‘Limitless’ is a movie that seems to have taken an overdose of stupid pills.
How else do you explain a production lucky enough to have a fantastic central idea combined with charismatic acting, yet ultimately it manages to deliver nothing special at all? Really, this movie seems to use only 20% of it’s brain, probably due in the main to a weak script that clothes ‘Limitless’ with a B-grade feel, especially compared with the movies it tries to match up to like ‘Inception’ and ‘Source Code’.
‘Limitless’ stars Bradley Cooper (‘Hangover’ and ‘A-Team’) as Eddie, a writer with a mental block whose life is going nowhere. When his girlfriend dumps him Eddie hits rock bottom, which is why when offered access to a revolutionary new drug called NZT that allows the user to access 100% of their brain capacity, Eddie jumps at the opportunity with very little moral angst. Eddie’s life turns completely around as he quickly gains immense financial and personal success from a drug that enables him to remember everything he ever read or experienced, learn new languages in 24 hours, master complex equations in a moment, mastermind Wall Street, and, presumably, (wait for it) even completely understand the plot of 'Inception.'
There is a strong drug danger warning behind 'Limitless', because we soon see that all this glory comes at a price. It seems there are limits to being ‘limitless’ because Eddie falls foul of some powerful people who would do anything to get their hands on his stash of NZT. Included in this list are the obligatory Russian mobsters, and also a ruthless Wall Street supremo played with cunning menace by Robert de Niro. Eddie's life is further complicated by the side effects of the drug, which without spoiling it for you, are pretty hectic.
The first third of ‘Limitless’ matches its intriguing central idea, but ultimately a promising start is not capitalised on. Despite the charm and intensity that Bradley Cooper brings, ‘Limitless’ descends to being nothing more than mere popcorn fodder. The last quarter is actually rather dark and violent (you might want to have finished your popcorn by then), and while the final resolution is satisfying enough, it is hard to shake the disturbing events leading up to that.
Ultimately, Eddie proves to us that having all the smarts in the world does not actually make you wiser. He chooses to use his new-found brilliance to make money and impress people, but it doesn’t even cross his mind to do something truly useful like working on a cure for cancer. Clever Eddie does some profoundly stupid and selfish things, which Robert de Niro’s character correctly understands as because Eddie did not have to work for his gift - he sacrificed nothing to develop his talent, and thus cannot handle it without causing destruction.
Two and a half stars for a movie whose imaginative idea was sorely limited by unimaginative writing and a failure to get to grips with the fact you don’t necessarily need to dumb down to be entertaining. Be warned that there is plenty of violence and bad language throughout.