Limitless

You're not supposed to judge a book by its cover, or at least that's what authors tell us. Well motion picture directors would want you to not judge their films by the trailers or posters. Limitless is one of the few recent films to deny the misconceptions from its efficient marketing.

It's sold as Bradley Cooper gets smart drug fix from Robert De Niro then must defeat him through a series of cat and mouse games. In actuality Eddie Morra (Bradley Cooper) is a struggling writer/slob who acquires a drug called NZT-48, a pill that allows him to recall everything from the briefest of encounters. In minutes he is transformed from a guy no one could believe has a book deal to a man no one can do without. Doors open, too many doors really. Eddie's problem solving solutions end up fanning the flames of questions around him, and before long it seems that everyone in the city is after him. The intricate dynamics that weave this trail of lies is the best since Match Point (2005).

Cooper's performance totally shocked me. He's able to go from panicked addict to conversationalist genius and back without losing the support of the audience. With no key player for Eddie to confide in or take along for the journey, the supporting performances are little more than plot points. Abbie Cornish and Robert De Niro don't have nearly as much range to showcase in this screenplay. However with a little change, Anna Friel's one scene could have been expanded into something with more drama and likely give Limitless the emotional impact needed for some to take it seriously.

Enough cannot be said for how amazingly brisk and refreshing the production comes across. Nearly every scene has at least some artistic appeal. This is one of the more attractive films I've seen using the Red digital cameras and I have to give the colorist some praise for the warm palette used to show the influence of NZT-48. Thanks to the mind-altering plot, Limitless is one of the few movies where extravagant transitions make sense.

Limitless is indicative of a minor subgenre that sprang up around the dawn of the current millennium; I call this the genre of self-discovery. Examples of these films include Fight Club and The Beach and more examples can be found in Asian cinema (where I also believe Limitless drew inspiration for art direction). The primary goal of these metaphysical pictures is to delve into what makes us tick. Limitless asks the viewer to exam what's holding each of us back from being the perfect versions of ourselves, and by stories end this viewer certainly felt inspired.

I can see room to complain when it comes to the way Limitless approaches relationships. Remember, I'm seeing this as a specialty film about inner exploration and as such I'm allowing for some leeway in how director Neil Burger is able to keep the pace going while focusing almost exclusively on Eddie. Still, I would have appreciated one scene showing how his limitless knowledge afforded him relationship-handling tact.

Limitless has such a breathtaking pace that you aren't going to find the time needed to nitpick. Some of the action at movie's end is resolved with little plausibility, but it's too much fun to attack. At least the title of Limitless offers some truth in advertising.

A pill can make you smart is indeed an interesting concept but what is more interesting is the directing. It's not an ordinary thriller movie. The director gave a lot of style in this movie to make it more exciting. It definitely works and the movie is limitlessly entertaining. There are some plot holes that the filmmakers doesn't intend to fix it but still it's worth watching.

The movie is of course about an intellectual pill. It's intriguing to know what's the side effects of it. Well, it's quite fun to know what's going to happened to the protagonist but the movie's smartness isn't very limitless. There are massive plot holes in here. There are also some confusion in this.

If there is something limitless in here then it's the entertainment quality. Neil Burger gave a lot of style and ridiculousness in this film. The editing was quite fast and fun. The zooming in through places is amazing. The soundtrack and the music score does perfectly fit in every scene. The performances were good. Bradley Cooper is an entertaining actor but he had some weaknesses in serious scenes like crying or being scared. Robert De Niro only shows up in times but you know him, he is just being himself and there is nothing wrong with that.

Overall the movie is ridiculously fun. The movie is no cliché, it's all unique by so many reasons including the trippy, vertigo, and zooming in style. It's intriguing, it's fast, and it's smart at times. "Limitless" is another movie that has merits that ignore the flaws. It's just a non-stop entertaining solid flick.

If you've ever found yourself staring into nothingness, wondering why you couldn't muster even a hair of energy to get up and do something, then you're going to find this movie highly satisfying. Limitless takes you on a ride... and that's not an exaggeration. The computer graphics create a glimpse into what it would actually feel like to be a "super-you." The writers also did a great job of creating a character that from the start... pretty much charms your pants off. Bradley Cooper actually surprised me. I never thought he was a bad actor, but he was able to honestly portray a guy that had absolutely nothing going for him and became a "somebody." The movie graphics, plot, and main actors (well, DeNiro, Cooper, and Johnny Whitworth) were all intriguing. It's not just a movie about what crazy things some drug can make you do... it creates a discussion within each of us, "What if you could unlock all the potential of YOUR mind, who would you be?" Now the downsides... some of the supporting actors were very weak. Also, there were some scenarios that went off the deep end but actually had the audience laughing hysterically so it wasn't exactly a bad thing. If you thought you'd get a deep or scientific explanation for the drug... don't hold your breath. Thankfully the plot was engaging enough that you didn't really care. The movie had some interesting ideas but some that I especially loved were the ones about identity, and about taking something to make yourself better and whether that meant you were actually you or an altered you. Does it matter even? One last thing I gotta say though, the one guy, Johnny Whitworth, did a really great job. I hope he gets some major roles in the future because I think he's very talented.

I'd definitely recommend watching this movie. If only just for the ridiculous scene with the skates. Hilarious.

I have to say that this movie panders to my particular taste, which is to say it has a well crafted story for our times, good acting and just the right blend of New York atmosphere mixed with a sci-fi feel. The other main issue is drugs. I personally have partook in the search for an intelligence enhancing substance and it was quite believable to watch Bradley Cooper transform from a bohemian-slob to a brainiac-overacheiver. The characters were well written and thought-out. The situations were too close to home for me to ignore. The character driven story was exemplary to any current sci-fi films.

The tension was akin to any good crime drama but the plot kept it teasingly interesting. Why didn't I hear of this book? Anyways, Eddie(Bradley Cooper) is trying to meet a deadline after breaking it off with the love of his life(Abbie Cornish),and is on a downward spiral. He runs into an ex-brother-in-law who appears to be a druggie, but is actually involved in designer drug production, and is ensnared in a plot that leads him from the Russian Mafia to Wall Street. The science behind this movie is very believable and I applaud the producers for being brave enough to bringing it to the screen

Limitless is based by a book of the same name and any problems I have with the film are due to the translation of book to film. Primarily, it's clear that the book is written in the first person as their is an ongoing narration throughout the film of the main character commenting on events and giving exposition - which does the job in telling the story effectively, combined with the visuals (which are amazing), it does become irritating and at times unnecessary.

My main problem with the film, however, is directly linked to why I liked it so much. Due to being based on a long book that would take hours and hours of reading, the story gets condensed and sped up, so plot points fly by one after the other and no time is wasted on anything useless which keeps it fast paced and engaging. However, this also means that problems and events that should have had more time get roughly 10 minutes to begin and conclude, downplaying their significance somewhat. Problems that seem dire get dealt with very quickly, seemingly with no side effects. The plot also lacks an overriding goal - a destination, it seems as if Eddie (Bradley Cooper) just takes things as they come rather than have an overall game plan, and it leaves you a bit dissatisfied in places as it feels it lacks direction, where in the book it would be more spread out and natural. OK, bad's out the way - now the good! The film is very well written; the script is very tight and has clearly been cut down for efficiency yet still natural and the acting is brilliant also. All characters are very convincing and Bradley Cooper's intelligent Eddie is so entertaining, convincing and endearing that you eventually love the character and rejoice every time he has to explain anything to the normal humans.

Some of the action scenes are a bit naff, but otherwise very well done, but besides Bradley Cooper's performance, I'd say the main prize goes to the director - Neil Burger. My hat goes off to him for his visual imagination - his transitions between different locations are the best I've ever seen in a film and it really encapsulates Eddie's disorientation when he blacks out on and off. The effects used to illustrate the effects of the drug are also brilliant; sometimes you forget the voice over and just get lost in the special effects - such as the one in the trailer when the letters fall from the ceiling. The only thing I would complain about is the fact that he often uses extreme close ups excessively and it gets a bit distracting, but nothing compared to how compelling this film was. It was clever, but not genius, it was thrilling, but not mind blowing - it was just a lot of fun. Definitely worth seeing if you're an aspiring director or just a person with eyes in their face.