Currently streaming on Netflix, I gave Limitless a watch the other night and was not disappointed. The 1 hour, 45 minute film was written by Leslie Dixon, directed by Neil Burger, and released in 2011. Centering around the character Eddie Morra (Bradley Cooper), it depicts his life as a struggling author in New York City. His life was falling apart as he was struggling with motivation to write and his girlfriend Lindy (Abbie Cornish) breaking up with him. Everything in his life seemed to be at its lowest point. That is, until he ran into his ex-brother in law on the street one day and was given a newly created, underground pill (NZT48) that changed everything.

With the feeling of having nothing to lose, Morra took the pill and once it kicked in, suddenly seemed all-powerful. The pill allowed for its consumers to be able to access 100% of their brains, instead of the usual 20%, which gave Morra the motivation, clear-mindedness, and ability to turn his life around by writing his book, getting highly involved in the stock trade, making tons of money, and getting back with his girlfriend Lindy. The only problem: the highly secretive and very expensive pills were wanted by a group of cold-blooded thugs whom Morra found himself entangled with. Trying to live the life of ultimate power gave Morra a life of constant terror as he just sought to survive.

Like I mentioned, this movie did not disappoint. I figured it was a pretty safe bet with Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro featured in the cast. From beginning to end it kept me interested with no slow-moving scenes. It was also very easy to follow, which can sometimes be a problem with science fiction thrillers. The conflict of the film was introduced early on which captivated the audience and I didn’t think the plot was too predictable. You knew Bradley Cooper’s character would encounter trouble, as seen from the foreshadowing opening scenes, but you didn’t know what types and how many different troubles he would be caught up in. I also thought the Russian antagonist in the movie was played really well by Andrew Howard. His character was cut-throat, but seemed very believable…exactly like someone you could expect to run into if you got caught up in the wrong type of affairs in New York City. While you won’t walk away from this movie with the idea that it is among the best thrillers ever made, it contains enough intrigue and action to make you satisfied with the one-hour and 45-minutes spent watching it.

Rating: 3.75/5

Garett

Movie Review: Limitless