Movie Review Repost -- Lucy (2014)

Sorry you're getting your weekly Anachronarchy post one day late; I was away this weekend. So since a weird sci-fi action movie starring Scarlett Johansson, Ghost in the Shell, is out I think it's an appropriate time to share my original thoughts on the last weird sci-fi action movie starring Scarlett Johansson, Lucy (2014). Will I go and see Ghost in the Shell? Maybe. We'll see. As for Lucy, I think it may have been better than I gave it credit for. Don't get me wrong, it's incredibly dumb, but at least it's fun. I wouldn't mind seeing it again sometime.

   It's time to review Lucy, the not-so-creatively-titled film based on an urban myth proven to be false over a decade ago. But I won't make a big deal out of that right now because it is possible to make an entertaining movie based on an urban legend. And is Lucy one of those films? Let's find out.

   The film revolves around Lucy, a young woman who is forced to become a drug mule when the South Korean mob implants a bag full of a new experimental drug in her abdomen. However the bag ruptures when the world's dumbest henchman kicks her in the belly (seriously dude, you had one job!), and the drugs cause her to access her brain's full capacity and track down the remaining drug quantities. Now this is a film that expects you to buy a lot of crazy stuff. Apparently, accessing just 25% of your brain makes you Superwoman, allowing you to have physically impossible abilities like telekinesis and omniscience. Accessing 100% of your brain turns you into God. Needless to say, when your main character is invincible some of the action scenes' tension is lost. It also doesn't help that she's surrounded by dumb people who don't bat an eye at suspicious people carrying guns. The ending sucks too.

   There's not much to say about the acting. It's just OK. Scarlett Johansson is actually really good in the first half hour or so, portraying a frightened hostage. But once Lucy gains her powers, she switches to emotionless robot mode for the film's remainder. Morgan Freeman plays the same role he plays in every movie: an important person who gives speeches (of course) and explains how complicated stuff works. For everyone else, the acting is pretty standard.

   The direction is really weird too. The first half hour of the film constantly and jarringly cuts back and forth between Lucy's story, Freeman giving a speech about brain stuff, and pointless stock footage of everything from tigers hunting, hurricanes, plants, and animals bumping uglies. Sometimes it's done to illustrate really obvious symbolism and it gets really irritating. But once Lucy starts using her head they just go away and never come back. However, something similar happens with the final climactic scene which is ridiculously over-the-top and runs for a bit too long. Maybe they were just trying to pad out the film's diminutive 89-minute run time. And to cap off this pseudo-intellectual crazyfest, we're given a one-line epilogue that makes absolutely no sense.

   For a movie that's based on brain power Lucy is dumb, but laughably so. Its exaggerated premise might drive some people crazy, but some people will have fun with it. If you didn't have the attention span to fully enjoy Limitless, then Lucy will suit your needs just fine. In short, it's somewhat entertaining. I mean, at least it's not Transformers 4, right?

Final rating: two stars out of five.