Lucy Review

In a world where all the Asians are evil and all the other races, except one, are good, a woman caught in the middle of a mysterious business transaction is exposed to an illicit substance that inadvertently gives her the ability to increasingly use a higher percentage of her brain. As a giant loading screen appears on the screen counting from 10 to 100, she uses her newfound abilities to turn the tables on her captors and transform into a merciless weapon of destruction. This is Limitless…I mean Lucy…

It is difficult to talk about Lucy without giving away spoilers. If the film had stuck to its synopsis as laid down above, it would have been a fun ride. However, it was a film that suffered from false advertising and a very unbelievable premise. Everything in the synopsis and in the trailers that attracts one to the concept is done in a fun first half of the film. Unfortunately, it later turns into a silly, ridiculous, and annoying film as the writer/director tries to force anti-creationism messages down the audience’s throats.

Apparently, drugs give you
the power of flight.

Let’s be honest, the real reason people are interested in the film is Scarlett Johansson. With Marvel still unwilling to announce a Black Widow movie, many people are hoping for Lucy to scratch that itch they have for a Scarlett Johansson superhero film and Johansson does not disappoint. Continuing to prove that she’s more than just a pretty face, she almost perfectly portrays the vulnerability and, later on, emotionless character that was required of her. With this performance, Johansson will hopefully be able to show Marvel that she can not only carry her own movie, but also be a box office draw, and hopefully force that Black Widow movie fans have been asking for. Any flaws in the character were not, in any way, her fault.

Johansson is joined on screen by Morgan Freeman, Choi Min-sik and Amr Waked. Other than Johansson, the real standout performance was given by Choi Min-sik as he brilliantly portrays a very intimidating villain and the fact that he wasn’t given subtitles for most of his lines made him seem even more menacing. Morgan Freeman, on the other hand, makes no effort to do anything other than play himself and deliver exposition as a scientist who is there to just narrate and stare at things. Amr Waked, who plays the side-kick and our only human connection to Lucy for the second half of the film as she becomes an uninterestingly emotionless and all powerful robot, does as well as he could have done with his lack of a character development.

The only good scene in the movie.

Ultimately, however, the film will unfortunately be remembered for its content rather than its performances. With a great first 20 minutes, the film buys a lot of ‘passes’ from its audiences who, for a while, will accept the flaws in the latter parts of the film because of how good the first 20 minutes were. From car chases with no actual chasers to cops chasing Lucy and suddenly randomly deciding to help her to its unnecessary animal scenes that are supposed to show the animalistic side of humans but are never used again after the first scene, the film was filled to the brim with stupid, pointless things just thrown in there to seem smart or because the director thought of it while filming. Not only that, but conveniences, such as the smartest woman in the world deciding not to kill her only threat after killing so many innocents, plagued this terribly written film. The Lucy character, after the first 30 minutes, becomes this cold, overpowered superhuman that the viewer knows cannot die or lose or get hurt. This causes the viewer to lose all interest and connection with the character and therefore becomes uninterested with the outcome of the film, hence the stupid forced romance to instill that human element to it.

To conclude the non-spoiler section, the film was a product of one sentence about human beings only using 10% of their brains (which I’m pretty sure is a myth) and added upon with many different ideas for scenes the director wants to do and then lazily put together to create a film. The ending of the film is ridiculous, stupid and obnoxious to say the least. I watched in horror and heard several laughs throughout the theatre I was at as their sad attempt at a deep and powerful ending transpired before my very eyes. With one of the worse endings I have seen in a theatre since Spy Kids 4D had a new-born baby beat up the adult main villain, I would not recommend this film by any stretch of the imagination. Scarlett Johansson and Choi Min-Sik and the first 20 minutes are the only good things in this movie and are the only reason the rating will be so high. [Read on to the spoilers section for more on why I hated the ending.]

Action Movie Rating: 4/10

Scifi Movie Rating: 6/10

After Credits Movie Rating: 4/10

[Warning: Spoilers ahead]

There is a term in literature called the ‘suspension of disbelief’ that suggests that if a writer provides the viewer with a good enough story or concept, the viewer will suspend their disbelief by willingly overlooking little illogicalities and accept the reality of the story or characters in a fictional world. For example, viewers are willing to believe a man can turn into a giant green monster in The Avengers. The crazier the concept, the harder it will be for viewers to suspend their disbelief, although a fully invested individual may be more willing to accept crazy concepts. Also, the less seriously the film takes itself, the more leeway the viewer will give to illogicalities. When a film sets out a premise and a world and its rules for this world, it is creating a realm for its viewers to suspend their disbelief in. In Lucy’s case, for example, the world is the same world as ours but a drug can cause a person to use 100% of her brain. As she starts increasing her abilities, viewers begin to suspend their disbelief. When she first starts reading very quickly and knowing how to use computers, it is easy to believe. Mind-reading and telekinesis is a stretch but is still an absolute possibility. Because of how well the first 20 minutes were done, viewers will be more lenient and be willing to accept crazier concepts. Because of that, one may even be willing to accept that, at one point, she uses the phone signals as her personal iPad. But then it gets crazier. She starts being able to shape shift and starts dematerialising. Then she becomes a slime thing. Then she travels back in time even though they had just discussed about time being the only constant. And then she can stop time. And then she explodes. And then she becomes a god. By this point, the original premise is lost. No one on this planet is going to buy that the use of 100% of ones brain will make their bodies disappear into a little USB flash drive and essentially turn them into a god. The simple suspension of disbelief is lost to all watching and the film becomes a joke.

Now, before you say I just didn’t understand the film, I understand and got every little bit of it. The animals at the start showing the animalistic nature of humans. The talk of time. The talk of the body not being able to sustain itself without the drug. The switch of the Michael Angelo painting not only from male characters to female characters but also from creationism to scientific evolution. I got everything. And that is why I know how stupid the film was. It tried to convey the image that is was a deep and meaningful film to make people who think it was stupid feel wrong. But it will not fool this reviewer. A product of many ideas rolled into mush, Lucy is nowhere near a good film and it is an unfortunate misstep for Scarlett Johansson who is so good in everything she does at the moment.