Review by Stuart O'Connor
Stars Bradley Cooper, Robert De Niro, Abbie Cornish, Andrew Howard, Anna Friel, Johnny Whitworth, Robert John Burke, Darren Goldstein, Ned Eisenberg
Written by Leslie Dixon
Certification UK 15 | US PG-13
Runtime 105 minutes
Directed by Neil Burger
So imagine if there was this drug that made you feel invincible and super-smart, that made you feel as though you could do anythng you want? No, as much as it might sound like it, this is not a film about cocaine. It's a film about a new experimental mind-expanding drug and the life-changing effect that it has on Eddie Morra (Cooper), a writer living in New York.
Morra is somewhat down on his luck. He's suffering from writer's block, running low on funds, living in a dump and unable to pay his rent. He bumps into his ex brother-in-law Vern (Whitworth), who introduces him to this amazing new drug that's about to come onto the market. It's a drug that unlocks the 80% of our brain that we do't use. It's a drug that costs $800 a pill. NZT48 is what "the boys in the kitchen" call it. And Eddie loves it: "A tablet a day, and what I could do with my day was limitless."
Pretty soon, his life is turned around – he finishes his new novel in four days; he learns to play the piano in three. And by the end of the week, he knows several new languages. He's become a super-genius, and decides to put his new branpower to work and become a stock-market wiz. Of course, there are a few problems along the way. For his initial stake to play the market, Eddie borrows 100 grand from a nasty Russian loan shark – a bad move for such a smart guy. He starts getting some weird side effects from the drug. And when Eddie starts to rack up the big bucks in his trading, he attracts the attention of one Carl Van Loon (De Niro), a Murdoch-like tycoon who hires Eddie as a financial adviser. And soon Eddie finds himself in a whole world of trouble ... and the film finds itself losing its way.
Burger brings an interesting visual style to Limitless – he uses CGI-enhanced tracking shots to great effect, and it's very well shot and edited. Cooper shows why he's leading man material, and it's great to see De Niro playing it straight (and a little sinister) for a change. And it's set (and shot) in New York, which is a big plus in its favour. But ... and it's a big but ... the entire film is predicated on a myth: the myth that we only use 10% of our brains. Completely untrue, of course, which provides a massive plot hole that it's impossible to get past. And for a film about intelligence, the script really shold be a lot smarter. You'd think it would end up being a cautionary tale about the dangers of drug abuse, but by the end, it's gone off on a competely different tangent. And it's not much of an ending, either. But for all that, Limitless is still entertaining enough to keep you going along for the ride.