The common hypothesis when it comes to the human brain capacity is that humans only utilize 10 percent of their brain. In Lucy, Scarlett Johansson is able to unlock more than 10 percent of her mind.
Luc Besson directed Lucy and is no stranger to working on action movies, he directed The Fifth Element and produced Taken 2. It is clear with the camera work and pacing of the film that Besson wants the audience to feel like they are unlocking their brain along with Lucy. Besson keeps the film constantly moving forward with his rapid style of cinematography and use of subtle b-roll footage spliced into the main story line.
Lucy takes the movie going audience on an intense, fast and visually stunning ride from the opening credits to the final scene.
Johansson shines in the main role and proves once again that the trend of female action heroes might not be a trend after all. It may in fact just become commonplace. Johansson showed off her Avengers training and shines when she engages in fight sequences and action driven scenes.
She carries the film and is captivating to watch when she is on the screen, embracing her new mental capacity which increases throughout the story.
Along with Morgan Freeman, she helps to take this script from a B-level action film to an A-list powered adventure. Freeman, who plays a professor studying the potential of the human mind, is the core of the film emotionally. He brings a human element to this fast paced action film and allows the audience to connect with his quest for knowledge and need to help Lucy through this mind-bending process.
Overall, Lucy impresses visually but lacks character development. As Lucy unlocks her mental capacity, she starts to feel less human and more robotic instead of a human becoming more complex and intelligent.
Lucy will be compared to Limitless (2011) with Bradley Cooper along with Robert De Niro. What Limitless did was develop the characters and invest the audience in what would happen to them. In Lucy, the film kicks off and doesn’t take the time to slow down and develop the characters.
Lucy is fun to watch, visually impressive and does speak to higher emotional and intellectual needs of humanity but falls short when it tries to connect on a human level with audiences. Overall, it’s an original blockbuster movie to help round out a summer of sequels and re-makes.
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