Review: Limitless

Rating: 7/10 (18 March 2011)

What if one little pill could change your life by bringing about wealth, power, and all else you've ever wanted? What would you give up for this miracle? Money? Family? Control? An idea has been around for ages that we only use 10% of our brains while the other 90% stores old reruns of That 70s Show. Much has been fantasized about what one could achieve if they could only tap into this unknown potential from incontestable intelligence to psychic abilities to Heroes-esque super powers. While this myth has been widely debunked, Limitless (based off of the novel The Dark Fields) embraces this fantasy in a very grounded way. Supposing that a street drug can light up one's remaining synapses, a user can access all they've ever read, heard, and experienced for a few hours like an overpowered Adderall Eddie (Bradley Cooper of The Hangover, Alias) is a grungy writer who can't write, pay the rent, or get his life in order. Then the night before he is due to turn in his first draft of his still mere idea of a novel, he runs into his sketchy ex-brother-in-law-drug-dealer-other-dashes who offers him a taste of a brain enhancing designer drug. Suddenly, Eddie finishes his draft, gets a haircut, and turns life around with such fluidity that even he still can't comprehend what just happened in the past 8 hours. Needless to say, he needs more. More leads to wealth as he plays the stock market and leads to fame as his book is unbelievably brilliant and confidence as this corner dweller now has the intellect and brawn to own the room. But there are consequences from taking and withdrawing from this drug leaving him addled with blackouts, headaches, and maybe an STD. Throw in some baddies and a corporate monolith run by Robert De Niro seeking Eddie's financial "scheme", well, then, things suddenly take a turn for the worst.
Director Neil Burger (The Illusionist) takes us through this stream of consciousness in a style similar to David Fincher crossed with Tony Scott; capturing Eddie's fluid perception of handling complex situations with unnatural ease. A hit or miss for most audiences will be the narration throughout the film, though. While apropos with the protagonist being a writer suffering from clairvoyance, the omniscient first person is hard to accept.
It would also be interesting to see the alternate endings supposedly filmed as the one chosen has "test screening audience vote" written all over it.
Limitless is an interesting take on an old idea that feeds on "what ifs". This thriller may have not possessed the substance it aimed for, but it's still an entertaining 100 mins of substance-abuse.
3 Handsome Smirks out of 5
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