Featuring a solid cast and a decent director, the expectations of Limitless weren’t exactly staggering. The rumors surrounding Shia LaBeouf’s turning the project down for Wall Street 2 and Bradley Cooper’s questioned acting ability were put on the line. Could he follow The Hangover? No question about it, he did a great job carrying his character, which ranged vastly throughout the movie. There was big wig Bobby De Niro who went in on it for a big payday, and, from a ticket buyer’s point of view, it was worth it. His role as a crooked investor and pharmaceutical businessman is extremely reminiscent of Gordon Gekko, via a different acting methodology. The politics which he was tangled with were interesting as Libya was a prominent topic concerning energy.
The plot of the movie; a writer whom discovers a highly confidential and dangerous drug which provides him with abilities to become his best self, and is left with conflict in the people whom want the drug from him, or his abilities, is a plot that works. It’s complete and has twists and shady aspects that all become clear in the end. From the beginning to the end, the narration of the movie, along with the foreshadowing technique, in it’s desperate life-or-death hi-rise situation reminded me of Fight Club. The reminiscent flashes don’t stop there. The movie was filled with Inception like camera turns and twists, but did feature some really unique close-ups which added to the well-done cinematography.
Limitless was a very entertaining and interesting movie. I recommend it if you’re looking to be entertained, however don’t expect this highly hypothetical situation to make complete sense in 105 minutes.
