Rating of
3.5/4
Limitless Lucy
Leslie - wrote on 08/07/14
“Lucy” propels the ultimate drug and revenge fantasy to an evolutionary level when the movie’s heroine, played by the intoxicating Scarlett Johansson, is used twice over as a drug mule. First, her boyfriend recruits her to deliver a briefcase to a Korean kingpin known as Mr. Jang (Choi Min-sik) in a penthouse suite. Then Jang, with the aide of his henchmen, implants an experimental drug into Lucy’s stomach, along with several other would be mules, so that the drugs can be distributed to America, Paris, and elsewhere. The drug, taken in modest doses, induces a paramount euphoria in its user and promises to be the next hottest high to hit the streets. That is, if this bunch of gangsters can coin a catchy phrase to attach to it.
But as with all things macabre, the rules are ignored. The underlings just can’t seem to keep their filthy hands and feet off of the tantalizing Lucy. They dope her, grope her, and then jolt her with kicks to the stomach, causing the implanted bag of drugs to leak the chemicals into her bloodstream. Didn’t these boys’ mamas teach them how to treat a lady? Well they should have listened to mama! Over the course of the rest of the vengeful blitzing-paced 89 minutes of the film, Lucy takes advantage of every opportunity to make the chauvinistic pigs answer the question: Who’s your mama? You are Scarlett…you are!
Aside from all the vengeance, “Lucy” doubles as a lecture when Professor Samuel Norman (Morgan Freeman) gives his presentation on the known and unknown capabilities of the human brain. Even the man who so impressively portrayed God in “Bruce Almighty” is stumped when he’s questioned about what a human being would be capable of doing if he or she could access 100% of their brain’s potential use. It seems Lucy is best to consult about such a hypothesis. The continued seepage of the experimental drug into her bloodstream is steadily allowing her greater access to her brain’s untapped potential. She eventually seeks Professor Norman out and together they must formulate a plan to save Lucy from the lethal overdose.
Evolutionists will instinctively be drawn to “Lucy.” The use of special effects to narrate both the chronology of human evolution, and Lucy’s newly inherited prowess, is visually fascinating to watch. The action is nonstop. Scarlett Johansson proves she’s just as convincing with telekinesis as she is with a kiss (ask Pierre Del Rio played by Amr Waked if there’s a difference). Had there truly been anywhere else director Luc Besson could have taken “Lucy” at its close, we would have been less forgiving for its brevity. But then again, when do we not want more of Ms. Johansson?
