Silly-serious fun

Rating: 8/10 (25 February 2015)

Lucy was directed by Luc Besson, who is also known for two of my favourite films: La Femme Nikita and The Professional, the latter which launched Natalie Portman's career. In Besson's new film, a woman is again the main character. Scarlett Johanssen plays Lucy, a young woman who is contaminated with a new drug that allows her to use up to 100% of her brain's capacity. The movie posits that most of us only use 10 to 15% of our brain's abilities. As the movie progresses so do Lucy's capabilities: she starts to control matter and move things around with her brain. Morgan Freeman plays the friendly science professor-researcher who want to access Lucy's new acquired knowledge. If you want pure escapism for 90 minutes, this is your film. It's silly-serious fun. If you decide to accept the premise of the film, you will be entertained by the incredibly fast editing, beautiful earth and space images, and crazy metaphysical ending. I recommend this film for a Friday night after you've had a hard week at work. You will come out feeling refreshed by the possibilities this film explores. It's also funny and has some incredible action sequences in Paris and Taipei.