Director/writer James Mark’s Enhanced tells the story Alana, a young woman with enhanced abilities (Alanna Bale) who crosses paths with George (George Tchortov), a disenfranchised government agent tasked with capturing people with enhanced abilities. The unlikely pair joins forces after they’re both threatened by alpha mutant (Chris Mark).

Enhanced is a low budget (in a good way) superhero story. In the age of Marvel and DC films with massive budgets, Enhanced has a minimalist approach to its superhero story. The action sequences and fight scenes aren’t cluttered with CGI or special effects. There are no flying people shooting laser out of their eyes. There’s nobody that phases through buildings. There’s no final battle that leaves a major city in rubble.

What Enhanced does have is a lot of heart and the heart of the film is Anna and George building trust in their relationship over the course of the film. The two characters are perfectly pair to go up against the antagonist David (Mark). As they struggle to earn each others trust, David is a singular mission and won’t stop until he succeeds.

If you can’t outdo the other comic book films in scale, you have to set yourself apart. Enhanced succeeds at just that. The film gives a different perspective of what a superhero’s journey could be. It’s a story about people with enhanced abilities on the run from the government that fits right in with  X-Men The Animated Series from the 90s.

Most importantly, the film is fun and engaging. George is positioned to be the villain. His team up with Alana is the best part of the film. There are familiar tropes from sci-films, but the film does them well enough to make them enjoyable. 

Enhanced is well done sci-fi film. The story drops you into a world of enhanced beings, superpowers, and government overreach. It’s the kind of story fans wanted from Fox’s X-Men films. The minimalist quality may not everyone’s cup of tea, but if you like good storytelling and fun sci-fi; Enhanced may be worth your time.

Grade: B