Released: 2014
Director: Luc Besson
Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Morgan Freeman
Bonkers fun
Imagine that there’s a way to open up all of your brain’s capacity. What would happen? Would you become a researcher into some of the most hideous diseases that afflict the world? Or become a high-powered politician – able to influence the lives of everyone around you? Or maybe a businessperson, earning millions thanks to your savvy decision-making. Or would you, like Scarlett Johansson’s eponymous Lucy
Luc Besson’s film is based on the scientifically suspect premise that we only use 10% of our brain’s capacity and that any unlocking of the rest of our brain could lead to significant genetic changes and almost superhuman powers. Lucy is a student in Taiwan when a boyfriend tricks her into becoming a drug courier. The drugs that Lucy is forced to carry in her stomach leak into her body and start to unlock the full capacity of her brain, leading her to track down and wreak her revenge on the gangsters who have used her.
Lucy (the film – and actually the character) is absolutely bonkers. There’s nothing here that makes any sense, even with Morgan Freeman’s wonderfully rich voiceover which attempts to tie the events onscreen to events in human evolution. Bonkers, however, in this case is very good. The whole concept is rubbish – the idea that we only use 10% of our brain has been utterly debunked by neurologists, but it’s easy to suspend disbelief and just accept what’s before you on screen.
Scarlett Johansson is a major part of the reason that the film works. She’s a great actress and portrays both the chaotic, innocent student and the vastly intelligent, cold-blooded killer brilliantly. For some reason I always imagine I’m not going to like her performances but then always do. I have a Scarlett-block in my head which is completely irrational and false. The support is fine too – of course, Morgan Freeman is ideally cast as the professor who helps Lucy understand her brain’s power. I enjoyed the performance of Amr Waked as the French police officer who helps Lucy maintain her increasingly loose connection with humanity. I also loved Julian Rhind-Tutt’s brief appearance as a very polite English bad-guy – scenery chewing at its best.
The direction, as you would expect from Luc Besson, is incredibly stylised and the action is fast-paced. In fact, one of the things I enjoyed most about Lucy was how short it was. It lasts just under 90 minutes and manages to pack a decent punch in that time. I find it trying that every film these days seems to last over two hours. I appreciated a short, slick action film that got on and told its story quickly and without too much faffing around at the beginning or long-drawn out bits in the middle.
If you can suspend your disbelief and just believe the bunkum that the film is telling you, you’ll be rewarded by a fast-paced, well-acted good fun piece of nonsense.