Awesome

Rating: 9/10 (6 November 2014)

Wow, I really like Scarlett Johansson on screen now. My first persuasion that she was a good actress came in The Prestige (2006) and Woody Allen's 'Match Point (2005)' and 'Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)' and even the bizarre noire 'Under the Skin (2013)'.
In terms of completely capturing my imagination, it'll be hard for her to top her role as Lucy, in Luc Besson's current science fiction masterpiece of the same name. The fact is there's not much about Scarlett's features or symmetry that I'd call beautiful - she has a funny nose, which goes off in a different direction to her mouth, and on the big screen all that is exaggerated just enough to keep you wondering if she's beautiful or interesting, but in the package with her acting, she's phenomenal.
In terms of holding your attention, Scarlett doesn't miss a beat and, I'm sorry Angelina Jolie, but she leaves what you do on screen, for dead. She's a movie maker's dream. She's one of the few females who can not only carry a movie, but she makes interesting choices and takes risks with those choices. This is one woman who is not going to die wondering if she left any of her talent and ability off screen. No sir. It's all up there in minute, focused and interesting detail.
And for mine, in short, what Luc Besson achieves with Lucy as a revenge movie, is what Tarantino couldn't achieve in two volumes of Kill Bill. I'm a big science fiction movie fan, but it's been a long time since I've had anything satisfy my movie-going instincts on nearly every level.
Tim Burton's Mars Attacks was the last, and that was in 1996. This movie, Lucy, is in a class almost of it's own. Perhaps once or twice there were script elements which reminded me of Brad Cooper's 'Limitless', but they were few and fleeting, given the execution, believability and outstanding effects of Lucy. I'm not going to go into the story. If you've wondered whether or not you really like Scarlett Johansson, this should make your mind up. And if you like a thrilling ride/sci-fi/revenge flick this is up there with the best of them. Scarlett's performance is worth the entry price alone.