BigdaddyDave's Review

Summary - Very Good 3.5

Imagine a drug that can give you accelerated thinking, crystal clear analytical thought, and the ability to recall anything you’ve ever seen or heard. That’s the wonders of the fictional drug NZT48, which allows Eddie Morra (Bradley Cooper) to use his entire brain to write novels, succeed in the stock market, and solve complex analytical problems in the movie Limitless.

Fast paced, and with rich, vivid imagery, and a transfixing voice-over narration, Limitless delves into the problems of addiction. As with most things in life, chemical enhancements, whether through drugs, alcohol, or caffeine, can easily become an addiction. And millions of us rely on those chemicals on a daily basis (as I drink my morning coffee). Cooper is effective in portraying a down and out writer who is introduced to this wonder drug, including its life changing benefits. His rugged good looks change as the drug takes over his life and relationships. Abbie Cornish plays his girlfriend, in an underdeveloped role that doesn’t quite fit into the story, and Robert De Niro plays an ultra successful executive that Morra becomes involved with. In fact, De Niro has one of the best speeches of the whole movie, when he admonishes Morra for being too cocky. It’s sure to become a favorite audition piece for a score of actors.

Where the movie suffers somewhat is in trying to do too much. When it’s all said and done, I walked away feeling as though there were just a few too many storylines in the film. A bit too many spices in the soup as it were.

But, overall, I enjoyed the movie, and found the escapism of being able to do anything and process information quickly enjoyable.

Acting - Good 3.0

Film - Good 3.0

Edge - Risqué 1.9

Reality - Surreal 2.3

We probably are capable of making a drug like this, which is somewhat disturbing. With the rapid influx of “designer drugs” into society, and a craving for energy and performance enhancements, its not that far fetched.

3 Comments

• Wick Apr 10, 2014 6:13PM

  Regarding modern marvel’s Review
  “Any time Bradley Cooper’s not on screen, the movie misses a step.” Good observation.

• BigdaddyDave Apr 21, 2011 6:41AM

  I’d have to give the nod to Inception, with its impressive special effects and far more cerebral plot.

  I suppose it would depend on your taste in movies, or drugs for that matter. Limitless features a drug that closely resembles speed, with far less hallucinatory effects than in Inception, which probably could be compared to LSD. Inception dealt more with escaping from reality to dreams, whereas Limitless deals more with reaching a higher potential while still being conscious.

  From a reality standpoint, I think we would be far more likely to see the drug from Limitless than the ones from Inception. But, at the end of the day, I’ll pick Inception as the better movie.

• Wick Apr 20, 2011 10:13PM

  Regarding BigdaddyDave’s Review
  Which is the better designer drug movie BigD, this or Inception?

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