Enhanced (2019)

(On Cable TV, January 2022) The problem with good ideas is that they often end up being copied by people who don’t have the creativity to have good ideas of their own, don’t understand the reasons why they’re good ideas and don’t have the skills to execute them well. Super-powered mutants aren’t necessarily a terrible idea, but by this time in the superhero era, you better bring something fresh or competent to the table if you want good reviews. Enhanced, sadly, does neither—and could be entered as a contestant in the category of Blandest Superhero film. I’m not sure anyone can make a more generic super-mutant film if they deliberately tried to. A blend of tired tropes executed in snooze-inducing fashion, it’s a film that feels satisfied by stealing ideas from much better movies without putting in the effort to make itself distinctive. The cinematography is a familiar blend of dark urban landscapes and laughably ridiculous super-secret military installations. The plot is familiar to the point of making sense even if you should happen to miss entire minutes of it. The actors are there for the paycheque, and writer-director James Mark barely manages to present the material he’s got on screen. There’s a very late blip of interest as we finally get to the ending confrontation but it’s far too little for what feels like a substantial investment, even at 99 minutes. The only superheroic thing about Enhanced is how quickly it’s forgotten after viewing.