Limitless

August 8^th, 2012

Limitless Review:

Limitless is the type of film that grabs you and does not let go. The premise is quite entertaining, it goes like this: a writer who suffers from massive writer’s block is giving the secret to unlocking all of his brain potential. The movie takes this premise and hits the ground running.

Performances:

This is the movie that proves Bradley Cooper to the world. Before this he was a pretty face in comedic films like the Hangover and Wedding Crashers. Limitless changes that. Cooper proves his worth as an actor to the world; he is a great actor, but not only that, he is an entertaining actor. Not all actors can combine the two great qualities and combine them into one, but Cooper can. He truly shows the signs of an addiction to a drug that makes you smarter and more powerful. Other than that, Robert de Niro gives a good performance as a Wall Street big-shot who Cooper’s character goes through to reach the top. I loved the ending scene, where De Niro tells Cooper that he is a bad enemy to have, and Cooper tells him that there is no scenario that he won’t come out on top. Abby Cornish plays the girlfriend character, nothing new from her, and there is a Mafia bad guy who is ok but nothing special. By far Cooper blows this category out of the park.

Plot:

Limitless has a great idea for a plot. It is obviously about addictive drugs, but it does not let that bog it down. LZT is something that any of us would want, a pill that makes us invincible in both mind and body. I think that the best part of this movie is when Cooper has first started to take the pill and is starting to gain power. There are many vibrant colors and it moves quick, so watch carefully. The idea that the pill is addictive is good as well. It presents a plot point that could just as easily become an annoying metaphor for drugs, but it doesn’t and it uses it to its advantage fully. There are a couple of plot points that don’t work quite as well, such as the mafia character becoming addicted to LZT, but these problems are very small and do move to form the climax.

Entertainment:

This movie, for all of the good plot points, is extremely entertaining. Movies, like actors, have to prove on two levels, entertainment and plot. It must have a good plot and be entertaining to be considered one of the best. The colors used in this film are very vibrant, especially in the zooming around the city scenes and the scene in the Caribbean.  Bradley Cooper is funny in his role as well, and the main progression of the story works so well, I have no complaints. There is only one complaint I have in this category, and that is that it didn’t flesh out the girlfriend enough. They should have made her get addicted to the drug as well, leading to her death, to make the film more tragic. However, with all of the other plot points, this is a very small complaint.

Overview:

Limitless is the film that proves Bradley Cooper is an actor to watch.  It bolsters a great plot and some great performances and good characters. The idea of a drug that can unlock the secrets of your brain is one of the most interesting concepts of this year. I would say that this film is a great one, it has some great performances and is definitely one to watch.

Final Grade: A-