If you’re hung up on the fact Lucy perpetuates the myth humans only use 10% of their brain then I don’t know why you’re reading this review. However, if you thought Transcendence was a talky bore and wish there had been more action and less jibber-jabber then you might want to stick around since the two films essentially approach the idea of the singularity, but get there using dramatically different means.
Directed by Luc Besson (The Professional, The Fifth Element), Lucy tells the story of the title character, played by Scarlett Johansson with all the wooden acuity of Keanu Reeves, as she is forced into serving as a drug mule, carrying a package of a new drug next to her intestines. Unfortunately for her, when she’s kicked in the stomach a small amount of the drug leaks into her system, giving her abilities beyond that of a “normal” human being and the resulting powers she attains turn her into something of a god.
Besson spices things up with a lot of stock footage, toying with metaphors such as a group of cheetahs hunting a gazelle as Lucy is first abducted, and a lot of footage from what appeared to be (and understandably so) Ron Fricke‘s Samsara to exemplify the finer things this world has to offer. It’s a nice little touch and one you’re not at all surprised to see from Besson whose shown a knack for kinetic storytelling, and while he does try to wedge a little drama and emotion in Lucy, the movie isn’t really working unless Lucy is kicking ass at full throttle.
Perhaps the absolute best thing about the film, which operates on such a heightened level you needn’t take the premise too seriously, is Lucy doesn’t ever forget the power she’s obtaining (well, at least not entirely). For example, when confronted with several men with guns she doesn’t allow them the chance to begin shooting at her, instead she has fun with her new found abilities, which, in turn, allows the audience to have fun watching her. Otherwise, this would have turned into another rip-off of The Matrix (of which there are definite allusions) and I can’t tell you how happy I was to never see the bullet time effect put to use, and trust me, I was fully expecting it at any moment.
Beyond the premise, Lucy also has Morgan Freeman in common with Transcendence as he’s mostly around to help aid in explaining what’s going on with our lead character. A nice addition to the cast, however, is Min-sik Choi whom many will recognize from Chan-wook Park‘s Oldboy and Kim Jee-woon‘s I Saw the Devil. Choi plays the film’s lead baddie, the guy responsible for stuffing the drugs in Lucy’s stomach, and she gets her revenge in a way those that saw Nicolas Winding Refn‘s Only God Forgives will surely recognize.
Lucy has all the trappings of a Besson feature, whether he writes it, directs it, produces it or all three, Besson comes up with clever ideas and then puts entertainment value first and he typically turns in a film that, at the very least, results in some mildly entertaining mindless action. Here he’s done the same, though perhaps at a slightly higher level. I’m more convinced he reached the idea of the singularity more by mistake than anything else, but it is also a breath of fresh air to see a director approach a bit of a heady subject and find a way to work with it, but not dwell on it.
While the comparison to Transcendence is there, the complaints many had with that film being too dull are valid and you won’t have the same complaints with Lucy. In fact, Lucy almost invites you to laugh at the ideas on screen or at least laugh at the way in which they’re addressed. My audience laughed, but just as much at the film as with it. While I’m slowly losing interest in Scarlett Johansson as an actor and would have preferred to see any number of actresses in the role other than her, the film serves its purpose and entertains for a welcome 90 minutes as Besson is rarely one to overstay his welcome.
