Eddie is a layabout and a failing writer, and upon losing his supportive girlfriend he turns to a mysterious pill which unlocks his mind's full potential (and turns him into Sherlock Holmes, almost literally). While he elevates into the business world - virtually overnight - enemies are drawn to his mysterious abilities, and his mettle is tested with the drug's overriding effects.
Limitless is certainly a very attractive and often intense thriller, and I found its pacing to be good for its simple concept. Bradley Cooper provides an interesting character to watch as the story unfolds, but then... most of the story is pretty predictable (I am certain most of you can guess right now what goes on in Limitless)
Spoilers Ahead??????? Maybe!
My only real issue with the film is its apparent lack of morality... While Eddie certainly isn't the most decent man, the film is only shown from his point of view, making us side with him. Now perhaps a moral core would have clichéd the film, that much may be true, but the film's ending is so brazen that one can only question what exactly the film's purpose was. Creativity and clear thinking is only available through artificial enhancement? Surely... living your life, can help with that instead? People in power are all corrupted by some unattainable advantage? The film's end was transparent in its intention to spark these debates. Maybe that was its purpose?
You can call it entertainment, and it certainly is; flashy, fast, intriguing, dangerous. But the ending irked me.
Additional Marshmallows: The director, Neil Burger, also directed The Illusionist, a very good movie that was completely overshadowed by Christopher Nolan's very similar The Prestige, released the same year. I hate to say it... but The Prestige was indeed better.
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