Lucy - Luc Besson

Lucy is a film about transcendence:

Transcendence - verb
1. To rise above or go beyond; overpass; exceed, to transcend the limits of thought

2. To outdo or exceed in excellence, elevation, extent, degree etc; surpass, excel

3. Theology (of the Deity) to be above and independent of (the universe, time, etc).

All of the definitions listed apply to Luc Besson’s exploration of the human mind when released from its physiological restrictions. In essence, Lucy is a story of a young woman who is abducted and forced to be a drug mule for a ruthless Korean drug lord. Through a sequence of what could be described as clumsy plot devices, the package of a new generation neuro-enhancing party drug is ruptured and absorbed directly into Lucy’s body.

The result is both dramatic and fantastical, but raises poignant questions about the potential of the human mind and its ability to control the physical body that supports it and the greater world around it.

Lucy opens with a strange patchwork of documentary footage, narration and violent live action. However, the odd pieces quickly fit together to illustrate the evolutionary purpose of life and the academic minds that try to explain it. It also demonstrates Man’s brutality and selfish drive to achieve its goals through the violent disregard of human life, committed by both the villains and the heroine.

The concepts Besson touches on are not new. Those who have read HG Wells, Arthur C Clarke, Carl Sagan and Alfred Bester, will be treading familiar ground. However, if you haven’t seen the movies: ‘2001/2010 A Space Odyssey, Limitless or read the books: ‘The Time Machine’ or ‘The Stars My Destination’ or ‘Contact’, this movie might race from an action packed drama into freaky realms of the bizarre.

With excellent special effects and a broad ranging performance from Johansson, Lucy is definitely a big screen film. While it does not match the overall quality of the films it has drawn from, it examines such wonderful ideas its shortcomings can be forgiven.

Lucy is sad, frightening and yet also strangely optimistic. However, what our species must do before it can achieve the enlightenment forced upon Scarlett Johannson’s heroine is unquantifiable. As Lucy concludes, when she nears maximum cerebral capacity, Time is the only true unit measure in the universe.

I fear that our own time will run out before we come close to understanding it.

A quote came to mind as I left the cinema, from ‘2001, A Space Odyssey’: “My God, it’s full of stars!”
Review by El - 4 stars from me J