From John Nolan, of “Cinema Con Queso”, as it was written on Punch Drunk Critics
The average person only users 10% of their brain, an interesting little trivia tidbit we’ve all heard before. It’s been proven incorrect by science but that’s beside the point…we don’t need science for our movie plots to work (I’m looking at you Jurassic Park franchise), also the film has a clever way to explain why this is different from the traditional 10% as they present it that we only use 10% of our brains capacity, simply meaning that we all use all of the parts of our brain, just not to the level or efficiency we could, similar to how my muscles have the same potential as a bodybuilders but are being held back by my comical aversion to physical activity. Enough preamble, let’s get to some plot, shall we?
Lucy (Scarlett Johannson) is a student in Taiwan with some questionable social circles. After being forced to deliver a suitcase to a crime lord by her obviously scummy boyfriend (seriously, in a movie with a telekinetic woman the fact that she’s dating this dude is the most unrealistic aspect), Lucy is kidnapped and drugged. She wakes to find that the bad guys have surgically implanted a bag of C4b3h2 (that’s a total guess, but it was something along those lines), a brand new designer drug, in her intestines. She’s then given a passport and ticket along with three other unwilling mules who will all be flown to different parts of Europe to distribute the drug. Unfortunately for Lucy the low level goons didn’t get the memo about a plastic bag of highly potent drugs being put in her stomach, so they proceed to kick her in the gut when she’s shackled in a holding room. The bag breaks releasing the drug in extremely high doses into her system, which causes severe toxicity leading to an almost immediate and painful death. Wait, that doesn’t seem right…OH, my mistake, she doesn’t die; she’s given superpowers as the drug unlocks the potential of her brain allowing her to use a higher and higher percentage. During all of this the film is intercut with scenes of Professor Samuel Norman speaking at a lecture on the potential of the human brain. Highlights include a step by step listing of possible abilities that come with a corresponding percentage, things like at 20% you can control your body completely, at 30% you can control other people, at 40% you can control machines and so on and so on. Lucy becomes fixated on retrieving the rest of the drug packets and unlocking the full 100% as well as seeking revenge on the people that did this to her.
Scarlett Johannson is the shining light of this flick and it’s a good thing because without her there would be nothing. She actually gets to stretch some acting legs, believe it or not, as she goes from a convincingly trashy and unintelligent party girl to an intelligent robot on a mission. Maybe robot isn’t the best description for why her performance is something to see, as she begins starting to use more and more of her brain she adapts a performance style that seems very similar to how autism is usually portrayed in film with a far off look in her eyes that comes close to a blank expression but is different in a very slight way that makes you understand that she’s just got a lot more going on inside her head. The film plays quickly too, once the drugs enter her system the movie doesn’t slow down until the credits roll, which ends up being a saving grace since much of the movie makes little sense and doesn’t deliver on many of the promises made in the trailer. There is quite a bit of action but very little involves Lucy, once she becomes more powerful her interactions with the bad guys consist of waving her hand to make them all pass out, or levitate. There are some good gun battles involving the side characters and she does get to take the wheel in a car chase that Michael Bay would be jealous of, but that’s about it as far as ScarJo is concerned.
I think “weird” is probably the most apt description of the movie that I can come to, it’s not bad per say, it’s just very odd for the most part. I guess this is par for the course when you’re talking about a Luc Besson movie. The guy is heralded for his action and a good percentage of his films are widely enjoyed but there’s always an under belly of odd in his flicks. Look at The Professional, probably his most lauded film and for good reason, but at the base it’s a film about a hitman teaching his craft to a pre-teen girl whom he may or may not be in love with. To illustrate what I mean, one of the main “what?” aspects is how he intercuts scenes of nature to illustrate what’s going on in the story…so when Lucy is about to be kidnapped by the gangsters the film switches to a scene of an animal being stalked by a cheetah. Again, not a huge deal but it does take you out of the moment completely. Past that there are a number of logic jumps and missing points, such as how there’s zero learning curve with her new abilities and no “What’s happening to me?!?” moment, I guess that can be chalked up to the increase in understanding and brainpower or even something as simple as not slowing the film down. Lastly there’s the weird forced romantic angle between Lucy and the French cop who she’s paired up with in the second half of the film. Speaking of, the fact that she becomes a ruthless killer and breaks any number of laws including stealing drugs from the police, makes the ask no questions relationship between Lucy and the cop even more odd. I can forgive this kind of stuff with a movie like Crank that is, in no way, trying to be something serious, but Lucy is trying to say something profound…at least I think it is, honestly it’s kind of hard to tell. Let’s just say that the beginning and the end of the movie show a look at time from now to the first Neanderthal so at least the impression of something deep and large is there.
With the number of large budget, high-quality films out right now there’s no way I can, in good conscience, recommend you go to the theater for Lucy. It isn’t without its merits, and I do think some will enjoy it, but it’s strictly a rental. ScarJo is beautiful and talented so if that’s what you’re yearning for this weekend I’d say renting Under the Skin is a far better choice.