Limitless
This is a limited movie with a limitless premise, and epically disappointing, considering how remarkably pedestrian it is to have the main character make a bunch of money on Wall Street once he taps into his full potential, as if that’s the most interesting or important thing one could do. I’m particularly offended that such an ambition is the will of a creative type - a writer (named Eddie Morra, played by Bradley Cooper). He can’t finish his novel, takes this miracle drug (a beautiful clear round pill), and decides to become a day-trader. It would be one thing for a typical office-working drone - once functioning at an insanely high level - to chase money in the financial sector, but for an artist? Shame. If a writer really got a hold of such potential, they would take the brilliant stories in their mind and put them into masterpiece after masterpiece (which, in turn, would likely lead to lots of money anyway). That the creative team behind Limitless doesn’t do this means that they themselves are only interested in money, and that they clearly aren’t on the drug.
That being said, Limitless is a very watchable, fun movie that cruises on its premise alone, and it’s equally sympathetic/slimy protagonist, the role Bradley Cooper was born to play. I would have gone a different direction, to be sure, but Hollywood does as they do, and this suffices. There’s a lot of fancy filmmaking here, most of which is unnecessary, but it keeps the pace high and entertaining. There are some rather captivating camera tricks. The science-fiction elements (in which we see the synapses and brain chemistry) are fun, regardless of how far-fetched they might be. And there are some segments in which we are actually treated to conversations and experiences that this drug can elicit, which are great. It’s what we all want to know: if you really did tap into your full potential, what would happen? How would you behave? How might your brain work? How would social situations change? The moments when these questions are actually explored are the best parts of the movie.
The worst parts of the movie come in the form of uninspired, formulaic dilemmas: the mob chases after Eddie because he borrows money and fails to pay it back, and once he does, they find out about the drugs and want it. Ugh, unnecessary. Firstly, just pay them back! Why would you forget if you were completely on top of your whole life? Secondly, why reveal your pill to them? This entire plot line is the result of lazy writing, as is this entire ordeal about withdrawal. Okay, the filmmakers squeeze in a moral message regarding the dangers of drug use, but it kills much of the film’s pace. What feels like the entire second half of the movie focuses on one debilitating withdrawal after another. In every instance, he somehow manages to procure more of the drug, thus sending him back into superhumanness. It feels much like a Pop-Eye comic, with the spinach replaced by something called NZT. Heard of it? It’s basically cocaine and Adderall.
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