Limitless (2011) - Neil Burger
With a hook that should pull in a lot of people, this is the type of film that usually impresses me; I was thinking The Bourne Trilogy and my recent discovery Source Code. However, this one just wasn't quite up to scratch.
Bradley Cooper puts in an impressive performance as Eddie Morra, the failing writer who takes a pill that allows him to access his full brain capacity. After finishing his book, he wants to go on to bigger things... Cooper proves that he can carry a movie on his shoulders and does it very well. The direction is also well handle- you feel just as lost as Eddie does and there is some impressive camera work
However, while the set-up is good... it goes downhill from there. A confusing second act, with not much of a story, is followed by a weak ending. I didn't feel any of the suspense or drama I thought I would; it was just a bit dull. There's none of the element of mystery you see in the Bourne films and it doesn't have the heart of Source Code to compensate this.
In fact, one of the most frustrating elements is that there was no clear message; I really wanted some sort of statement on the morality of this pill- Is it good or bad? Did it improve his life or not? The murder subplot could have and should have been explored more- surely you'd feel a lot more guilty if you thought you'd killed someone? The ending also felt like a cop out...
Overall, then, I just felt a bit let down. An impressive performance by Cooper is just not enough to compensate for the confusing and quite frankly, boring, plot...
Rating: 5 out of 10
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