Lucy

Blatant guilty pleasure! I think that Besson saw Space Odyssey and wanted to shoot something similar, but in his own way and on an earthly scale. The result is a total mishmash from hands of an over-keen geek mistaking this thing for that, who cares about reality... But the entertainment factor is on maximum and Morgan Freeman’s gibberish about the capacity of the brain blends together with neat action scenes where anything is possible (The Matrix gone crazy) and planets that explode. They’ve even got dinosaurs! Awful claptrap that I wouldn’t hesitate putting on again sometime. Scarlett looks great of course and manages the acting fairly well. New Age Fifth Element. (02/01/2015)

Lucy is a very strange film, on the one hand it captivates with its theme and execution, on the other hand it raises many questions and offers many illogical points. The idea itself is imaginative, a bit controversial, yet noteworthy. Who knows what would have happened if 100% had actually been achieved. Almost any scenario can be offered within the sci-fi genre in this regard, yet at times I thought it was a bit much. Nevertheless, I must praise the initial interweaving of the fiction sequences with the documentary footage, which together corresponded perfectly, and last but not least the magical music by Eric Serra. In short, a film that I admit I didn't fully understand, which isn't always a bad thing, but in this case it affected my judgement. (23/08/2014)

Scarlett is hot but has absolutely nothing to work with, the story has potential but is mired in a horribly shoddy earnestness, and Besson does present some good visual ideas, but for today's mainstream this nutcase is simply unusable and uninteresting. To limit a world in which almost everything is allowed to a few anti-gravity shenanigans and the transformation of matter like something out of B-grade sci-fi from the 80s takes a great deal of filmmaker's pathology. (28/02/2017)

Revisiting Lucy after all these years, I found myself still enjoying it. Scarlett Johansson's presence on screen is never unwelcome. The story was simple yet engaging, with a good sense of pace and humor. Even though I have my own opinions on various scientific and pseudo-scientific concepts, when Morgan Freeman delivers them, I'm more than willing to suspend disbelief for a moment. The film was classic Besson: packed with action, Asian gangsters, and impressive special effects. The whole spectacle kept me entertained. What got me was how I could switch off my brain while watching a movie about maximizing brain capacity. / Lesson learned: If you have any say in it, never let anyone stitch anything inside your body. Not more than three cigarettes under the skin in case of a shipwreck. (27/06/2022)

When you expect the female version of Taken and you get something between The Matrix, The Tree of Life, and Cloud Atlas, something is not right. The people behind this film let their imagination roam freely, the car scenes in Paris are VERY impressive, but that's where both the action and the overall script ends. The boldness is appreciated, and Scarlett Johansson tries her best, otherwise, it's a mess. (12/08/2014)