First Great Movie of 2011

Rating: 9/10 (31 March 2011)

Now this is how you make a movie. I don't know if it was the fact that I saw perhaps one of the worst movies ever dumped on screen last week or if I had seen something that really took me by surprise. Let's go with the latter, because one way or another, Limitless will somehow end up on my top 10 of the year.
So for those who have been missing the previews, here's the basics. Bradley Cooper plays Eddie, a guy who seems to be on the top of the world (or rather a luxury skyscraper) and he's ready to end it all. After one of the slickest credits sequences ever put on film, we find that he was a guy who had hit rock bottom in his life after getting dumped by his girlfriend, failing to pay rent on time, and had consistently failed to type a single word for his novel. In other words, he was a loser...I mean artistic writer. By chance, he meets his ex-wife's brother-in-law who turns him on to a new drug called NZT. The drug might as well be called "Charlie Sheen" because this guy starts to win at basically life itself.
In 24 hours, he scores with the young wife of his landlord, cleans up his messy apartment and finishes the first part of his overdue novel (that is immediately embraced by his editor). So after a good trip like that Eddie needs more. More of this drug to help him focus to not only finish his book, but learn languages, play the piano, score more girls, play the stock market, and whatever else he wants. Thus, what follows is an insane adrenaline-fueled odyssey as Eddie rises to power with the help of Charlie Sheen's tiger blood, all the while dealing with some psychotically bad side effects. How bad are we talking here? Say 18-hour blackouts where he remembers snippets of fights, parties, clubs, and random sex. Actually, now that I wrote that, those might be not-so-bad side effects.
So what separates this film from other drug head films? Other films show how drugs make their users feel "high" or "good" for a while (which basically means doing jack), before the inevitable time where the user gets "clean" and goes through withdrawals. In essence, these films show how "drugs are bad" and how the road to recovery and redemption is a long and painful one. This is NOT one of those movies. This is a rise to power film.
After Eddie is given his powers, we see him adjust to his new life and makes crucial decisions on where he takes his life next. But the drug not only gives Eddie supreme intelligence, but focus for goals. While it's never explicitly stated, Eddie simply wants the "world and everything in it". And this is what makes Limitless so entertaining. We are taken on a ride as Eddie moves up in the world and shown how he deals with his love life and his relationship with business partners. You never see what's coming next or predict how each character will fare in the movie. It's simply one surprise after another.
Acting wise, Bradley Cooper shines in this film. You might as well call this his "breakthrough" role, cause he is the star of the show here. While his character never attains the infamy that other famous rise-to- power protagonists have (like Tyler Durden or Scarface), you are nonetheless drawn to his character and hope that he makes it through to see the next day. Abbie Cornish does a fine job and redeems herself in my eyes for Sucker Punch and proves to be both confident and competent as an actress. Pay attention to this one in the coming years. And thank God that Robert De Niro gets to have a role in a movie isn't worthless. He does his job as a Wall Street exec quite well and almost makes me want to see him in a broker movie.
What really takes you on a ride in the movie, besides the great acting and tight script, is the direction. I cannot think of a single plot hole in the movie, even though a lesser film could have easily made that mistake. But the true star here is the cinematography as the camera tricks in this movie are so much fun. The only way for me to describe it, is like speeding through a tunnel of your depth perception. Picture yourself on a street and peer as far as your eye can see. What the movie does is quickly travel the length of your perception and keeps going and going. It gives you that beautiful feeling of omniscience. Simply put, you can see and hear everything.
There are very few movies I walk out of a movie saying "wow". This movie was one of them. An adrenaline-fueled adventure that captivates you without a single explosion and leaves you completely satisfied. I won't give it a perfect rating since some characters were not fully memorable, but this film takes you on a ride you'll never forget. Run out and catch this movie anyway you can. It deserves it.