Limitless is a fun ride all the way through and it’s visually striking to boot. It opens with a steady camera zooming through Manhattan, through streets and taxi cab windows, it sets a good tone for the rest of the film.
Eddie Morra (Bradley Cooper) is a struggling writer who acquires a drug called NZT-48, a pill that allows him to recall everything from the briefest of encounters. In minutes he is transformed from a guy no one could believe has a book deal to a man no one can do without. With no key player for Eddie to confide in or take along for the journey, the supporting performances are little more than plot points. Abbie Cornish, and Robert De Niro don’t have nearly as much range to showcase in this screenplay.
Nearly every scene has at least some artistic appeal. This is one of the more attractive films I’ve seen and I have to give some praise for the warm palette used to show the influence of NZT-48. Thanks to the mind-altering plot, Limitless is one of the fewer movies where extravagant transitions actually make sense.
I can see room to complain when it comes to the way Limitless approaches relationship. Still, I would have appreciated one scene showing how his limitless knowledge afforded him relationship handling capabilities. Based on a novel written by Alan Glynn, this movie has plenty of action sequences to complement the moral dilemma it poses: how far will you go to become a “better” version of yourself?
Lindy (Abbie Cornish) is the girl in and out of his life, and a role with hardly any screen time. The same goes with Robert De Niro as financier Carl Van Loon doesn’t fare much better as he’s given a good-bad business man role which he plays brilliantly. I thought his monologue with Bradley Cooper is the best I have seen in recent times from him.
The ending was very quick and abrupt making it hard to recall, as were some of the other twists, but I guess that was how it was supposed to be, the movie didn’t want us to remember anything after we left the theater just like the pill(Lol?). On a more serious note, Limitless is a cautionary tale about those who try to achieve with enhancements other than hard work and nurtured talent.
Rating: 7.5/10
