Lucy

Lucy starring Scarlett Johansson and Morgan Freeman touches on the idea of humans being able to access more of their brain than we currently do at the moment. It is a really quick paced look at it through the eyes of Lucy who as a result of absorbing a synthetic drug can now access a larger proportion of her brain.

So I was pretty excite going in to this, I love Johansson as an actress and I’m yet to find someone who doesn’t love listening to the voice of Morgan Freeman if nothing else. My immediate thought when I left the cinema was that it was a poor man’s ‘Transcendence’ however on reflection I had high expectations which meant this was always going to struggle to match them. The film does some things really well as it attempts to touch on a few really interesting ideas such as the ethics of humanity, the meaning of life and of course what could we achieve with more access of our brain.

They are all really interesting ideas and the film definitely gets you thinking about them. I don’t think I’ve ever said a film was shorter than it should be but I fell this may be the case with Lucy. It touches on so many issues but almost rushes through them, which is good as it doesn’t get bogged down, however I’d have liked a little more time on some of them. Despite the thought provoking side of things it did become more of an action film taking care of the aesthetics more than the plot and it definitely loses its way with about twenty minutes to go. In its defence it manages to bring it back for the very end.

The cinematography is simply incredible. Everything is shot with precision and purpose and the graphics are tremendous making parts feel almost other worldly. The acting is also superb, Johansson deliver a difficult part well and captures the human and non-human aspects of her character well.

Overall I love a good story being told and while the ideas within the film evokes a lot of thought within me, looking at morals and the way I perceive life, these ideas are evocative on their own and haven’t been overly heightened. I am disappointed by the film as a whole would rate it 6 out of 10 though as it does some things well. I would recommend Transcendence over this and I know that will receive criticism but both films touch on some similar ideas.