Scarlett Johansson Makes "Lucy" Worth Watching

 

    Scarlett Johansson's "Lucy" is a typical summer action/sci-fi adventure. It follows the story of a woman who, through an unfortunate misunderstanding, becomes involved in a dark drug deal and falls victim to an even more interesting dilemma. When a bag containing a new powerful drug surgically implanted into Lucy's stomach begins to leak, the effects of the drug magnifies, opening her mind up gradually to the fullest mental capacity the human brain can withstand. With her new found open-mindedness, and all the wonderful powers that come with it, she goes after her captors in a serious way.

   The movie plays with the scientific myth that humans only use about 10% of their brains. The drug allows the brain to open up the other unused 90%, unlocking god-like powers and understanding. The story is flawed and outside of Lucy, there's really no character development on any level, with anyone. However, with a film like this that primarily focuses on the dealings of one woman, it's really only Lucy's development we're interested in anyway. It's a story that attempts to discuss human potential; what it really means to be human. It's witty in some places and has the feel of a comic book-esque story. It would have been no surprise if by movie's end we saw Lucy donning the tight leather suits of the X-Men after being recruited by Professor Xavier to join his band of misfits, only after discovering her location through Cerebro of course. Sadly, that's not the case here.

   Scarlett Johansson is why I think this movie succeeded. She's as talented an actress as she is gorgeous. She does an excellent job portraying the balance of emotional depth and loss as she battles with her new found abilities and understanding. You would need a strong actor to be able to pull off such an over-the-top idea in order for the audience to invest their interest in it. It worked for me. As completely insane as the premise is, I enjoyed the endless possibilities that opened up for Lucy as her mental capacity grew. It was fun to watch the story unfold and outside of Scarlett Johansson, I give it up to the director Luc Besson. His style of film-making is captivating. His choice of imagery works subtly but effectively. With a bloated story such as this, it's refreshing to experience the visual escapade of Lucy's endeavors; the visceral message of human potential explodes off the screen in a magnificent way. The lucid and grand scale of Lucy's experiences testing out her abilities truly draw you in. There's a moment, (for the sake of spoilers I won't go into detail) where near obtaining full use of her mental capacity, Lucy experiences history like no other human has. It's a breathtaking sequence, one of a handful that really make it worth seeing despite the film's flaws.

   In a nutshell, "Lucy" is an awesome special effects movie with a stellar performance from its leading lady. These two aspects will help to cope through the highly ambitious story. Keep that in mind when you stop to think about why, for whatever reason, "Lucy" made practically double the amount of money that the epic "Hercules" did in the same weekend. Check it out at least. It's worth a try for sure.