This movie gets off to a surprisingly good start, considering I expected it was a Jason Statham movie but didn’t expect to see Robert De Niro with him in the opening scene. It’s not a fast action scene, but it’s a strong early sign of a high quality movie to come.
By 50 minutes in, it’s clear that De Niro’s role is a minor one, and the movie is a bit slow and gritty — even the odd fast action scene is a bit monotonous. So it’s not quite the slick, smart action packed adventure I was hoping for. As the movie continues, the action is patchy. It gets alright in spells before slowing down again, but seems like low budget work. In the end, I’d rate this movie slightly Below Average since it’s very one dimensional and although it has some strong attributes it’s largely mediocre still. Jason Statham basically carries this movie, with the help of a respectable supporting cast and practically zero plot. It’s a story an infant could have put together. It’s also allegedly based on a true story.
Limitless (2011) starts off a bit weird – hard to get a grip of where things are going, and hard to see where the cool action might be coming from. But it becomes very interesting within the first 15 minutes and then even more interesting within the first 25 minutes.
The core concept is about a new drug called NZT-48 that when taken unlocks the full power of the mind, enabling the taker to perform remarkably well in mental tasks and social scenarios, while having extra confidence, motivation and discipline to do physical work too. The concept seems to be based on the real effects of testosterone, which some people optimise by abstaining from bedroom activities, while others inject it – often prescribed to older men as a form of hormone replacement therapy (HRT) to get back to the levels of confidence they had in their prime, although the side effects are significant – when you take testosterone from an outside source, your body stops producing it naturally, so when you stop taking it, you flatline into extreme anxiety and depression. Natural testosterone lifts our confidence in social scenarios, countering anxiety so we can perform smoothly and courteously but firmly, with a clear mind. It doesn’t boost our IQ though – that’s something unique to NZT!
Bradley Cooper stars in this movie, as the main character we follow, called Eddie Morra. We see him from before he tried NZT, to his first time with it, to a lot further on. He performs excellently in his role here. A real star performance.
Robert De Niro also plays a significant role in this movie, as a Wall Street tycoon called Carl Van Loon who recruits the already extra-ordinarily successful Eddie Morra.
Obviously the pill-pushing aspect of this movie is not impressive, and that certainly counts against how I would otherwise have rated it. As it stands, overall, I give this movie a Decent rating. It’s better than just OK, but not massively better than that.
This movie also serves as an indicator of what the people who run the world think of as being the ideal thoughts and actions of the ideal man at the pinnacle of culture and intelligence. As well as what they want us to think represent these things.
The way it ends with an all-seeing all-knowing Eddie Morra, strikes a remarkable resemblance with the movie Lucy – check that movie out too if you enjoyed this one. Lucy is also about taking a drug that eventually unlocks 100% of the power of the mind.
See also, the TV series Limitless
If you enjoyed this movie, see also the 22 episode long series called Limitless, released in 2015, based on the same concept as this movie, but with different cast members. It’s not so dense in plot development, and has a murky unsatisfying ending, but is plenty of fun along the way – about as enjoyable as this movie.
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