Today’s quick review: Lucy. Set up by her boyfriend, Lucy (Scarlett Johansson), an American student living in Taiwan, becomes the unwilling smuggler of an experimental drug. But when the bag bursts in her stomach, the drug triggers a chain reaction that gives her access to her brain’s full potential, along with an assortment of strange powers. Now Lucy has less than 24 hours to master her new abilities before the changes to her body and mind tear her apart.
Lucy is a science fiction movie from director Luc Besson. Lucy tackles a challenging concept: the transcendence of the human mind. Aided by an illicit drug, Lucy undergoes a drastic transformation that unlocks advanced knowledge and abilities even as it strips her of her humanity. The movie offers colorful visuals, a punchy directorial style, and mind-bending action. However, its flaky foundations keep it from reaching its goals.
Lucy’s main problem is one of credibility. Lucy’s powers are explained as a product of the human brain’s full potential, but no attempt is made to explain how physics-defying abilities follow from increased brainpower. Normally psychic abilities would be a freebie for a sci-fi movie, but Lucy makes a point to ground its themes about humanity, evolution, and the meaning of life in this particular explanation, making the problem unavoidable.
The movie also suffers from issues with its story. Once Lucy touches the drug, the rest of the plot is a mere formality. Lucy needs no one and nothing; her abilities make short work of any problem aside from the transformation itself. The result is a linear plot with little real conflict and a superfluous supporting cast. Lucy’s borderline omnipotence also opens up gaping plot holes that the film doesn’t bother to fill.
Lucy does deserve credit for the creativity of its ideas. The lead’s powers range from the mundane to the mind-boggling, all brought to life with colorful special effects. The film flirts with bizarre new perspectives on life and reality, although it lacks the patience to make them stick. And even when its speculation begins to wander too far afield, the action is always fast-paced and exciting, making full use of Lucy’s powers.
The rest of the movie is a grab bag of good and bad. Scarlett Johansson turns in an impressive performance as Lucy, capturing both the confused party girl she begins the movie as and the detached superhuman she becomes. On the other hand, Morgan Freeman leaves no lasting impression. His character, a professor specializing in the brain’s potential, has very little to do, and Freeman’s talents as an actor are largely wasted.
Give Lucy a try if you’re a sci-fi fan who enjoys flashy action and far-fetched speculation. The movie falls short of its potential in many ways, but it remains a unique and thought-provoking watch for the right viewer. Skip it if you’re looking for a grounded thriller or well-founded sci-fi. For similar special effects-laden action, check out Wanted. For a more thoughtful take on the human brain, check out Limitless.
6.4 out of 10 on IMDB. I give it a 6.5 for unfettered science fiction that stumbles over its own ambition.