Review: LIMITLESS

THE CAST
Bradley Cooper - Eddie Morra
Robert De Niro - Carl Van Loon
Abbie Cornish - Lindy
Johnny Whitworth - Vernon
Robert John Burke - Pierce

THE STORY
Eddie Morra is an author with a serious case of writer's block, whose struggling to pay the rent, keep his girlfriend and stop his life from heading to rock bottom. Things change though when Morra bumps into his dodgy ex-brother-in-law, who offers him a 'pick-me-up' in the form of a little clear pill.  This pill gives Eddie superhuman abilities, allowing him to access 100% of his brain instead of just 20%, meaning his life will never be the same again.

THE STRENGTHS
The main concept of this film is a great one; what would happen if you could take a pill to turn you into a genius? Well, it's an enjoyable ride finding out how Eddie Morra answers that question and that's mostly due to director Neil Burger, who manages to keep the pace of this film up throughout, not allowing it to get bogged down in some slightly ropey plot holes. This film isn't trying to be a thoughtful exploration into complex workings of the human brain, therefore you can easily forgive it's lack of depth.  Bradley Cooper is clearly having a great time (playing Bradley Cooper!) and that definitely shows on-screen, making this movie even more entertaining. The truth is though, I think my liking of this film came from the fact that, deep down, I could imagine reacting the same way after taking this pill...please don't judge me! I should also mention Abbie Cornish, who is incredibly likeable actress, who does a great job with the small role she has in this film. I'm looking forward to seeing her kick all sorts of butt in Zack Snyder's Sucker Punch next month.

THE WEAKNESSES
From the moment this film starts, there is a dizzying array of visual effects that will start to make the back of your eyeballs hurt. Seriously, it's like the editor just graduated from film school and wanted to use some new  tricks he'd learned in his final exam. To be fair, at first it was a cool effect, after the umpteenth time however, it started to get a bit annoying.  Now, it pains me to have to write this, but why oh why did Robert De Niro take this part? He's Robert bloody De Niro, he doesn't need to be accepting crappy little roles like this. I understand his Tribeca Grill restaurant must cost a lot of money to run and we are coming out of a recession, but does he really need the cash this badly? When it comes to the central premise of the film, they could have done a lot more. After taking the pill, did Morra develop a cure for cancer, explain the mysteries of the Universe or calculate exactly how much tea is in China? No, he learned a few languages, finished his book and made a load of money from the stock exchange. Really? With all those abilities, that's the best the film's screen writer could come up with? Also, there's a sense the film is promoting the fact that, if you take drugs you could be cool, rich and get beautiful women and cars. As this film is a 15 certificate, it's probably not the best message to send today's teenagers.

THE SUMMARY
Limitless is a surprisingly good film, especially if you just want to go to the cinema and be entertained for ninety minutes.  It's a throwaway movie, that you'll talk about after you've seen it, but you'll forget about the next day.  What it lacks in substance and depth, it makes up for in style and humour.

Limitless is released in the UK on 18 March 2011.


MICHAEL'S MOVIE MARK    7/10