Limitless – Fun little sci-fi romp

‘Limitless’ isn’t what I’d describe as an ‘amazing film.’ And yet for it lacks in originality and anything majorly stand-out, it makes up for in being just simply very watchable.  And I guess that’s down to its leading made – the ever highly-watchable – Bradley Cooper.  Once again, he plays a man who’s just slightly better looking than the average guy and yet you still find him relatable and can see his traits in your own mates.

Here, instead of voicing a manic space-racoon or losing his memory in Vegas, he’s an out-of-luck writer who can’t even write as much as I already have in this review.  Then, one day his luck changes when he bumps into an old acquaintance who offers him a pill.  Perhaps most of us would decline, but Bradley’s so low that he’ll take anything to potentially perk himself up.  He was probably expecting – at best – a while trip and a night of infinite energy dancing away at a local nightclub.  What he got was an activation of areas of his brain that humans haven’t even touched on consciously operating yet.

Therefore, he writes his novel in hours, makes a killing predicting the stock markets, seduces a couple of women who hate him and generally exploit this new ability for all it’s worth (wouldn’t we all?).  Sadly for Bradley, there are people who don’t appreciate this ‘new man’ and want to either stop him, ruin him, steal his stash of pills, or plain old murder him and leave him in a ditch.  Luckily for him, he is probably now the smartest guy alive – a trait that will come in handy when juggling so many balls at once.

Like I say, it’s nothing special, but it is fun.  The premise is definitely science fiction, but you don’t need to be a fan of the genre to enjoy this, as I think it has broader appeal.  Of course the film doesn’t get hurt by also having – acting legend – Robert DeNiro on the cast list, playing a shady Senator who also takes an interest in this young author’s sudden rise to greatness.

‘Limitless’ has been around a while now and you’ll probably come across it on one online streaming platform sooner or later.  If you do, I recommend you give it a go as it’s certainly an enjoyable ride.  One slight criticism of mine was the ending.  It’s okay, but I felt that the build up deserved something better (or at least a little less sudden).  Still worth a watch though.

7/10 if I woke up on Groundhog Day and had to watch this again, I could live with that