100% Brain Power? Besson uses less than 10%

Rating: 4/10 (6 January 2015)

Every once in a while a film like 'Lucy' comes along. One that is incredibly ambitious but so poorly executed that you can't help but feel sorry for the overall product. It pains me to type this, when a project has such great potential starts to stumble and ends up tripping its own feet over.
Luc Besson the director and writer of 'Lucy' knows what he is doing behind the camera. Throughout it he creates undeniably beautiful images on screen. If only the rest of the film was on par with the camera work then I would be jumping for joy. I might have actually had more fun with Lucy if I wasn't treated like a dumb audience member from the get-go. Obvious imagery of a cheetah hunting its prey intercut with a scene of Lucy being surrounded by gang members – isn't what you want to show your audience especially if they have an IQ higher than a 10 year old.
'Lucy' stars Scarlett Johansson in the title role; she is given a drug (against her own free will) that will increase her brain power from 10% to 100%. I can admire Johansson for trying to inject human emotion – for the first 15 minutes, then her character becomes devoid of any, which left me emotionally disconnected with her character; that and her blatant disregard for human life. After she has the drug in her bloodstream we get to see what she can do with her power. This ranges from being able to read people's minds to virtual omnipotence. Sound familiar? If it does then it should be no surprise that Lucy is what I would term a superhero. Yet the film lacks what makes them interesting – a strong villain and suspense.
Min-sik Choi who plays the villain (Mr Jang) is given so little to do that he might as well be called obligatory henchman for unnecessary conflict. It is a shame when the lead actor of Oldboy (2003) is in a film far below him. His character is no match for Lucy; as with a flick of her wrist she can magically use the force and send her enemies flying against the wall. He can do nothing to stop her – see where I'm getting at with the obligatory villain concept? Lucy can do anything and her enemies virtually nothing, so we don't even need a villain present at all. No one can challenge her effectively, thus stopping any tension within the film.
I'm really trying hard to find something positive apart from the visuals. Morgan Freeman is great – but when wasn't he? Unfortunately although he gives his all, he cannot stop the film from venturing on the wrong side of camp. Again I come to another element of the film which Besson can't seem to decide upon. The tone of the film; it never knows when to be serious or silly – in the end when he mixes scenes of seriousness and one-liners they end up just cancelling themselves out. Leaving me very confused as to what the director was aiming for.
An intriguing premise but weak story stops 'Lucy' from being 'The Matrix' game changer it should have been. The biggest compliment I can give the film is that it isn't painful to watch; just irritating that a film maker with talent fails to make 'Lucy' suspenseful, or for that matter interesting.