Limitless

This review only contains information revealed in trailers or is not important to the plot



This film revolves around the idea of a drug that unlocks the whole of your brainpower and follows one user through his ordeal with its usage.The first 20 minutes of this film had me annoyed, very annoyed. The one thing I despise is when films such as Limitless have an entirely new conceptual storyline and don't explore it! As such, when it was stated that each NZT pill cost $800 my reaction was one of " I can see where this is going". However the film does not take that route, in fact almost the whole film has Cooper drugged up. Finally, a film that follows through with its potential!



The film uses an intelligent idea of sharpening focus and brightening picture when the characters are under the effects of the drug, I found this a useful concept for 2 reasons, it helped to relate to how they are now seeing the world, but also helped to enforce the idea that these people are now on the drug, basically a big sign for the viewer to inform them.

Cooper (Hangover, A-team) also really handles his role well, he must portray a vast array of emotions throughout the film, which he pulls off without ever really feeling forces, so kudos to him.

I really must applaud the film for taking an entirely new direction, in a market saturated with brain dead action thrillers, it really is a treat to find a film that features both action and symbolic resonance.

There are only 2 minor problems with the film, the first being the speed at which the story progresses. It takes a long time for the story to really jolt into movement, however aspects at play from the start do later come to significance, so the pace cant really be moaned at due to it actually being of some use to the story. The second being the story changes direction so often due to many parallel subplots the direction it would take became increasingly unpredictable, which again isn't actually negative as it prevents you guessing the ending.

So in all a film that is definitely worth your time watching, put up with the ducks and dives it takes throughout its show and you'll be left with a film that really does make you think, add to that the idea that the concept could be applied to the real world (within the film its stated many peoples rise to power could be explained by this drug) and an ending akin to that of inception, left entirely for your interpretation, and you're left with a film that may be overlooked for bigger budget hits, but one that most certainly shouldn't be forgotten about.

-James