Lucy

****
UK Release Date: August 22nd 2014

A woman, accidentally caught in a dark deal, turns the tables on her captors and transforms into a merciless warrior evolved beyond human logic.

Director: Luc Besson (Leon, The Fifth Element, The Family)

Starring: Scarlett Johansson, Morgan Freeman

Lucy is one strong female lead, but there's no surprise when Scarlett Johansson has her game face on. Forced to become a drug mule against her own will, Lucy has a new synthetic drug known only as CPH4 sewn into the lining of her stomach. She's roughed up by some of tough gangster Mr. Jang's (the original Oldboy's very own Choi Min-sik) thugs, causing the bag to split. What a terrible mistake for her foes.

'Apparently' humans only employ 10% of their brain. What would happen if we were to use more than that? 

Luc Beeson explores this very idea in Lucy, his latest feature length film. You have to broaden your mind and syphon out the small details that will niggle at you like an incurable itch. Without spoiling it too much, Lucy embodies the likes of Limitless, embracing her powerful memory and using her intelligence to her advantage, to spiralling out of control as Transcendence does. The idea is as tough as Johansson's bold Lucy, but the idea rears an preposterous head, even in the sci-fi universe.

Johansson goes from damsel in distress to unemotional and unmerciful warrior gallantly. She glides through every scene smoothly, whether it's dodging incoming traffic or single handedly dispatching Mr. Jang's goons.

Random images flash up every so often. Just like the documentary Koyaanisqatsi, the images are fleeting, purposeful and full of metaphors... more purposeful than say Morgan Freeman's evolution expert Professor Norman. He's a bit of a dud in the evolution of this film, as all he gets to do is explain the theory of evolution and concepts of the brain like a verbal version of wikipedia. 

Overall we're on a fantastic journey with Johansson, but you'll be baffled by its incomprehensible ending.