Bargain basement crime movie cliches and ham-fisted action scenes are stitched together in such a way that it just comes across as preposterous and silly.
Lucy is a reluctant drug mule (Scarlett Johansson) who accidentally gets dosed with a substance called CPH-4. This drug allows her to unlock the full potential of her brain. Somehow, this causes her to be able to manipulate electricity, control people’s bodies and minds, and other crazy stuff. Lucy vows revenge on those that forced her into her life of crime.
I really enjoyed the premise of Lucy. The idea that unlocking the inter-connectivity between brain cells creates a sort of cosmic awareness that opens the secret to life’s mysteries, erases ignorance, promotes understanding, eliminates desire, and wipes away pain. Sadly, this great idea is wasted on a second rate action movie.
Some might complain that the movie is excessively preachy. I found the “preachy” bits to bit the most interesting. At least they had something to say, important or not. The rest of the film is just bargain basement crime movie cliches and ham-fisted action scenes that are stitched together in such a way that it just comes across as preposterous and silly.
Writer/director Luc Besson has done silly before and made it work. Check out The Fifth Element for a superbly silly – yet entertaining – science fiction film. Here, the silly parts are doled out with such grim-faced seriousness that you want to instinctively reject it as you would a vacuum cleaner salesman knocking on your door at 8 AM on a Saturday morning.
Scarlett Johansson delivers an off-kilter performance. Her character is believably frightened at the beginning of the film when her life is threatened but she gains confidence in her powers instantly. This doesn’t ring true based on the character’s personality. Morgan Freeman, I suspect, was cast because he can deliver his lines with a straight face and an unwavering voice.
One thing that bothered me – aside from the idea that we only use 10% of our brain power is completely untrue – is that this drug is ready for sale yet we are supposed to believe that no one who previously took it experienced any of the same effects that Lucy did? No one else tried it? Seems a bit sketchy to me.
It’s too bad because Lucy does have some likable parts. The visual effects are spectacular and the action scenes, as stupidly stuffed into this movie as they are, are impressive and innovative. It’s too bad they’re wasted in a movie that needs more brains than action. Isn’t that ironic?
2.0 out of 5.0 stars
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