As cerebral as it is exciting

Rating: 9/10 (13 August 2014)

Lucy is not your average thriller, not by a long shot. It is, in fact, a movie that manages to be existential while not being preachy, and super-exciting at the same time.
Lucy is the wrong person at the wrong time (we never find out her last name). Her shady boyfriend lands her in the hellride she's in for, and as an experimental drug explodes inside her, her brain capacity begins to increase. She uses her newfound abilities to get out of her predicament and escape her captors, but what she does from there may surprise you.
Right from the start, "Lucy" asks questions. For a while, it even segues between Lucy's story and that of Professor Norman (played by Morgan Freeman), who's trying to theorize what could happen if humans could use more parts of their brain. Eventually, the two characters will meet.
"Lucy" is very exciting. Right from the go, we are with this innocent woman who wants to escape the drug cartel who capture her and intend to use her as a carrier. Scarlett Johansson is amazing, growing from the terrified young woman to the increasingly supernatural warrior with her own mission in mind. Min-sik Choi is terrifying as the revolting Mr Jang. At times you might feel that Lucy's a bit lenient on him and his men, but her ordeal changes her. I hesitate to give away more but the finale of this movie really makes you think. The movie's also very inventively told, with intercutting shots of things like animals used to thematic effect, especially as we realize in what danger Lucy is, and the interstitial indicators of the percentage level of her brain function.
I'm not surprised that Lucy already has a below-7 score, because it's a science-fiction thriller that asks questions. It's an intelligent movie that takes you along on a thrilling ride, helmed by a wonderful actress and a visionary director.