First Hit: Although highly unlikely and unbelievable, it was philosophically interesting and fun to watch.
Luc Besson (director and writer) has a particular philosophical view of life, our interconnectedness, and that time is the sole component that sets our reality as something we can see, touch or feel.
The premise that we only use 10% of our brain and that if we used 100% or a partial percentage between 20% & 100% we could read others’ thoughts and alter physical reality. How Besson shows us his view is to have a young woman, Lucy (Scarlett Johansson) who starts off as not being too smart, being forced to take a drug that increases her brain usage.
Unfortunately she is given a lot of the drug and ends up having amazing skills to fend off the drug lord Mr. Jang (Min-sik Choi) and his gang who wants their drugs back. Lucy gets in-touch with Professor Norman (Morgan Freeman) who can help her understand what is going on with her, and more importantly, receive the information she is learning about humans, life and the universe.
So what we have is a philosophical story based in an action adventure film. Did it work? Yes, and at times I found myself wanting more of the philosophical part and other times I wanted more action and fun special effects.
Johansson has such an amazing voice and sometimes I lose my concentration on her acting when I hear her, however in this film they integrate well. She’s really good at giving looks of indifference and strength, while using her voice to denote intelligence. Choi’s character is a bit overdone but requires his relentlessness to make this film work. Freeman is believable and really good as the professor that knows most about brain use. Besson wrote an interesting script and it is clear he has strong views about how life works. His direction of this story is strong, making it fun to watch.
Overall: This is an enjoyable action film with a philosophical twist.