Limitless could have been a classic type of morality play, a film about the struggle that results when the very drug addiction crippling you is necessary to fulfill your wildest dreams; that is, if its way-too-easy conclusion didn’t give the viewer the message that drugs can be used safely and effectively to acquire everything you could ever want without a negative consequence.
Our disheveled, straw-haired protagonist, Eddie Morra (Bradley Cooper, Brother’s Justice) is a creatively constipated science-fiction writer whose achievements finally catch up to his ambitions when he begins popping cognition-enhancing pills that unlock a sort of semi-omniscient intelligence within him.
There are many failed attempts at vague pop-science to convince the viewer there lies a near-infinite processing power in each human brain waiting to be activated by this miracle drug called NZT. The opening credits feature a nauseating, Google Street View-esque ride through New York City that leads to a digital image of a human synapse. It is then further magnified to reveal a human brain, DNA and any other biological mechanism director Neil Burger (The Lucky Ones) wants to waste his CGI budget depicting.
Even if one accepts the premise and gives the film the benefit of the doubt, one is still left to drift through vast stretches of rudderless writing with nothing but Cooper’s alternatingly gray and golden face to stare at. In short order, Eddie completes one-fourth of a novel, cleans his apartment and seduces his landlord’s wife. What follows is an exponential increase in both desires and successes as the NZT transforms Eddie into a dynamo with the world at the mercy of his Rain Man act.
Difficulties with Eddie’s addiction, such as increased tolerance and frequent bouts of complete memory loss, arise only to be dispatched quickly so Burger can shift the film’s focus to more fun, disposable activities. Thus, Eddie realizes nothing is more fun and disposable than the stock market and dives in headfirst, spouting amateur theories about market psychology and geo-political maneuvering to make millions of dollars.
Naturally, ruthless energy company CEO Carl Van Loon (Robert De Niro, Little Fockers) wants to harness Eddie’s “gift” for his own world-conquering ends. While it is satisfying, in light of the recent recession, to see the world of corporate finance depicted as a lawless, bloodthirsty universe unto itself, there is little tension or interest in the story. Eddie wins with NZT and loses without it. De Niro mails it in and cashes a check as his character offers little resistance to the relentless drive of the narrative.
So ruthless thug Gennady (Andrew Howard, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen) has to inexplicably pop up every once in a while and try to pilfer Eddie’s NZT by growling threats in a Russian accent. Since this conflict also doesn’t matter, Eddie’s ex-girlfriend Lindy (Abbie Cornish, Bright Star) has to half-heartedly ask Eddie to give up the juice and return to his natural loser essence.
It’s difficult to lay too much blame on the actors when the script almost demands mediocrity. Screenwriter Leslie Dixon thinks actual authors use terms such as “the plight of the individual in the 21st century” when describing their work, so poor Cooper has to spout such nonsense with a straight face. On a related note, Dixon’s idea of powerful symbolism involves a fight scene in which a little girl’s ice skates become near-lethal weapons.
Burger and Photography Director Jo Willems (Confessions of a Shopaholic), both equally as incompetent as Dixon, appear to be hell-bent on pushing the hyperactive MTV aesthetic to extremes that even an ADD-addled teenager would find distasteful.
There is also the essential unanswered question: Do we really need 105 minutes and millions of dollars to discuss what life would be like if someone started taking super-Adderall?
A significant portion of college students are no doubt already familiar with the ubiquitous little pink pill and its almost magical neurological effects. Simply put, prospective viewers will be vastly better off popping a few milligrams or so of everyone’s new favorite drug (with a prescription, of course) and focusing intently on anything but this movie.
RATING: 1.5 stars out of 5
vmain13@umdbk.com
