So it's once again time for another Movie Madness review! This week's review isn't a new/newish release, but I watched it the weekend Alan was away and I really enjoyed it.
This week's film is Lucy. It stars Scarlett Johansson as Lucy, a girl who's struggling to find her way in life. She gets duped into delivering a briefcase full of drugs to a nasty Chinese businessman, who then forces her into becoming a drug smuggler. However, things go even more awry when the bag of drugs in her stomach (yuck) splits open and the drugs start to alter her mind and increase her brain capacity - which is simultaneously awesome and terrifying. She develops new 'superpowers' at an incredible rate; but the problem is, humans aren't designed to cope with their brains running at 100% capacity 24/7.
If I'm completely honest, I spent a lot of time watching this film just wishing I was Scarlett Johansson. How can one woman be so beautiful, so sexy, be a fantastic actress AND kick-ass all at the same time? Seriously, if I could be anyone else in the world, she'd be a pretty hot contender. I love her in the Marvel films and I loved her here too (Lost in Translation is the odd one out here, so we won't mention that film...ever).
Anyway, enough of the girl-crushing. Given that Lucy stars such big names, such as Scarlett Johansson and Morgan Freeman, I was looking forward to a sci-fi thriller that also delivered on the science. But to be honest, there wasn't a whole lot of meat behind this film. We do find out what the drug is, and Morgan Freeman does a fantastic job of explaining how the human brain functions in layman's terms (though, I'd listen to anything he said with that voice...mmm...) but there was just something missing. It would've been nice if we'd had a little more of an insight into how the drugs were affecting Lucy (she seems to wake up and instantly know what to do with her new powers...but I guess maybe that's part of how the drugs work?) - the writers give you just enough information to satisfy your curiosity, but not a drop more.
There's a whole lot of action in this film, but as Lucy can control everyone's minds, it makes the fight scenes seem a bit pointless if you know who's always going to win. There's a scene towards the film's climax which I can imagine would be a bit trippy for some people, but I found it fascinating. The journey right back through time to our own origins and then beginning of the world is simply mind-blowing. It really makes it hit home how little time we've been on this planet, and how little time we each have - not to depress you or anything, but it does put things into perspective.
The concept of us eventually learning to use 100% of our brains is simply mind-boggling. I don't know how much of the science we were given in this film is actually true, but if it is...wow. I'd like my brain to start running at 30-40% please! (But no more - bad things seem to happen after 50%...) I was a bit disappointed with Morgan Freeman's part - again, he seemed to play a role that didn't really need to be in the film at all. I felt like they missed a trick there, and they really could've done a lot more with him.
Overall, I think this is a good film if you enjoy 'light' sci-fi and you're a Scarlett Johansson fan. If you're looking for something easy to watch over the weekend, then I'd definitely recommend this!
Have you seen Lucy? What did you think of it? What do you think would happen if our brains could run at 100% capacity? Do you think it's even possible?
I saw Lucy in the theater because Hello—Scarlett Johansson kicking ass. I was a little disappointed, but the action was pretty good.
ReplyDeleteI really wanted to see it in the cinema, but we never ended up going for some reason :(. I think it's a good film if you want to switch off and just watch Scarlett Johansson for an hour and a half!
DeleteIt was a good movie. I enjoyed it. I went in not having any expectations. Two of my cousins love Scarlet too. They are huge fans of hers. Great job on the review! I think I would be worried if human brains ran at 100%. Some people are good and will probably try to help the greater good, where as the ones with bad intentions might just cause mass extinction. Okay, that was depressing. Have a great week.
ReplyDeleteI love it when a film is so much better than you were expecting! Thank you :)!
DeleteMurees, your comment just made me laugh out loud in the waiting room at the doctors...the other people there did not seem too impressed! I'll try not to dwell on your comment too much ;)! Have a good week :)!
I just watched this movie for the first time a few weeks ago. It's very different and incredibly smart. Scarlet Johansson is an incredible actress. I was very impressed with her role as Lucy. It wasn't exactly what I expected but it left an impression, that's for sure.
ReplyDeleteYes!! I think you summed it up better in that paragraph, than I did in my whole review! Even now a few weeks later, I still find myself thinking of odd moments from the film. I don't think I'll ever be able to fully express my love for Scarlett Johansson...she's just awesome.
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