Melissa’s Review: ‘Lucy’ Is Not ‘Limitless’

Lucy-04Lucy (written and directed by Luc Besson) may seem comparable to the 2011 movie, Limitless, but their only comparison is the concept of utilizing brain capacity via a drug. In Limitless, Eddie (Bradley Cooper) was a down-on-his luck writer with low motivation who suddenly gets his hands on a drug that allows him to use 100% of his brain capacity, thus making him instantly successful and popular. In Lucy, the title character (Scarlett Johansson) is a college student who is kidnapped to become a drug mule to a new drug when it burst inside of her. As Lucy’s brain capacity increases and the plot seemingly moves forward…oh, I’m not going to give it away. The point is, the action goes downhill.

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What was fun about Limitless was how Eddie capitalized on his new brain skills and became super motivated. It wasn’t about action, it was about mental acuity. With Lucy, her increasing brain abilities only seem to decrease her emotions and cause her to be a dull figure, especially in action sequences.

I do appreciate how quickly Lucy begins, but the acceleration doesn’t really lead to anything. There are a few moments where the audience learns about her, but basically, there’s no reason to care about her other than just being Scarlett Johansson. Morgan Freeman is thrown in to shed light on the situation, but has nothing to contribute other than providing an awesome narrative voice.

I was anticipating an action-packed thrill ride in which Johansson would kick ass (minus that terrible hair from The Avengers) but it only lasted a few scenes. It’s even written and directed by Luc Besson, who brought us such great female ass-kickers as the title character in La Femme Nikita, Mathilda in The Professional and Leeloo in The Fifth Element. Such a shame, the trailer really had me.

About Melissa Hanson

Melissa Hanson aka Dial M For Melissa - Managing Editor / Podcast Producer - Growing up, Melissa’s favorite destination was always the video store and would agonize over whether to watch something new or to rewatch a favorite. Things have not changed. Follow on Twitter @DialMForMelissa

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