By Jen
 | I’m still vacationing in Florida, which means I have the luxury of built-in babysitters - so I took advantage of this and went to see Lucy last night with my twenty-year-old niece. |
We were unabashedly fangirling over Scarlett Johansson on the way to the movie, and we were still squeeing over her formidable talent on the way out of the theater.
Let me take a moment to say that the most disturbing part of this theater-going experience was being forced to sit through a preview of the upcoming Fifty Shades of Grey movie. I am embarrassed to admit that I read the books (yes, the entire godforsaken trilogy) when they were all the rage, but I never pretended they were quality literature and the movie is going to be godawful. Ugh.
Anyhow, the feature film was much more impressive. I’ve heard rumors that the critics were unimpressed with Lucy, but I have purposely avoided any online or print reviews, so I have only my own unadulterated thoughts and opinions to share.
The film pulls you in right from the very start - I never once thought, “Is this over yet?” or “When will they get to the point of the movie?” In addition to being fast-paced, Lucy is visually striking, with strong imagery throughout.
The film pulls you in right from the very start - I never once thought, “Is this over yet?” or “When will they get to the point of the movie?” In addition to being fast-paced, Lucy is visually striking, with strong imagery throughout.
I love action movies - and Lucy certainly has the feel of a good action movie. When she first realizes her power, there were a few sequences that reminded me of Uma Thurman in Kill Bill: Vol. 1. It was magnificent to see a female lead with this kind of boldness and determination.
And, like all action movies worth their salt, Lucy features a car chase that is fun to watch, even if it doesn’t contribute much to the plot.
And, like all action movies worth their salt, Lucy features a car chase that is fun to watch, even if it doesn’t contribute much to the plot.
The sci-fi aspects of a movie were somewhat less impressive. I realize the declaration that humans only access ten percent of their brains has been proven to be pseudo-science at best, but it was still interesting to hear Morgan Freeman’s character speculate on the untapped potential of the human mind.
The visuals accompanying Lucy accessing this untapped potential were intriguing at first, but eventually some unusual and mostly unexplained physical symptoms evidenced themselves, and this was odd at best.
The visuals accompanying Lucy accessing this untapped potential were intriguing at first, but eventually some unusual and mostly unexplained physical symptoms evidenced themselves, and this was odd at best.
The movie did end in a somewhat abrupt manner, and I was startled when I realized it was only about ninety minutes long. My initial thought was that some subplot must have been cut to edit the movie for time, and I will be curious to see the Director’s Cut if that is ever released on Blue-ray or in digital format.
I’m not good at rating movies (or books, or anything else) on a simple scale of one to five, so I won’t try to do that here. My overall impression of Lucy was positive, and I recommend that you see it for yourself - and come back to share your thoughts with us after you do!
I’m not good at rating movies (or books, or anything else) on a simple scale of one to five, so I won’t try to do that here. My overall impression of Lucy was positive, and I recommend that you see it for yourself - and come back to share your thoughts with us after you do!
