Director: Luc Besson
Writer: Luc Besson
Stars: Scarlett Johansson, Morgan Freeman, Min-sik Choi
Plot: A woman, accidentally caught in a dark deal, turns the tables on her captors and transforms into a merciless warrior evolved beyond human logic.
Running Time: 89 Minutes
Rotten Tomatoes Score: Critics 66% Audience 47%
Why I Watched It: This one slipped by me, I missed it and just got around to finally watching so yes I’m very late to the party.
Random Thoughts: Luc Besson is a very interesting director and not always in a good way. He’s not pure Hollywood and that’s because of course he’s French and has also made French/Foreign films and has also produced a lot but when he directs he’s always big, his films are always loud and beautifully crazy and again not always in a good way, Lucy is very much a Besson joint.
What I Like: Scarlett Johansson is a very watchable actor not just because of her beauty but she’s always thinking and for the most part her characters either seem a little off or a tad different than who think they are. For a star she does take risks and she can handle drama and action. Here she’s easily the best part of the movie, she’s the reason you watch as the film gets crazier and downright silly. She’s good but her character is very under written Johansson coasts on her own presence here. I liked Morgan Freeman, he doesn’t do much but he’s Morgan Freeman and he’s always welcome in any film I watch.
This is an idea that I think works on paper and I do like the idea but the film loses it’s way but I’ll give it credit to try and be about something and trying to make a very smart science action film.
So to Besson, he has his fingers all over this and I did like the look and feel of the film and it’s crisp at under 90 minutes and he keeps the film moving at a decent speed. The film does have a good action vibe to it.
What I Didn’t Like: The film goes off the rails and never really recovers, the idea is good enough use an action to explore the brain and use science in an action film, use the “we only use 5% of our brain” and sow what happens when we use more. It’s the latter that the film just does wrong. They tried to be smart in a pretty dumb action film and once Lucy becomes really smart then the film has nowhere to go and of course the film just keeps pushing things and it gets sillier and harder to care.
The film is also hurt by the fact that the film has a terrible villain this character is a cliche of a cliche, he’s just evil and really think about what he’s trying to do and how far he goes it really makes little sense. The screenplay does no favors to it’s cast as no one is well written or fleshed out, the Morgan Freeman character works cause it’s Morgan Freaking Freeman.
The ending is beyond silly, I have to say I was bored by the end the film had out stayed it’s welcome, the film’s plot hit a brick wall but kept going.
Final Thoughts: Oddly it’s not a bad film just a not very good one but it’s watchable cause of it’s lead.
Rating: 5/10
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