Lucy (MA)
Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Morgan Freeman, Choi Min-Sik, Amr Waked
IN A year with some great science fiction films, Lucy is one of the best so far.
Humans supposedly only use 10 per cent of their brains’ capacity.
But when Lucy (Scarlett Johansson), an American student in Taiwan, is exposed to a cognition-enhancing drug after being tricked into becoming a drug mule, she begins unlocking her entire brain and accessing extraordinary powers.
With films such as Leon and The Fifth Element in his body of work, director Luc Besson has a talent for creating intense, over-the-top action movies that are still charged with intelligence and witty humour. Lucy is no exception.
The film is positively bursting with vibrant visual style, features some insanely creative action scenes and great performances from Johansson and Oldboy star Choi Min-Sik, who is suavely sinister in his Western debut.
Johansson commands every scene with calm intensity, and the film is a lean, stylish and intriguing journey of her character essentially becoming an omnipotent god, gaining telepathy, telekinesis and later control over matter and time.
This progression fuels the beautiful visuals and action, and the drug cartel hunting her keeps it suspenseful.
The 10 per cent myth in the premise is nonsense, and though Lucy propagates this and some other basic misunderstandings about science, the film is still infused with enthusiasm for science and the possibilities it holds for human improvement.
Ultimately, Lucy is cool and brainy (in that order).
– Seth Hynes
