Lucy

• The reviewer discusses the film “Lucy” (2014), which follows a young woman who accidentally ingests an experimental drug that unlocks increasing percentages of her brain capacity, giving her superhuman abilities including telepathy and telekinesis.
• While praising Scarlett Johansson’s performance and Morgan Freeman’s presence, along with Luc Besson’s direction, the reviewer notes that the film will divide audiences between those who find the brain-potential concept intriguing and those who consider it nonsensical.
• Overall, the reviewer found it an interesting thriller that explores thought-provoking questions about human potential and consciousness, recommending it as worth watching despite its controversial scientific premise.

According to some (both understandings and research), humans use around 10% of their brain. According to others, humans use their complete brain, but only utilize 10% of its capacity/potential. If you ask me, I think the truth is somewhere in the middle – that we use around 75% of our brain, but we use 20% of our capacity/potential (“And if you ask me, I think 90% of the population uses 10% of their brain and that at a 10% capacity level” – subconscious note).

Now, the question arises whether it might actually be good that we haven’t yet unlocked the full capacity of our mind? Would we become enlightened people in that case? Conquer the Universe? Become gods? Would we become good or bad, or would our mind transcend these concepts as meaningless?

Who knows… maybe everything we know about the world around us is wrong. Maybe our brain is just trying to quantify and explain everything out of fear of the unknown. Maybe 1 and 1 aren’t 2, maybe we don’t understand how our body works, maybe we don’t even know who or what God is, maybe we don’t know if magic really exists or not… actually, maybe we don’t even know what we think we know, maybe we’re just in some kind of matrix (“Woah, as Neo would say, you’ve gotten too deep into this topic, come on, get back on track” – subconscious note).

Anyway…

Meet Lucy, a young girl studying in Taipei (“Damn her, what is there to study there?” – subconscious note). She’s likeable, quirky and wants to learn (she is in college after all). However, her new boyfriend is persuading her to do a little “job” for him and deliver a briefcase full of papers to some guy in a hotel, which she refuses, because she doesn’t like the idea that even her new boyfriend doesn’t want to carry that package to that guy himself.

Now, an average guy would try to win over his girlfriend with compliments, kisses, flirting, caressing, dinner, shopping… and when she’d finally say N-O, then he’d do the job himself, and afterwards go sulking with his buddies for a beer. However, this guy is pretty persistent – he forcibly handcuffed his girlfriend and the briefcase together (“Hm, handcuffs, interesting approach…” – subconscious muttering into beard and taking notes).

The moment Lucy enters the hotel, her new boyfriend gets whacked in front of the entrance.

Now, this is enough to worry you and ask what kind of papers need to be delivered.

It turns out Lucy needs to deliver nuclear weapon codes to an American agent hiding in a room on the 20th floor of a Russian hotel in Taipei that’s full of Chinese agents.

Which isn’t true…

It turned out that Lucy delivered a briefcase full of synthetic experimental drug CPH4 (actually, four bags) to a Korean gangster. The Korean gangster gentleman (with all his creepy entourage), although he seems scary, completely understands that this girl is just a student trying to survive. And he decides to spare her. So he knocked her unconscious, cut open her stomach, inserted one bag of CPH4, sewed her up, and then ordered her to go with three other strangers to a certain country where “some guys” will wait for her to open her up again and take the package out of her, and in return she’ll get to stay alive (“If she doesn’t die of sepsis first…” – subconscious note). In other words, Lucy has now become a courier for a drug cartel, for which you may have heard the term “drug mule.”

So you go ahead and work through youth programs for pocket money now…

To make matters worse, while she was in captivity waiting for “transport,” she experienced physical abuse from the thugs working for the gangster. Now, in the “Gangster’s Guide,” rule 43 says: “Don’t kick a courier in a freshly sewn stomach where drugs are located, especially if all the drugs are in one bag.” Well, these thugs hadn’t read that guide, so the bag with the mysterious drug tore in Lucy’s stomach, and started dissolving in her body and penetrating every possible cell.

Now, here’s where things get a bit complicated. Lucy didn’t become “high” or a drug addict. For some reason, this amount of drug had the effect that, as time passes, Lucy unconsciously unlocks her brain’s capacities. Some of you probably remember the movie “Limitless” (great film, deserves a review… and the series isn’t bad either). Well, here the situation is a bit different. Unlocking brain capacity doesn’t just mean a higher degree of intelligence… in Lucy’s case, it starts giving her, besides increased physical capacities (absolute control over body and strength, as well as the ability to feel every cell in her body and understand its purpose), also “supernatural” mental ones, such as telepathy, telekinesis and psychometry.

However, this isn’t as great as it looks. Lucy realizes that she can’t influence the speed at which her brain “unlocks” its capacities, and that her body won’t be able to endure this situation for long and that her body will burn out, i.e., die (or transform into a spirit or whatever), and that she doesn’t know what to do with all the information that’s in her mind. There’s only one solution, which is actually three: get revenge on the gangster, find the remaining drug bags (“You say she’s not a drug addict, huh? That’s called CRAVING, my man!” – subconscious note) so they don’t fall into criminals’ hands and something similar doesn’t happen to someone else or so the drug doesn’t hit the streets at all. And the last is to find Professor Samuel Norman, a famous scientist who has devoted his whole life to studying the brain, including theorizing about unlocking the mind’s potential. Lucy manages to contact the professor who is amazed by what he heard (and saw on TV), but is also convinced that Lucy is telling the truth.

From that moment, Lucy’s race begins with the Korean gangster (don’t think this is some pushover) – who will reach the remaining drugs first, and then find a way to get to the professor. A police inspector will also join Lucy in finding the drugs, as “help” (although I think he’s there more for form’s sake, because Lucy is basically a living version of Neo from “The Matrix”… I’d dare say, about 70 times more dangerous version).

Will Lucy manage to reach the professor in time before she dies/disappears/transcends and what secrets of the Universe does her mind now hide? Can the eminent Professor Norman help her… can he even understand what Lucy understands?

Or maybe she just overdosed and imagined all this is happening to her?

Questions, questions…

It’s time we start with the cast, isn’t it?

The main heroine of the film “Lucy” is played by my great love from student days, Scarlett Johansson (yes, she’s engaged again, but hope dies last :D). Jokes aside, there’s really no point talking about all the excellent achievements she’s acted in (especially since she killed it in 2019, even having two Oscar nominations), which is clear proof that beauty and talent go hand in hand. Her gradual transformation into a person who slowly discards all emotions as her brain “unlocks” its potential (without turning into wooden acting) isn’t something just any actor can do.

Professor Samuel Norman is played by Hollywood legend, Morgan Freeman. Period. I mean, I don’t know what to add about this actor who has acted in tons of (famous and successful) films, has a trillion awards and nominations, and who with his legendary god-like voice could be the narrator of a documentary about bologna, and be nominated for awards at at least seven festivals (and probably win at least two). Though, again, it’s no surprise to see Morgan Freeman in some film that (in)directly touches on divine themes.

The Korean gangster is played by Min-sik Choi (which might not mean much to you unless you’re a big lover of Korean cinematography… but if I tell you “Oldboy”… yeah, yeah, that guy through and through :D).

The police inspector (who mostly gets in the way and serves as a driver) is played by the famous Amr Waked… actually, I have no idea who this guy is, first time I hear about him… I don’t even know if he’s famous in his own country… he appeared in “Syriana” and “Marco Polo.”

The film was directed (and written) by European legend, Luc Besson. He doesn’t have huge budgets, but mainly, his films earn 2-3 times more than invested, and the plots are always interesting, and for many actors it’s an honor to appear in his films. And his films have a certain visual flair and atmosphere, and the film “Lucy” is no exception to this. It becomes especially visually more interesting as Lucy’s brain increasingly “unlocks” its potentials.

The action is dynamic, from car chases to shootouts, but it’s never too much, just right for this type of film.

Now… the plot and the very idea of the film is what will divide the audience here, into those who find this film intriguing and interesting, and those who consider this film complete trash and idiocy. And it all stems from how you experience the concept of the brain and its potential. Luc Besson tried to base this film on a branch of science that supports the view that we use only a small percentage of our brain. But not all science (from the field of brain research) agrees with this idea. Does “unlocking” our capacities really mean supernatural powers? Can we finally access the power of the subconscious and its unlimited potential? Can we understand the Universe? Get powers like Neo? Or simply solve “My Number” faster in “Slagalica” [Serbian TV quiz show]?

However, this scene where Lucy tells the professor what she’s stopped feeling as she becomes more intelligent is particularly interesting to me, because it’s also contradictory. She stopped feeling pain, fear, desires (which can also be interpreted as passions and urges). And she says “It’s like everything that makes us human beings is fading in me.” I find it fascinating how she listed our weaknesses (which are often exactly what limits us from living life to the fullest) as the first elements that “turn off” as the brain evolves. And she listed exactly those weaknesses that every person would want to get rid of. No doubt, weaknesses make us human, but we’d still like to avoid them or control them. And again, those weaknesses have been known to be one of the drivers of human evolution.

Does this mean that if we unlock our full potential, we stop being human? What do we become then? Gods? Machines? Collective (sub)consciousness? A pile of data? Noth(ing)?

And finally, is modern man ready to unlock his brain’s potentials? Is this something that will save the human race or destroy it?

Though, I think Luc Besson just wanted to make an interesting thriller, and along the way play a bit with our brains, and make us ask these various nebulous questions (“Who’s ‘us’? I was just staring at Scarlett Johansson and waiting to see if there’d be sex, and you’re the only one talking about some brain evolution or whatever…” – subconscious note).

All in all, for me this was an interesting film that touched on an interesting topic, and I think it’s worth watching. 😀

For years there’s been the question of whether there will be a sequel. Although Luc Besson considers the film a complete whole and doesn’t know what a sequel could be about (if you watch the film, you’ll understand why this makes sense… at least it makes sense to me :D)… still, various stories are whispered, although Besson denies them. However, when a film that has a budget of 40 million dollars earns over 450 million… then there’s always room to be flexible, right? 😀

And you, dear reader, what do you think about the idea that there’s a possibility we could “unlock” our brain’s full potential? 😀 (“Dear reader, forget his retarded question… what do you think about the idea of watching a movie with Scarlett Johansson without sexy scenes????” – subconscious note).

IMDb | Rotten Tomatoes | Metacritic

Trailer

Release date: 2014

Format: Film

Runtime: 89 minutes