Limitless

Starring: Bradley Cooper, Anna Friel, Robert De Niro

Directed by: Beil Burger

Rating: I Liked It

When struggling writer Eddie Morra (Cooper) takes a drug that opens up a world of possibilities, it seems the sky is the limit.  The drug, NZT, allows the human mind to function at 100% versus the usual 20% that most of us can use on a regular basis; however, as with most things, if it's too good to be true, it probably is.  Complications are placed in front of Eddie that he must overcome if he is to continue down this newly found road of success.  

Cooper does a great job in this role.  Having previously only seen him in comedic roles, I was hesitant to think he could pull of something suspenseful.  He did a very good job though.  He plays opposite De Niro well.  The slick, smart, cocky Morra puts De Niro's Carl Van Loon in his place more than once, all the while using Van Loon to get where he wants to be.  

This is almost a sci-fi film, but it doesn't quite make that cut for me.  It's more of a suspense/thriller.  That's in no way a knock to the movie.  It just straddles this line of genres very well.  I wish that we had learned a bit more about how everything got started, but I'm OK with how it was left.  

The movie is quick and twisty.  It keeps you in the dark about what's going on behind the scenes.  I had an idea about what had been going down, but I didn't quite put it all together until the end.

My favorite thing about this is that it's the closest I've seen to what it would be like if there were someone with "super powers" out there walking around.  I don't think they'd play the Batman or Superman character.  Instead, they'd do what they could for themselves and the others around them.  The other side of that coin is something we see in the film, too.  It's not nearly as pretty an image.