Limitless

Starring: Bradley Cooper, Robert De Niro, Abbie Cornish, Andrew Howard, Anna Friel, Johnny Whitworth
Directed by: Neil Burger
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Mystery, Thriller, Science Fiction
2011

Times Seen:
Tim: 1

Summary: A man (Bradley Cooper) starts taking a pill that gives him amazing mental abilities- he is able to access all of the knowledge stored in his brain, which brings him fame and fortune. However, as he makes his rise, there are forces at work who are determined to stop him.

Review:

Tim: I was surprised how much I liked Limitless. It still never reaches its full potential (which is kind of ironic), but it is a solid, competently made thriller. I was entertained. I really believe director Neil Burger deserves a good amount of credit. He took a story that was decent (but could easily have been bad) and directs a fast moving, intelligent, enjoyable film. This movie was a surprise for me.

I really liked Bradley Cooper in the role. I feel like he still needs to prove himself as an actor. He certainly shot to fame very quickly, but I am not sure he deserves it all yet. He still needs to hone his craft, rather than simply starring in popular movies to bring him fame. I don't blame Cooper at all, but roles like this one are exactly what he needs to build his credibility. He is good in the role, giving an effortlessly charismatic performance. I believed the transformation that he made.

Robert De Niro was less than stellar. I know it's hard for actors in the twilight of their career to get good roles, but I feel for De Niro. He took a small part here, and does good work with it, but it just feels a bit beneath him. I want to be clear that he's absolutely not slumming it at all in this role- he just deserves more than this.

The other supporting players are mostly forgettable. I didn't love Abbie Cornish in this, and I don't think I've loved her in anything I've seen her do. I don't get the appeal, and I think she is an overrated talent. She didn't add much at all to this film.

My favorite aspects of Limitless are the ones that deal with the central question- what if you could access all of the information in your brain? Everything you ever learned, saw, read, or heard, instantly at your disposal. There are countless ways to illustrate this, and the movie does a fantastic job of tapping into those. I was stunned by the idea and I loved watching it unfold on screen. A pill that could open your mind like that would revolutionize humanity and let anyone become some more than human. While the science is a bit iffy, the movie tries to depict it in a fairly realistic light. I really appreciated that.

The worst part of the movie are the massive plot holes throughout the entire script. For being perhaps the smartest guy in the world, Bradley Cooper's character does some inexplicably stupid things throughout the entire movie. This was never addressed, and it bothered me more and more as the movie went on. If his character could access everything in his brain, how could he simply forget to repay his dangerous small time loan shark? This is just one example of logical inconsistencies in the film that really hurt the overall quality. Every time a plot hole emerged, it took me out of the film and made me wonder how no one else was able to pick up on it in the filming process.

The main reason why I didn't like this movie more is because of the huge plot holes and gaps in logic. Other than that, I really did enjoy this movie. Overall, I would say Limitless is a good movie that could have been better, but easily could have been much worse. I liked watching it, and in that regard, it has to be considered a success.

Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating- 7


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