what if you found a drug that allowed you to use 100% of your brain?

Rating: 9/10 (16 October 2013)

It seems there are fewer watchable movies made every year, and the good ones usually don't get much hype. I had to stumble over 'Limitless' on the internet and didn't know it existed until a few months ago. The premise instantly intrigued me, but I was leery of a serious film starring Bradley Cooper, someone I had only seen in a few comedies (Wedding crashers, The hangover). It only took a couple minutes of watching to realize he was going to be fine, in fact he was very good in the role that required him switching from 'on' to 'off' the drug. Limitless is an exhilarating thrill ride of a movie that has everything the modern (or classic)movie viewer could want; a fascinating premise, outstanding visuals and cinematography, solid acting and plenty of action. This is great entertainment, and though you might not want to think too much about the plot, it doesn't matter because you won't have time anyway because it moves too fast.
Eddie Morra (Cooper) is burned-out writer, a slob and a loser, who just got dumped by his girl when he runs into an old acquaintance who claims to be working in the pharmaceutical industry (though he is a former drug dealer) and has an experimental drug that Eddie ends up sampling. Eddie finds that while on the drug he can remember everything he has ever seen or read and immediately he start finding ways to profit from it as it seems he not only has amazing abilities of recall, he also has super-human energy. His whole personality is transformed and he begins making powerful new friends and uses his skill for huge gains on the financial markets to the point it draws the attention of market kingpin Carl Van Loon (Robert DeNiro)and soon Eddie is Van Loon's secret weapon in a massive upcoming merger...but things start getting twisted.
Director Neil Burger does a tremendous job with all the interconnected story threads, and there are many: Eddie has only a limited amount of the drug and keeping himself 'on' is paramount, there are side-effects that may be fatal, there are other people using the drug and they will literally kill to supply themselves, the drug can cause blackouts and Eddie may have committed heinous crimes he doesn't remember, Eddie's new personality draws his old girlfriend back to him and she too ends up caught up in this web. Through all this Eddie also has too produce results for Van Loon and keep himself supplied with the drug.
The rest you have to watch for yourself as there is so much going on in this film and it absolutely flies by, as I said, don't think about it too much -it's just a movie, and the ending seems a little tacked-on, but you can supply the deeper meaning and morals yourself, but give it a try...I don't recommend many contemporary films, but 'Limitless' is so absorbing and wildly entertaining I feel I can't hardly miss by saying CATCH THIS ONE! -and like me maybe your only problem will be how this gem slipped through the cracks with so little publicity...while films like 'Django Unchained' receive unwarranted Oscar attention, all 'Limitless' does is entertain!