Not so dumb science, perhaps

Rating: 9/10 (2 September 2014)

Writer/director Luc Besson serves up another entertaining ninety minutes of science fiction, this time based on the (erroneous) concept of the human brain using only a fraction of its capacity. (The brain does in fact use all its grey and white matter, just not all at once). Anyway, that's the dumb science part of it, and the idea does result in a thrill ride across the world as Scarlett Johansson's unwitting victim, the titular Lucy, becomes an emotionless death machine and the nemesis of those who engaged her in their nefarious activities.
Lucy's emotional and mental transformation was as a result of the ingestion of some of the drug she was coerced into transporting. (A nice touch to use Julian Rhind-Tutt as the first surgeon – he played a surgeon in the UK TV series "Green Wing.") Her mission as an avenging angel was satisfying (no-one likes bullies) as was her willingness to share her knowledge with the specialist she identified – Professor Norman, impeccably played as ever by the excellent Morgan Freeman. There was good support from Min-sik Choi as the Taiwanese mob leader and Amr Waked as the French police captain Lucy adopted as an ally.
The film was heading to its logical conclusion when the science suddenly became a little more intriguing as the film postulated a redefinition of the laws governing all of existence, and not many Hollywood films do that nowadays!
The ending has been done before (in Lawnmower Man), but not before the sum total of all knowledge was donated to Professor Norman by the transforming Lucy. This leaves the possibility for a sequel nicely poised. Will Lucy become a benevolent guardian, a curse on humanity, or a mere observer?
I enjoyed this film. The mobsters were intimidating and convincing, the police were not made fools of, the leads were engaging and believable, the CGI not excessive. Stunts and action scenes were handled with skill. I enjoyed the cool and efficient airport arrests of the other drug mules – beautifully handled.
There were some flaws, the one that jarred with me the most was the timing of moving so many drug suspects across Europe. I am not sure German, French and Italian law enforcement agencies co-operate quite so efficiently, but that would detract from the film's message. A good evening's entertainment and not the disaster many might have you believe – 9/10.