Limitless opens with the Hollywood stereotype of writer Edward Morra (Bradley Cooper) sitting in front of a blank screen with nothing on it. You know there's a deadline or advance riding on this. His girlfriend (Abbie Cornish) has dumped him. He's a guy on the ropes with a knockout punch waiting to knock his jaw loose. By a chance meeting in the street Eddie stumbles upon something that could change the world that isn't an everlasting gob stopper. It's a pill that can be described as steroids for your brain where you use more than twenty percent of your available brainpower, holding and recalling vast amounts of data that you thought you forgot. Our hero Eddie is obviously going to use this wonder drug to his advantage, but with something to good to be true there's going to be somebody else out there that wants it. The film basically follows Eddie as he balances his gifts, the people who want to take them away, and his own sanity.
I have to say that Limitless is an amazing concept that is very intriguing on the surface. I thought it was a cool idea, the whole pill to the brain thing. The thing is that the film is a bit contrived and very predictable in nature. There will be no surprises because they don't leap out at you, they call before they come for a visit. Considering the trailer ruins what could have been a great plot twist also lowers the rating of the film for me (blame the studio). I know this is a movie about a noggin drug, but moments even exceed those plot points- killers that will run through 70+ people in a park, Scarface's apartment building. Over the top all the way.
This is an entertaining film, but nothing earth shattering. I'm sure in a few weeks it will be forgotten until the DVD comes out and then it will gain a slight freshness to people who don't go to a theater. And then you'll never hear about it again. A great plot poorly executed. Entertaining for the time being, but out of your system in a matter of days.
The only way to start explaining The Fighter is to say "Imagine Rocky if he had his family lumbering around running his career." Mark Wahlberg plays Mickey Ward, a boxer on the verge of being over the hill. Mickey's considered a stepping stone for other fighters to pummel on their way to fortune and glory. Mickey's brother Dickie (Christian Bale) is a local legend who acts as a trainer for his brother. Dickie has also developed a crack addiction that is spiraling out of control. The family controls Mickey's career, but it soon seems that he's just a piece of meat while Dickie still rides on past glories. The eventual crash is set up almost from the beginning.
Did Bale deserve the Oscar? Of course he did. There's no screaming "Hey, it's Patrick Bateman!" or "Hey, it's Batman!" while watching this film. Bale morphs into the role of Dickie Ecklund. It's an amazing performance that should be highlighted as one of the best from the last decade, let alone the last year.
The funny thing is that art imitates life in that Bale's performance has overshadowed Mark Wahlbergs outstanding performance. He's a man torn between his family and what he wants. Props also go to Amy Adams as Mickey's girlfriend, going from the bubble gum films of yesteryear to deliver a gritty performance of a bar maid from the streets of Lowell, Massachusetts.
It's not really a perfect film, but the performances out do the issues with the story. The acting acts like an eraser. A good movie with terrific performances.
