If you could take a drug that would make you better, would you? Not higher, not more aggressive, not pain-free, just … better. All else being equal, of course you would. And what would “Better You” do? I can think of fifteen things off the top of my head – learn a language, play and instrument, hone an athletic skill, finish that book, mend a metaphorical fence or two and, oh yeah, figure out a get-rich-quick scheme that actually works. Imagine if you looked like Bradley Cooper and suddenly had these powers. What would you do then? Why, your abilities would be Limitless. Ladies and gentlemen, we have a premise.
Weird seeing “loser Bradley Cooper.” Gotta start somewhere. It’s amazing; he actually does look bad. I didn’t know that guy could look bad. Does this mean hope for us all? No. You can draw a moustache on a centerfold, but you can’t make a moustache into a centerfold. I digress. When you see scraggly Bradley in the opening scenes, you know almost immediately where this story is going.
To fill in the blanks – Bradley gets hold of some really good high-tech s***. Suddenly, he’s super Bradley; the same exact guy, just firing on all cylinders. Let’s face it, that’s not the guy you want to compete against at the singles bar even when he’s not at 100%. Now he’s solving problems right and left, becoming a millionaire before lunch, and scoring like a guy who looks like Bradley Cooper. The more powerful he becomes, of course, the more he attracts evil.
And Limitless is a strangely attractive film – entertaining from start to finish, not entirely guessable and mildly exciting (“power attracts evil” is one of the immutable laws of nature). If it had anything to say, Limitless might even be a top-10 film. But it’s sadly empty, just a plain thrill ride, like a roller coaster with one loop. The drugs he takes give awesome powers and the side-effects are, sadly, minimal. Oh sure, we pretend there’s a price … everybody else who takes the pills dies. Our hero, however, pays little for his indulgence. Consequences? Schmonsequences. The pills make him a better person, period. (See: paragraph #1). If you could take a pill to make you a better person, would you? Of course you would. Here’s the choice: power broker with the occasional thug after your title v. loser-who’s-girlfriend leaves him. Um, duh. Of course, the first part comes with an increased frequency of Robert DeNiro in your life. No, no. I’d want it anyway.
Rated PG-13, 105 Minutes
D: Neil Burger
W: Leslie Dixon
Genre: Pro-drug
Type of person most likely to enjoy this film: Escapists
Type of person least likely to enjoy this film: “Just say ‘No’!”
