Exciting and entertaining sci-fi-like thriller, undone by disappointing Hollywood-like ending

Rating: 6/10 (3 June 2013)

'Limitless' is one of those entertaining thrillers that (despite its ill-conceived ending), will appeal to the majority of ordinary males who have fantasies of becoming the kind of male women seem to automatically gravitate to: the alpha male. Indeed, the film's protagonist, Eddie Morra, the down and out novelist played by Bradley Cooper, represents an exaggerated version of the kind of situation, the average guy finds himself in, on a daily basis.
While most guys aren't down to their last buck like Morra, they can certainly can identify with his great dissatisfaction in the inability to achieve success in a career. It's not like Morra is some bum off the street: he's got an agent but has writer's block; the average guy can relate to Morra's inability to reach his potential. The same applies to women: Morra does have a very good-looking girlfriend, Lindy—but because he doesn't reach his potential and ends up projecting a negative image, she has no guilt feelings about dumping him.
'Limitless' allows the average male to indulge in the fantasy of becoming an instant alpha male without developing the skills. When Eddie runs into his ex-brother-in-law who gives him the illegal medication, 'NZT', we're ready to break into Act 2 and watch how Eddie is transformed. Perhaps the best scene in the movie is when Eddie must turn his brow-beating landlady around after she constantly screams at him for not paying his rent. Instead of adopting the motivational social skills of the ordinary schlub, the NZT allows Eddie to tap his full cognitive potential. Not only does he help the landlady with her paper for law school but also ends up bedding her without even trying.
A montage with voice-over allows us to see what else Eddie accomplishes 'under the influence', including learning how to play difficult classical music pieces on the piano as well as mastering multiple languages in a matter of a few days. Instead of turning into a mensch, Eddie decides to model himself after Gordon Gekko. He starts as a day trader and begins amassing some money and this is where perhaps the first plot hole appears in the film. If he's such a genius, why does he have to borrow $100,000 from a Russian loan shark? During a voice-over, Eddie claims he needs the money fast but given his talents, couldn't the newly transformed Eddie have made that kind of money in a week or two? His financial success leads Lindy to change her mind about him and she's back in his arms in no time. Eddie also insinuates himself into the business world of business tycoon Carl Van Loon (another average performance by Robert De Niro) and is on the verge of earning millions, advising Van Loon as he's about to complete a merger with Atwood, a business rival. Eddie's transformation now appears complete.
Screenwriter Leslie Dixon manages to keep things moving even after Eddie's transformation is finished. Since there is a limited supply of NZT, all the really bad guys are after Eddie including the loan shark and a stalker. What's more there are very bad side effects to this medication. Eddie is shocked to see his ex-wife, who is going downhill from NZT's side effects as well as discovering previous users have either died or are physically debilitated. Eddie also can't recall where he is for 18 hours and later he's implicated in a murder of a woman in a hotel.
There's also an exciting scene where the stalker goes after Lindy. She's seemingly cornered in Central Park (of all places) by the Stalker, but Eddie advises her to take one pill of NZT, which allows her to figure out how to stop her pursuer. Her escape is exciting but contains one ugly misstep: she grabs a little girl who's skating on an ice rink, and uses her as a human machete—slashing her pursuer with the blade of the little girl's skate (I wonder why no one chased her and why she wasn't initially charged with child endangerment).
The second act crisis is rather perfunctory, with Eddie going toe to toe with the Russian loan shark and his henchmen. There a few twists and turns in this confrontation, especially when Eddie runs out of his NZT, stabs the loan shark and is forced to drink his blood in order to get NZT back into his system.
While a good part of this is somewhat unbelievable, it all adds up to some breezy entertainment. Unfortunately, Leslie Dixon, the film's screenwriter opts for a typical Hollywood ending, which dilutes the film's overall impact. We're asked to accept that Eddie somehow overcomes the addiction to NZT and retains his mental abilities--even though everybody else becomes addicted and goes downhill after being unable resist, after taking one pill. I also wondered why Lindy did not succumb to the effects of NZT and become an addict (I guess since she's one of the 'good ones', she has the willpower to resist).
Finally, why should we really root for Eddie? Has he done anything good to help humanity? In the end he's a politician who rejects Van Loon, who wants to control him, even after he becomes president. But Eddie still is sleazy—after all he is a politician (not a brain surgeon!). A better ending would have Eddie sacrificing himself to save Lindy—penitence for his decision to use drugs and suck up to bad guy Van Loon.
I enjoyed 'Limitless' up to a point. It's a fast-paced thriller, undone mainly by a cheap ending, that makes little sense.