An effective piece of propaganda

Rating: 5/10 (6 April 2016)

This movie caught my attention because the trailer seemed like it was inspired by Elfen Lied, a favorite anime of mine. I wasn't the only one to think so, but after watching the movie, I think some things may or may not have been derived from that anime, but this movie is still very much its own thing and not a ripoff.
That's not to say I like it. I don't like its message. I'm just saying it's an effective, and, as far as Hollywood blockbusters go, creative film. I also don't really like it even ignoring the politics of it, but that's largely because it just isn't my taste, not because the film is done poorly. Like I said, I wouldn't likely have even given it a second thought if it wasn't for all the people comparing the trailer to Elfen Lied.
The movie is, if not actually a part of, then at least inspired by the transhumanist movement. It also seems to be a propaganda piece for the Neil Degrasse Tyson/Bill Nye/Stephen Hawking/Carl Sagan/Richard Dawkins, etc. movement of making science a religion, even more so than it has been treated as a religion in the past, while merging, and in some ways confounding, science and philosophy.
Full discloser: I am a religious person and I have a serious problem with transhumanists. But this movie didn't offend me. The thematic elements aren't anything we haven't seen before in various movies, Star Trek episodes, etc. This movie just expresses those themes really well as far as major Hollywood pictures go. It's no surprise that Morgan Freeman plays the male lead. Morgan Freeman has expressed a sort god-complex, saying humans are a sort of god, we just need to work to evolve to our potential of being god, or something. The movie ends with "Lucy" transforming herself, through sheer mental energy, into a godlike and nearly all-powerful being, just by reaching "100 percent" of her brain capacity, and then donating her godlike knowledge to humanity with a flash drive. It is implied that all people have this godlike potential within us, we just haven't been able to tap it.
I find it interesting that a film so obviously intended for those who regard science as a constant war against the ridiculous fantasies of religion and superstition relies entirely on a fantastic premise, plot, and climax to get its message across. Again, I'm not offended, I just find it somewhat ironic. Transhumanism, really, is the religion for atheists who find all the worldviews normally called "religions" too mainstream.
Over all, if you adjust your expectations for the flaws that all Hollywood blockbusters tend to have, then this isn't a bad film at all. I just think it need to be recognized for what it is.