed, feels like the fifth wave of book-to-screen adaptations of end-of-the-world stories aimed at young adults.
The theme of the individual versus the collective was ably explored in films like Invasion of the Body Snatchers and The Matrix , rather brilliantly explored in last year's The World's End , and rather bluntly laid out in things like 1984, Elysium , Upside Down , and The Hunger Games .
For instance, the conversation about futuristic dystopias and/or social upheaval no longer includes 1984 , Brave New World , or Fahrenheit 451 .
If I mention the fingerprints of George Orwell’s 1984 this review may explode.
The repression debate soon dissolves into generic chase scenes, including an underwhelming climax reminiscent of Alien (1979), and an impossibly wholesome epilogue.
Indeed, the “Alien” DNA is obvious in “Voyagers,” but Ridley Scott’s 1979 masterpiece is inescapable in modern sci-fi.
Fans of science-fiction will recognize bits from vastly superior properties: The placating drugs of Aldous Huxley’s “Brave New World,” the closely guarded memories of Lois Lowry’s “The Giver,” the sequestered paranoia of “Alien.”
When the infighting starts revolving around a potentially mysterious presence, for instance, the feature nudges its audience to think about Alien and Prometheus .
Didn’t anyone in Neil Burger’s Voyagers see Alien (1979)?
Morra’s out-of-body experiences have hints of “Fight Club” and “Requiem for a Dream,” but Burger’s camera work never entirely matches the coolness of the idea or his star.
Having not read the book it was based on, The Dark Fields, and gleaning on a mixed sense of what would occur in the film from trailers I wasn't sure if I was headed into something akin to a techno-thriller Requiem for a Dream or an drug covered The Fugitive.
Sketchy attempts at action?a chase through Central Park, a fight to the death in Eddie's high-rise condo?are interspersed between long sections that play like a wannabe " Wall Street " by way of "Requiem for a Dream" had that pitch-black Darren Aronofsky cautionary tale portrayed its drug-addled ensemble as getting by just fine hopped up on crack and diet pills, thank you very much.
It's like "Wall Street" crossed with "Rain Man" hopped up on "Requiem for a Dream".
The movie’s predictability is a key to its appeal, in much the same way that the jaunty playing-out of racial stereotypes was integral to the appeal of “Green Book,” the most recent example of a movie that rejiggered the “Driving Miss Daisy” formula for a brotherhood-of-man vibe.
In other words, this is the Green Book of disability films, right down to the examination of the relationship barriers between disabled and able-bodied people.
However, this American version (which was wrangled away for distribution by STX Entertainment from The Weinstein Company after it crashed and burned in ignominy last year) is more likely to be compared with a more recent release of dubious racial connotations: Green Book.
Green Book , which tilled similar ground less than three months ago, was practically a primer on what we could expect from The Upside .
Just a few months after Green Book, here comes another story of the friendship between two very different men, one white and one black.
Yet unlike the “Divergent” series, which was undone by an increasingly generic vibe — hope you haven’t been holding your breath for the scuttled feature resolution, “Ascendant” — O’Brien and the gang get a shot at redeeming their franchise.
I can’t say the delay hurt the film in any noticeable way, as this series, for all its visual flourish and visceral action theatrics has always tilted more in the director of Divergent and its ilk than it does The Hunger Games.
Unlike The Hunger Games or Divergent, a monstrous autocracy is not responsible for all the world’s ills.
Despite the monster success of “The Hunger Games,” most of the follow-ups have fallen apart along the way (a la “Divergent”) or never really gotten off the ground in the first place (“I Am Number Four;” “The 5th Wave;” “The Mortal Instruments;” etc.).
That one of the most charitable things one could say about Maze Runner: The Death Cure is that at least it finished out the trilogy plan suggested by its source material, unlike the Divergent series, is hollow praise if ever there was such a thing.
In this way, "The Illusionist" is very much reminiscent of a forgotten 1932 picture called "Arsene Lupin," starring John Barrymore as a master art thief and his brother Lionel Barrymore as the detective determined to put him behind bars.
But lacking the wit, depth and charm of The Breakfast Club, Divergent simply exists to hit you over the head with its unsubtle theme.
My generation had The Breakfast Club, where you know that John Bender would be Dauntless and Molly Ringwald was a total Erudite.
Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (2015)
Directed by Wes Ball
influenced by Divergent (2014)
Plot Themes Visuals
The filmmakers of course copy as much as they can from The Hunger Games, Divergent, even Ender's Game.
Like Divergent, it’s based on a blatant Hunger Games ripoff/cash grab book series.
If the original Maze Runner was a cross between Lord of the Flies and The Hunger Games, this next instalment, based on book two of James Dashner's young adult trilogy, channels Mad Max and Divergent - the fight for survival now takes place among demolished cities and desert landscapes.
At first they seem to be swept up by rebels who are taking them to some safe paradise, but things aren’t what they seem, so the kids break free and set off across crumbling city sets that look directly lifted from the “Divergent” movies, seeking some refuge.
2014's " The Maze Runner " (based on the first in James Dashner's three-part YA fantasy book series) separated itself from the onslaught of dystopian book-to-movie adaptations such as " The Hunger Games " and " Divergent " by opting for mystery over exposition, told from the perspectives of characters stranded in a labyrinth-surrounded glade who had no memories beyond their first names.
If you're not fed up with the sci-fi subgenre where brave, photogenic teenagers in a dystopian future fight the never-ending battle for truth, justice and the American Way, this one is passable enough—The Hunger Games without Jennifer Lawrence, Divergent without Shailene Woodley.
When "Divergent" director Neil Burger sought inspiration for the movie's teenage heroine, there was one character that immediately leaped to mind -- James Dean's Jim Stark, the rebellious protagonist who defies his parents and peers in 1955's "Rebel Without a Cause."
"Limitless" will turn the genre-screw once more, to spike its climactic moments with a delicious homage to " Taxi Driver ."
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Directed by Stanley Kubrick
influenced Voyagers (2021)
Themes Characters Visuals
Sure, in film, sci-fi is generally split between blockbuster IP exploitation and the po-faced navel-gazing that comes from learning all the wrong lessons from Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey .
Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) was not built on strong human characters either.
When the picture simply lingers within the spaceship's stylish but restrictive walls and ripples with unease, 2001: A Space Odyssey casts a shadow.
While bearing strong influences from 2001: A Space Odyssey and George Lucas’ THX-1138 , Voyagers isn’t quite as brainy as either of those films, and certainly isn’t original enough to be called smart.
The first third of “Voyagers” takes visual cues from “2001: A Space Odyssey.”
Insulating these folks from Earth life means nobody’s seen “2001: A Space Odyssey” or any of the other films to use that emergency as the inciting incident.
If Now You See It resides below those two superb 2006 films on magicians, Christopher Nolan’s The Prestige and Neil Burger’s The Illusionist, that’s because director Louis Leterrier has the energy but not the visual grace to match the elegant malefactions of his characters.
Suffice it to say, great movies about the magician's art — films like The Prestige and Edward Norton's The Illusionist — manage to make you forget that film itself is an illusion, one capable of miracles that dwarf the best stuff a tag team of Harry Houdini, David Copperfield and David Blaine could ever whip up.
And I was very happy back in 2006, when we had two competing period pieces — "The Prestige" and "The Illusionist" — about tricky prestidigitators.
In 2006, The Prestige and The Illusionist were released within just a few months of each other.
Of the myriad high-cheekboned Calvin Klein models, the main trio consists of the blandly heroic Christopher (Tye Sheridan, “Ready Player One”), a manically glossy-eyed Zac (Fionn Whitehead, “Dunkirk”) and the dour Sela (Johnny Depp’s daughter, Lily-Rose Depp, who channels dad’s “Cry-Baby” sullenness here).
Dauntless are the warrior/protectors — reminiscent somehow of the Jets and Sharks from “West Side Story,” they are pierced and tattooed and dress in black — while the folks in Abnegation are known for their selfless charity.
But Tris can’t bring herself to stay subjugated within Abnegation, jumping to Dauntless at the last minute, where she meets Four (Theo James), goes through a series of tests/training in her new futuristic variation on the Sharks from “West Side Story”, and makes new friends and enemies.
"Divergent" takes place in a post-apocalyptic Chicago, where all citizens are forced to join "West Side Story" factions by taking a cyberpunk mash-up of the Myers-Briggs personality test and an electric-blue Kool-Aid acid trip.