Ooh, now we’re getting into some interesting territory. I remember how much buzz this movie was getting from everywhere. I was admittedly part of that hype. And like everyone else I left the movie scratching my head and wondering what exactly I just watched. However, in the interest of giving you an accurate summation of the movie I will place hype aside. I will instead be discussing the film on its own merit as one should.
Scarlett Johansen plays an everyday young adult woman named Lucy. In a set-up situation, Lucy is unwillingly volunteered for an underground experiment. She is given a drug that will allow its subject to utilize more than the regular 10% of their brain power. With her newfound abilities, she escaped her captors and goes to find purpose. It’s then when she contacts Morgan Freedman, who plays a renowned university professor. He advises Lucy to use her abilities to spread knowledge to the world. So she travels to Freedman’s University in order to live out that purpose while simultaneously dealing with her ever-growing brain power. Can Lucy even reach 100%?
Like I said, the movie was surrounded by mountains of hype before and during release. Unfortunately, the movie didn’t live up to what people were expecting. The biggest gripe people have is with how the movie ended. We’ll get to that later.
Putting pre-release background aside, I actually am not as angry with the film as others were. The film is decent at best, disappointing at worst. The film on a more elementary scale is actually good all things considered.
The concept of the movie is where the movie shines. You go into this film out of the curiosity of what this character will do and what will happen when Lucy inevitably reaches her full potential. The writing does deliver good ideas to support that story. There are some really good and interesting ideas placed into the story as they get creative with what Lucy can do at what times.
The downfall of the film is its ending. Granted, it’s very difficult to imagine the perfect way to end such a plot. But without giving the ending away, it’s abrupt and underwhelming. Had the film ended differently, perhaps on a more thought-provoking or even all-out note, the film could’ve been that #1 critical blockbuster it set out to be. It’s not a terrible ending by any means, but it may turn some people off.
I could also poke fun at the fact that the film is based on a scientific fallacy and that everyone uses 100% of their brains, but there’s no need to get too technical.
Other than that, everything else is up to summer blockbuster standards. You have some really awesome effects in the movie that show some of the crazy, mind-bending things Lucy can do. The acting is superb, but you come to expect that from Freedman and Johansen. It’s filmed beautifully, and has a pretty intense score to back those action scenes.
At the end of the day, I still think Lucy is worth a watch. It’s a good movie with what may or may not be an unclimactic ending. If you initially missed out on the film and see it available to rent, it’s worth your time. Besides, no matter what you end up thinking of the movie it’s not that long of a film. (Hour-and-a-half movies outside of comedies are hard to come by nowadays).
I would still see it again, which is why I place it where it is on the countdown.
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