‘Lucy’: A Journey Into The Human Mind

A film that asks the question “What would happen if you could access 100% of your brain?”

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This was a fun film to watch and one of the more thought provoking that I have watched this summer. Lucy came out Friday July 25th, and it is rated R. It is not a film for kids because of the many scenes of extreme violence and some adult situations.

The film begins with Lucy, a 25 year old woman, who doesn’t seem to have much going on in her life. She likes to party and have fun, but to the knowledge of the viewer, she has no job and not much money. One night, while partying, she meets a guy who gets her to deliver a package to a man by the name of Mr. Jang. She is scared and has no idea what is going to happen next. She is offered a job, but she doesn’t want to work for him.  Then she is knocked out and when she wakes up, she sees a bunch of surgery tools near her bed and discovers a new scar on her abdomen. She goes to a room with three men and is told they are transporting a new drug called CPH4 and that all they need to do is get it through Customs and their job will be done. It is a new drug that Mr.Jang and his men hope will make a giant splash in Europe.

Lucy wakes up later in a type of jail cell, and she is chained to the floor with no food, water and again no idea where she is. Men come in, and one wants to rape her, but she tries to fight back. The man beats her up and kicks her hard in the stomach many times, and the viewer sees a bunch of blue dots enter her bloodstream and go into all the areas of her body. Lucy has a weird reaction where she is jerking around the wall and roof and for a second it is not crazy to think she is dying. A few minutes later, she is okay and her composure is back to normal. A man comes back in, and she makes an advance at him which the man thinks is an invitation, but when he comes near her she beats him up, grabs a gun and kills him. She then goes into a room and kills everybody in it.

From this moment on Lucy’s brain activity percentage slowly begins to go up. This is when the film gets good. It is a real treat to see that with each scene she gets smarter. It is astounding to see the powers and skills she acquires. It was hard to imagine what would happen to her next, but no scene disappoints. She also meets up with Professor Norman, a man who researchs the human brain, but even he has no idea what will happen to her as she gets smarter. Will this be a gift or a curse for Lucy? Will she be able to acquire the other bags of the drug before they fall into the wrong hands? What will happen to her once her brain percentage reaches 100%?

Scarlett Johansson does a wonderful job as Lucy. She starts off as a weak character, but once the drug enters her system, she changes in so many ways. Not once is this character selfish in the gifts she gets, all she wants to do is stop the men who made the drug and get through this rough process the best she can. Morgan Freeman is a good fit for Professor Norman, a man who is very smart, but when it comes to what is happening to Lucy he really is in the dark. He is glad to help her in whatever ways he can, but it is apparent all he gets to do is go along for the ride. Choi Min-Sik does a great  job as the films villain. He is a truly violent and crazy man, all he wants to do is make money and he doesn’t care who dies along the way. There are scenes where you really want him to get what is coming to him, and he is very easy to hate.

This film did pretty well this weekend, it made $44 million and beat out Dawn of the Planet of the Apes from the #1 spot. The film received decent reviews from critics, but amazingly has already made back the cost of the film.

This is a great film that looks into the possibilities of the human mind like no other film has before. I thought it would be like Limitless that came out in 2011 and starred Bradley Cooper, but these two films have nothing in common at all. Not only do they deal with different drugs, but the way each film flows and the journey of the two characters couldn’t be any more different. Cooper used the gift for financial gain, Johansson uses it to help herself, but in the end prefers to try to help science a bit.

If you are a fan of Johansson, you should go see this film as it is one of her best performances to date. If you want to see a film that will make you think and keep you on the edge of your seat, this is the film for you. It is a rare type of film that Hollywood doesn’t bring out much, and that alone is a good reason to go see it.