Review of Limitless (2011) by Yossgold — 15 Oct 2011

Though the movie has an ok rhythm to it and very nice camerawork, I have to say that it presents a VERY VERY limited idea as to what it could mean to be able to use/access 100% of your brain. The movie might have made a bit more sense if the pill added lets say an extra 10-20% of brain-potency, which is quite enough to elevate someone to the quite shallow and not that special capabilities portrayed in the movie.

I mean the man can use 100%(!!!!) of his brain and all you could come up with to portray it is great at casinos and stock market, able to charm ladies into bed and can fight well (in certain situations only, in others the story line dictates that he suddenly "forgets" that he's Jet Li due to his memories of a few scenes from a Bruce Lee movie and a self defense clip, thus getting the crap kicked out of him). I'm thinking the writer of this movie (or more accurately, the author of the book it's based on) should have taken a couple of NZT pills himself before he wrote it.

Not only are his "unlimited" abilities so limited, in order to make this "thriller" ... well... thrilling, the main character turns out to be the stupidest "extra-smart" man ever. Most of what gets him in trouble are mistakes that could easily be foreseen by my 5 year old nephew, yet this dude with unlimited smarts seems to fall into every pothole along the way.

In short, enjoyment of this movie all depends on how you approach it. If you're expecting a Friday afternoon no-brainer with ok acting, I'd say this could do the job because from that aspect, it's definitely not bad. On the other hand, if you're expecting what this movie purports to be, you're going to be VERY disappointed (and at some point even quite bored).

I'd say that the look and feel of the movie and that seed of a great idea (Ah, what Ingmar Bergman could have done with this) are what gained all the rating stars from me.

Limitless idea, VERY limited, unimaginative and unintelligent execution. What a shame.