Omari Hardwick
Lela Loren
Naturi Naughton
Joseph Sikora

Created by:
Courtney Kemp Agboh

2014-
Crime, Drama
Starz
TV-MA

“Power,” produced in part by Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson, is a fairly sleek urban crime drama that includes a family plot. In some ways, it’s a response to “Ray Donovan.” However, those two shows certainly have their differences, and “Ray Donovan” is much better. “Ray Donovan” is more grounded and has much better writing and acting. But, while “Ray Donovan” is clearly better, I would rather watch this show than Fox’s “Gang Related.”

There’s nothing new presented in “Power,” and that’s fine. However, this show needs to be executed much better to stand out in some way. It needs more of a pulse. The actors’ timing is off, at times. That may be their fault, the writers’ fault, or some combination of the two. They seem to be playing at being in the crime world, instead of nailing its depiction.

“Power” isn’t bad, though. It’s not a joke. But it lacks the requisite sharpness to be compelling. It would be worth a watch, on Saturday nights, if they tightened everything up and built momentum throughout each episode. During the pilot, I just didn’t feel the weight that’s necessary to make a crime drama credible. It needs to skew a little more toward Spike Lee’s “Sucker Free City,” which also features Omari Hardwick, to appropriately land all of its moments; not too much, though (just a little).

Another problem with the pilot is that there’s no discernible hook, until the very end. By the time that hook comes, it’s too little, too late. As a result, I don’t care about anything or anyone.

“Power” may get its bearings over the next few episodes, or it may not. We’ll see. …

After watching the fourth episode of “Power,” I’m done. It’s not horrible, but it certainly isn’t good. It still hasn’t gotten its bearings; it likely never will. It merely stays on the same plane: no momentum or appropriate build-up. By the way, when “50” finally shows up in the third episode, he does an amateurish job in a bit part; and this isn’t hard stuff to pull off.

Speed would be this show’s friend, but the creative team seems to think that “Power” is a serious endeavor that should be savored. Please.

Verdict: OK to Whatever

About: (Source: power)

From Executive Producer Curtis “50 Cent” Jackson comes the crime drama Power. James “Ghost” St. Patrick owns Truth, New York’s hottest, up-and-coming new nightclub for the city’s elite. When he’s not at the club, he’s kingpin of a lucrative drug network. Ghost wants to go legit but once you’re in, it’s hard to get out.