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Lucy (2014)
Daniel's Review
An original movie that tries to be different and unique, sadly ends up leaving audiences confused and unsatisfied.
‘Lucy’ is a thriller-type, comedy-type, sci-fi film that tries to be all these things, but basically becomes a mess among the execution of the film and the story.
The film may be simple, judging from trailers, but as a whole this film is completely perplexed as the film throws too much of evolution and science, from what could be this really cool thriller-type action flick over a woman who can use 100% of her brain.
The film seems very similar in concept to ‘Limitless’, but doesn’t live up to its potential of a really interesting idea.
The acting isn’t great, it’s good, but not spectacular. Scarlett Johansson is quite good in her role as a washed up partier named Lucy, who is thrown into this dangerous world.
The film is quite visually impressive, with a few missteps, but it does become a highlight of the film’s abilities to be quite artistically creative.
‘Lucy’ is like a puzzle, solving it may not be much of a reward, but it does have its moments of visual effects and very few exciting action sequences that is worth watching.
Score: 2.6/10
Published: August 6th, 2014
Details
Review
Release Date: July 31st, 2014
Studio: Universal Pictures
Runtime: 121 mins
Rated: MA15+
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Nic's Review
'Lucy's plot is founded on the premise: what would humans be capable of if they could use more than 10% percent of their brains? This would be an interesting question... if there was actually any truth behind that 'fact'.
No, 'Lucy' does away with 'science' in favour of 'fiction' and as the film progresses loses any credibility it may have had at the outset.
Scarlett Johannson's star power has risen dramatically over the past couple of years. Thanks mostly to her role as Black Widow in 'The Avengers' and 'Captain America: The Winter Soldier' she has become the go-to female action movie star. And it's well-deserved. Johansson is the best thing about 'Lucy' as the eponymous protagonist.'Lucy' demonstrates that she can easily carry a film on her own despite its many other flaws.
Unfortunately, her acting ability is restrained by the time the film's outlandish plot catches up about midway through the second act. Johansson, like her character, finds herself trapped by a narrative device against her will. And while the action scenes are well-choreographed, Lucy's newfound abilities sometimes verge on deus ex machina and, hence, have no real impact in creating suspense.
But back to the film's main, glaring flaw. The science is so wrong it shatters disbelief. Some may argue you can't criticise scientific accuracy in what is, by definition, fiction. I partly agree, when that fiction doesn't pretend to take science so seriously. The problem is that 'Lucy' goes to great lengths to justify, explain and make believable it's impossible science. Science is logic and what Morgan Freeman's character proposes in 'Lucy' is anything but logical. It only gets worse as the film goes on and Lucy approaches 100% brain capacity. The abilities become so absurd that its almost nauseating. Science-fiction is more popular than ever right now but the 'science' has to at least work within the world of the film. A good contrast may be 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes' and its recent sequel, which use plausible scientific possibilities to initiate its plot in a universe that resembles the real one in many ways.
Of course, when the entire plot hinges on a myth to begin with, as 'Lucy's does, it starts off at a disadvantage. When a film about increasing brain capacity leaves its audience with reduced brain capacity, you really begin to wonder if a little research may have helped.
Score: 4.5/10