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.
2 Out of 5 Guttenbergs
