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Imagine a little pill that can boost your mental capacity from 5 to 100 percent — like cocaine for the mind instead of the body — and you see the endless possibilities.
The science fiction thriller "Limitless" may not reach its full potential like the drug promises, but there's still a literate, effective little thriller in all that drug-fueled action.
Bradley Cooper ("The Hangover") is a down-and-out writer named Eddie Morra who discovers a drug that can supercharge his mind. As he transforms into the perfect man with the help of the pill (he writes a brilliant novel in just four days), he also becomes addicted to its brain-altering properties as well as a target of mysterious assassins.
Cooper shows he has the acting skills beyond his good-looks and comedic timing to be a believeable drug-fazed paranoid on the run. And director Neil Burger's stylish direction helps feed the movie's brisk tempo as Eddie tries to figure out how to unravel the plot against him while also fending off the bad effects of the drug.
This new brain-busting medication may make him a lot smarter, but it still didn't upgrade his common sense, and that makes for a thrilling pill-popping ride. HHH
Limitless
Opens Friday, March 18, at theaters everywhere; Rated PG-13 for thematic material involving a drug, violence including disturbing images, sexuality and language; 105 minutes.