Luc Besson's LUCY

Movie review by Dennis D. McDonald

I had a really mixed reaction to this film.  On the one hand I enjoy Scarlett Johansson’s acting very much especially after seeing (or hearing) her in UNDER THE SKIN and HER.

Here she basically plays a personality-neutral “empty vessel” and, except for the very beginning of the movie in Taipei, we don’t really see much humor or much personality. (The attached picture captures one of the movie’s few smiles — and this one is fake.)

On the other hand, the story is weak. There are distractions that take away from the main theme which is the gradual “countdown” as Lucy obtains omniscience and all-encompassing power.

The science is just plain silly.  How Johansson could sit and recite her character’s lines with a straight face in the scene with Morgan Freeman and colleagues is beyond me.  Pure comic book stuff. 

Not that comic books are bad.  And, it is a pleasure to see a fancy movie that isn’t just one more hack of the DC or Marvel universes.

But I guess I’m tired of gun battles and shootouts. The Matrix movies did these better more than a decade ago. 

Still, the movie is worth a watch especially for the first half or so. Eventually the silliness overwhelms the acting, editing, and colorful production values. Lucy at the very end reaches for profundity but lands with a thud. We’ve seen it all before.

Review copyright (c) 2015 by Dennis D. McDonald