Thursday, June 30, 2011

"Limitless" Review

What could you do if you could use 100% of your brain? According to Limitless, anything you want.

The movie follows Eddie Morra (Bradley Cooper, The Hangover), a down-and-out writer with one of the most epic cases of writer’s block in history. He’s behind schedule on his publication date—in fact, he hasn’t written a single word. That’s when he meets his ex-brother-in-law who gives him a new, experimental drug—NZT—that activates the parts of the brain we can’t use.

Suddenly, Eddie’s capable of miraculous things. He writes an entire novel in four days; he makes $2 million in 10 days; and, he gets a haircut (okay, so that’s not quite so miraculous). His meteoric rise catches the attention of energy tycoon Carl Van Loon, played by the legendary Robert De Niro.

Unfortunately, every addiction has its side effects, and as Eddie relies more and more heavily on NZT to function on a daily basis, the more things spiral out of control. From killer side effects to a killer Russian crime boss, Eddie soon finds himself going to extreme measures to save his sanity and his life.

The best part of the movie is the cast—Cooper’s character has a great sense of humor, and  De Niro electrifies every scene. Director Neil Burger uses a variety of filters and camera effects to give the movie an artsy, independent feel that’s missing from most new theatrical releases.  

That being said, Limitless definitely has its faults—mainly, it feels unbalanced. Even if you suspend your disbelief and accept that Eddie is using 100% of his brain, it still seems that the conflicts that should be the easiest to solve take up most of the film, while the biggest conflicts are explained away by a couple of lines of dialogue, or a glib voiceover from our protagonist.

And, maybe that’s the problem with the premise in the first place—how can there be any real conflict or tension when the protagonist is the smartest person in the world?\

5 of 10 

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