science fiction clearly is not Scarlett Johansson's trade

Rating: 6/10 (1 January 2015)

The idea behind 'Lucy' is interesting enough: what will happen when mankind uses more than the common 10 to 15% of its brain-capacity? For this idea producer Luc Besson researched in the world of science, having the positive effect of it showing all over his movie.
So far so good. However, Besson was less happy in thinking that a subject like this could result in anything more than a common science fiction-film. Not even a prominent lead like Scarlett Johansson is able to lift 'Lucy' from its corresponding flat story.
Which inevitably brings us to the conclusion that Johansson wastes her great acting talent here. Or to be more precise: the more Johansson moves away from mankind's common 10 to 15% capacity, the more her acting vanishes into thin air. It is no surprise that Scarlett Johansson's characteristic down-to-earth performance comes out best in the beginning of this film.