Rating: ***
Review Date: 7/27/14
Written And Directed By: Luc Besson
Music: Eric Serra
Cast: Scarlett Johansson, Morgan Freeman, Choi Min-Sik
The best review I've read so far calls the film "enthusiastically silly," and it's hard to top that. Lucy (stunning Scarlett Johansson) is just a normal everyday college student who ends up being in the wrong place at the wrong time and becomes a drug mule for some very dangerous people led by a sinister Choi Min-Sik. Unfortunately, the surgically implanted package ruptures and Lucy's body is flooded with a substance that unlocks the power of her mind and gives her god-like abilities. As her humanity slips away, she races against time to figure out what to do with her newfound infinite knowledge of the universe.
If Scarlett Johansson weren't so incredibly charming, this film would be a complete disaster. It also helps that she has such a really sexy voice, because she ends up talking A LOT. Reportedly, the role was originally offered to Angelina Jolie, which is hard to picture. I think Ms. Johansson's youth, emotional distance, and rough edges work in the film's favor more than Ms. Jolie's maturity, cynicism, and sophistication would. Even with Ms. Johansson's deliciously intimidating performance, the film is a bit of a mess and it's unclear where writer/director Luc Besson is coming from. It's sold as an action film, but it only contains about ten minutes of action. The rest is a just a bunch of silly pseudo-science, philosophical psychobabble, and misguided sentimentality. The action pieces are extremely good and Ms. Johansson is an impressive force to be reckoned with, so it's frustrating that the film doesn't capitalize on that. It seems that if the film were just a straight forward actioner instead of a lofty essay on the meaning of life, it would be much more enjoyable. As it is, it's just odd, uneven, and overly self-indulgent.