Lucy is unlike any other of his movies I have seen. Not even The Fifth Element which was pretty fantastic and outrageous in it's own right. But compared to Lucy The Fifth Element is pretty conventional and is a much better film since it never took itself too seriously.
Lucy starts out really good and compelling. Then something happens that immediately asks of you to put your brain on hold and go with it. I must admit this sequence I am talking about was thrilling and was visually very appealing. Only it was not enough to make me stop and go:
Come on, that is utterly ridiculous! Really???
After this one scene everything kicks into high gear and the film moves in such a fast pace that you are wondering what the whole point of this film actually is. Sure a lot of mambo jumbo about evolution and revolution and they even hired Morgan Freeman to convince of this nonsense. But you can just see in his eyes that even if can't believe why he is part of this. Lucy at one point has abilities that would make the most powerful superheroes from the Marvel and DC comics very jealous. It is so over the top and far fetched that it simply wasn't fun any more. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't bored a single minute. And in a way I appreciated this live action anime that in spirit reminded me of Akira. Who knows maybe Luc Besson borrowed from that anime. Only it failed to deliver on the drama and depth that Akira did offer. 1968: A Space Odyssey and Limitless could be other movies that he borrowed from or is inspired by. Only not once does Luc Besson convey the message both of those movies tried to bring to the audience. In fact Lucy ends so abruptly with no message at all. And that quite frankly infuriated me so much that I felt compelled to write this review. Because with all it's craziness I was actually wanting to see where Besson was going with this. I had hoped he would give us this brilliant twist that would make you appreciate every event that occurred. But he does not. Another big problem I had is that if you see through this movie that it is nothing more than pretty visuals and effects. And not offering the hard hitting and awesome action and comedy Luc Besson usually delivers. It would have made me forgot all the nonsense and let me enjoy this film so much better. The fact that Lucy takes itself so seriously is preposterous. You could expect that from a rookie director. But Luc Besson? Unforgivable.
So what is my final take on Lucy?
If you manage to let go the over the top nonsense and don't expect too much you will be able to enjoy this film. However it does require you to shut of your brain. Which is really hard to do sometimes because Luc Besson is trying his hardest to convince us that he is telling truth. Can this be compared to Limitless? No! At least that film made it appear that what unfolded in there could actually happen. Besides Limitless also does not make the mistake to take itself too seriously. Watch this one at your own risk. Chances are you will lose some braincells after watching it. You have been warned.
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