Lucy

After getting herself caught up in some dodgy deal with a group of Korean gangsters, Lucy (Scarlett Johansson) manages to turn the tables on her captors when the drug she is injected with accidentally activates. The side effects dramatically limit her life span but gives her special abilities that make her untouchable.

A few years ago Limitless (starring Bradley Cooper) was released and as you undoubtedly remember every critic or commenter on the film leapt to their keyboards to debunk the myth that humans do not only use 10% of the brain. It turns out history repeats itself as following the release of Lucy every critic or commenter on the film leapt to their keyboards to hammer home the fact that the central premise of the film is nonsense. Humans don't only use 10% of their brain, if they'd did they'd be a vegetable, but if they did it would explain a lot. Lucy is hokum on the scale that is completely off the charts, it's craziness and leaps of logic isn't really up for debate simply because Lucy doesn't base it's in any scientific logic, this isn't really a problem and it's a Luc Besson action film, expecting anything else would be more nonsensical than the film itself.

The film starts off, unexpectedly, like something from The Tree of Life with images of animals evolving into the perfect predator (or in the case of the gazelle, the perfect prey) being juxtaposed with Morgan Freeman's expert professor rabbiting on about human's mental capacity. Anyway, it's not before long we get into the main thrust of the story, and Lucy starts rather well. Min-sik Choi's Mr. Jang glorious reveal immediately makes him an intimidating figure and the intrigue sounding the first effects of the drug is interesting and exciting. The drug opens up a new realm of possibilities that allows Lucy to enable perfect hearing, lightening quick reflexes, telekinesis and unlimited knowledge thus creating the perfect living organism.

However, the perfect evolutionary side effects of the drug becomes the film's main drawback once the film hurtles into its final act. Lucy is effectively indestructible and because of this the film has no real tension despite the well choreographed action and stunt sequences and this results in a rather boring third act which tries to be 2001: A Space Odyssey with a tenth of the depth. Scarlett Johansson is fine in the lead role, but Morgan Freeman's professor is there for exposition and Freeman himself is there for a healthy pay check for doing something he's done countless times before. The film's best performance goes to Korean actor Min-sik Choi who is the film's finest actor despite not speaking a single line in English.

It's a touch ironic that a film about the unlimited power of human brain requires the viewer to completely switch off their own brain to even stand a chance of becoming fully engrossed. Lucy achieves this to an extent but trails off once the film reaches its conclusion.

2.5/5.