By Kyle Osborne
Have you ever listened intently to, let’s say, an old Uncle tell you a story that is so ridiculously implausible, so far-fetched, that you’re actually too entertained to interrupt and call bull on the whole thing?
Well, say hello to Uncle Luc Besson, the director of “Lucy”. He’s having so much fun spinning his preposterous yarn that you can’t help but to just go with it.
We start in Taipei, Taiwan where a man Scarlett Johansson has only known for a week asks her to take a mysterious metal briefcase inside a hotel to deliver to a bad, bad guy. Not giving away anything that isn’t in the trailer, but Johansson (she’s Lucy) ends up having a bag of blue crystal looking stuff sewn into her body—she’s an unwilling mule, whose job it will be to fly far away and deliver the goods.
This “drug” has the power to increase how much of one’s brain can be put to use, sticking to the old trope that human’s only use 10% of their brains, and when some of it leaks inside of her, she finds herself instantly transformed. Suddenly, she can speak other languages, predict the behavior of others—the list goes on and on. If you’ve seen the excellent 2011 film “Limitless” with Brad Cooper, this phase is going to feel all too familiar, if not quite a rip-off.
But Besson always likes to push things, and so his Lucy keeps getting more and more powers, like some kind of telekinesis, and other things that sort of take you out of what’s a pretty cool thriller, and into medium grade science fiction that’s heavy on the fiction.
Intercut with Lucy’s adventures are scenes with Morgan Freeman playing a scientist who has studied the whole phenomenon of brain power for longer than Lucy’s been alive. His scenes feel mostly un-necessary, as if Besson thought the audience would need a running primer on the subject matter.
Don’t hate me, but I’m not Scarlett Johansson’s biggest fan. I think her range is limited, BUT I think in this film and in “Under The Skin”, which came out earlier this year, she is perfectly cast. She is always credible, even when the plot is not, and she’s easy to root for in these dire circumstances.
If you like cool cityscapes of Paris and Taipei (and I do) and if you like a good thriller that’s violent (I admit that I do, when it works) and moves along at a great pace, then this is the weekend’s best bet at the box office.
And if you happen to be one of those smart folks who actually does use 10 or 20 or 60 percent of your brain—turn the knob all the way to the left. You’re not gonna need it for “Lucy”
“Lucy” is rated “R” and runs a tight 90 minutes.