Limitless the movie is a fun visual techno-thriller about a writer who stumbles on a drug that enables him to use 100% of his brainpower. There are multiple holes of logic in the plot and too many subplots lending to total chaos. Add to that the great directing effects and the audience actually feels like they are on the drug, as well, along for the ride.
Leslie Dixon wrote the screenplay for the movie Limitless based on Alan Glynn's 2001 novel, The Dark Fields. The holes in the movie's plot might be explained in the book, but most of the audience did not read the book. For example, in the book, it is explained that there are frequent blackouts and also bursts of outrage and violence. This is not shown in the movie except for one inexplicable, incongruous, stand-alone subplot.
Review of the Plot of Limitless, the 2011 Movie with Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro
This story is reminiscent of Flowers for Algernon, but with a modern materialistic twist made-for-movie action thriller about drug addiction and hunger for power. A down-on-his-luck writer, Eddie Morra (played by Bradley Cooper of the 2009 movie, The Hangover) comes across a wonder drug that makes him maximally smart using 100% of his brain. He starts and finishes his novel in just four days, learns languages in a matter of a day or two, conquers the secrets to the stock market in less than a week, and woos back his ex-girlfriend.
The ending is extremely unimaginative, with Eddie Morra striking out on his own with his newly earned financial fortune and running for Senator, leading the audience to believe that his ultimate ambition is to run for President of the United States. The movie Limitless might have been more gratifying if the ending had a more grandiose ambition and impact as big as the ending in Fight Club, the movie.
The multiple subplots are confusing, incongruous, and unnecessary in some cases. While director Neil Burger does a great job having fun with special effects in this film, he could only do so much to salvage this chaotic movie with a surprisingly weak ending.
Subplots in the 2011 Movie Limitless Raise Questions in Logic
Several of the subplots are unnecessary and don't make sense. The wasted energy and time spent on these subplots could have been better utilized by giving Robert De Niro's character a larger part in the movie, or by exploring the spiritual possibilities or other more ambitious ventures than simply conquering the stock market and eventually running for President of the U.S.
One subplot in the movie deals with a Russian loan shark, Gennady (played by Andrew Howard). Why did Eddie Morra have to borrow money from a loan shark? Is that the smartest thing that his 100% activated brain could come up with? If so, why did Eddie forget to repay the loan and cause an unnecessary complication in his already fast-moving race to fortune and fame?
Another subplot deals with his ex-wife, Melissa, played by Anna Friel (in the 2007 movie Pushing Daisies). The information that he got from her could have been obtained from another source, and adds unnecessary complication in the already chaotic plot. Is he still interested in her, and she in him? If she is a key to explaining how to safely come off the drug, then why not utilize her more in the movie?
While Robert De Niro plays brilliantly his part as Carl Van Loon, a seasoned financial tycoon, this subplot was also unnecessary. If Eddie Morra could find meaningful patterns and formulas in the stock market in less than a week, then why couldn't he make his fortune on his own? Why did he have to work for Carl Van Loon to begin with?
Another subplot deals with an 18-hour blackout where he murders a girl. This subplot is a totally unnecessary complication, as the main character of Limitless the movie, Eddie Morra, has not been shown to be a violent man. Neither was it set up in the movie that the drug lends to outbursts of anger, rage or violence. Or blackouts for that matter. So, this subplot is incongruous and unnecessary.
The scene where his girlfriend has to choose whether to take the drug or not to save her own life is anti-climactic and dull. It's a chase scene through Central Park, ending in an ice skating whirlwind where she executes her escape. One salvageable point is that it does make the audience ask itself: "Would I take the drug? Would I try it knowing the risks?" This is a rhetorical question, though, as the audience naturally asks itself what would they do all through the movie.
The movie is fun to watch, with many eye candy opportunities that the director Neil Burger delivers enhancing the experience of being on the drug for the audience. The movie is definitely a techno-thriller about drug addiction, ambition, and meteoric rise to fortune and fame. But the movie Limitless was just plain limited in its imagination and ending.
Limitless, the Movie:
Running Time: 1 hr 45 mins
Rating: PG-13
Release Date: March 18, 2011
by Relativity Media/Rogue Movies
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