Filed under: Film Reviews | Tags: bradley cooper, limitless, neil burger, netflix, robert deniro
There was a lot of buzz around Neil Burger’s Summer blockbuster, “Limitless.” Some said the storyline was too offensive– why is there a movie that portrays drugs as being life-enhancing? Some said the movie was pure shit and others said it was pure gold. Even the great Robert Deniro’s involvement got people interested and who doesn’t want to see Bradley Cooper flash his baby blue eyes our way as he tumbles through a million-dollar sci-fi movie? Needless to say I’m late to the reviewing party, but I suppose it’s better to be late than never. Netflix was kind enough to let me watch this thriller in HD and I can finally weigh in.
Sci-fi flicks don’t get much of a spotlight. The last sci-fi movie that comes to mind was Justin Timberlake’s, “In Time.” When Timberlake is the lead actor in a prominent sci-fi film, something has gone wrong. And don’t think I have anything towards JT– I’ve loved him in pretty much every movie he’s put out recently (He especially won me over with his comedic portrayal of a nerdy teacher in last Summer’s “Bad Teacher”), but try imagining him in something like “District 9″ or “Minority Report”– monumental sci-fi movies– bet you can’t picture that, can you? And even here, I didn’t know “Limitless” was science fiction until I was about twenty minutes in. The marketing ads made me think it was a run-and-gun action movie ripe for Summer and I’m sure most others thought the same. Yet as I sank into my chair I started seeing that this thrill ride had a bit more meat to it than I suspected.
Immediately it’s made clear that we’re about to witness an adrenaline pumped movie-going experience with zany cinematography and bizzarro CG elements. The intro alone is kind of mind-bending and the over-saturation of the film color creates a world that feels very foreign yet oh so familiar; typical sci-fi MO. But within the first 20 minutes “Limitless” reveals all of its cards. Like the CG “almost-masterpiece,” “9,” “Limitless” is clearly held back by studio restraints and too many producers trying to call the shots. When a movie gets released between May and August and you leave thinking, “They were onto something great… but didn’t get there…” it’s almost a guaranteed bet that the director’s and writer’s main intentions for the film weren’t actually met. “Limitless” was surely a cash cow and all the intelligence, subtleties, and grittiness got sucked out. Even in the intro credits, there’s a prominent line of text: “Based on the novel ‘The Dark Fields’ by Alan Glynn.” This beckoned thoughts of every sci-fi movie based on a short story by Philip K. Dick which turn out to be really bad ass. And as I kept watching I saw a lot of really great ideas being mentioned… but never totally fleshed out properly.
In the end everything is pretty cookie cutter. Lack of depth in characters, typical camera angles, unoriginal music score, common plot points. “Limitless” could have been so much more cerebral. Nevertheless, I did enjoy the movie. For being a bit of a cheese-fest, it was still pretty entertaining. Bradley Cooper makes for a terrible narrator, but he’s still a fun actor to watch. Seeing his meteoric rise in success within “Limitless” feels so natural, especially coming from Cooper who kind of always looks a little mischievous and a little devious. I also enjoyed Deniro’s parts. One scene in particular he gets a little down into it with Cooper and you see a fire emerge in Deniro’s eyes and a tenacity in his voice we haven’t scene in a long time. It’s like the director got this nearly washed up legend to be in his film and said, “I know you’ve gotten comfortable making crap like ‘Little Fockers,’ but dammit I’m going to make you give me one great moment in my big new movie.”
For being on Netflix, “Limitless” is a sure winner. It’s entertaining, requires no higher thinking, and for those of us who like Jason Statham romps, it’s a bit smarter in its presentation as an action film. There are some intensely surreal moments that occur which elevate this standard fare into the realm of “worth watching.”
Final Say: 3 Stars. (Please refer to ratings page in the side column.)
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