Limitless

When it comes to unlocking the full potential of the human brain in cinematic terms, the adoption of a suave style is modestly mandatory. So it's a particularly smart move on the part of director Neil Burger that he opens the enjoyable thriller Limitless by defining the movie's visual identity. Calm, cool camera movements willingly pull us into the world of suddenly brilliant protagonist Eddie Morra (Bradley Cooper), who is about to regale us with the story of how he went from slovenly writer to wealthy genius in a matter of weeks. Eddie's story is an engaging one and his surprisingly welcome voice-over allows Limitless to focus internally, allowing the visual flourishes to enhance, rather than tell the tale. It's a fun ride, but it isn't quite as attuned to the possibilities of its premise as it wishes to be, resulting in an occasionally scatter-brained approach.

Cooper is the movie's strongest asset, which works in its favour, considering how dominant his screen time is. He appears in almost every scene (if he isn't there, he's probably on the other end of an onscreen phone call) and his scruffy, blue-eyed charm is put to good use. Cooper's Eddie is always likable, which makes it easy to follow him on his journey. Eddie is all greasy hair and dishevelled clothing at the beginning of his story, but a chance encounter with an ex-brother-in-law (the most useless of relationships, in Eddie's opinion, though he probably doesn't feel that way any longer) results in Eddie trying out a mystery pill that will supposedly grant him access to the mysterious eighty percent of the human brain that none of us ever use.

Faced with a nasty case of writer's block, no money, and a fleeing girlfriend (Abbie Cornish) who has run out of patience, Eddie sees no reason not to take the pill, so he pops it in his mouth and suddenly feels fully alive. He's also acutely articulate and actually able to retrieve any piece of information that has ever passed through his cerebral cortex. It isn't long before Eddie takes the logical next step and gets a haircut, along with a new wardrobe. The character upgrade allows Cooper to unleash the full spectrum of his charismatic range and it's pleasant to note that cleaned up Eddie is no less believable than grubby Eddie. But there is a significant change in the character's behaviour and Cooper is very good at giving both sides their own dimension, while maintaining a blurring of the lines that reminds us that suave Eddie is only a pill pop away from his messy alter-ego.

The initial moments of Eddie's altered lifestyle are plenty of fun, which makes his desire for the drug quite plausible. Burger's flashy style comes in handy here, since it accentuates the excitement of fast cars, beautiful women, and luxurious getaways to tropical paradises. But once that sequence has been exhausted in fast-forwarded fashion, Eddie decides to settle down and start making smart investments that his fully accessed brain ensures are guaranteed gold mines. It is here that Limitless starts to squeeze into a relatively traditional thriller mould, with Eddie discovering side effects to the pills he has become dependent on, while also getting involved in the business dealings of a powerful tycoon (Robert De Niro, slumming it in an underwritten role) whose good side is a fleeting thing.

Several potential villains enter the picture and it doesn't take long for Eddie's journey to take a dive into dangerous territory. Obviously, the obstacles are necessary, since Eddie wouldn't have much of an arc without the possibility of falling from his pedestal, but Limitless begins to slowly unravel as it ambitiously tags on subplots with hanging threads that are destined to be soon ignored. The movie is at its best when it's focused completely on Eddie (specifically, Cooper's charisma), so it manages to stay afloat in the midst of the growing chaos because this remains Eddie's story from start to finish. But it's still unfortunate that the script by Leslie Dixon (adapted from Alan Glynn's novel The Dark Fields) offers so little payoff in the conflict department.

One particularly intense sequence near the story's end offers some of the finest minutes in the whole movie, so thrills are far from fully absent. And with Cooper guiding us through the avenues of his brain, the journey remains charming and entertaining. Eddie is an intriguing guy and his experiences with the mind-expanding pill are always easy to swallow, even when they border on the absurd. Limitless never gets so out of hand that it becomes laughable or distracting in its efforts, which means that Cooper and Burger are able to collaboratively keep the movie on track. But for all of the movie's strengths (the editing is commendable and the score by Paul Leonard-Morgan and Nico Muhly is imaginatively energetic), Limitless never quite reaches its full potential.

A fun thriller is all this movie really aspires to be and it's hugely satisfying that the story doesn't devolve into a preachy message about the dangers of doing drugs. But when the subject matter involves unlocking the full power of the brain, it's difficult to not be a bit disappointed when the final product feels so incomplete. Cooper is wonderful to watch, but his fellow cast members are completely wasted. Cornish is awarded a brief moment to break from her love interest role, but she still spends most of her screen time staring at Cooper and waiting for her chance to speak. De Niro phones it in, which is only partially his fault, considering how lame his role is. Like the drug at its core, Limitless has its pluses and minuses. When it's on a high, it's convincing and carefully controlled. When it crashes, it can be accused of playing it safe and too cautiously taking the road of convenience. At least Cooper remains comfortably consistent. This flavoured little flick goes down easy, but its final effect is purely average and inconsequential.