With ‘The Amazing Spider-Man 2 kicking off the summer with a massive box office debut, it is safe to say we are going to have a huge season on our hands. In a new segment called Blockbuster Breakdown, we will be featuring the biggest summer movies that will be hitting the theaters each week and why you don’t want to miss it. So throw on some flip flops, grab some popcorn and sink into a big comfy seat because summer has arrived.
LUCY – July 25
Director: Luc Besson (The Fifth Element, Columbiana, Taken)
Stars: Scarlett Johansson, Morgan Freeman, Min-Sik Choi, Amr Waked
Synopsis: A woman who got caught up in a drug lord’s plan gets revenge when she accesses full capacity of her brain.
Runtime: 89 minutes
Quote: “All this knowledge. You can unlock secrets beyond our universe”
Review: Is there anything Scarlett Johansson can’t do?
Lucy is a fast paced firework with plenty of action and explosions to make up for the ending of the movie.
The film follows Lucy, a girl who gets tricked into delivering a mysterious case to a hotel for her boyfriend. She quickly finds herself being converted into a drug mule to smuggle a new synthetic drug to the states. When the bag bursts and her body absorbs the substance, it triggers neurons in her body to give her full access to her brain.
It will definitely go down as a cult classic but it has all the elements of a polished blockbuster. The first 20 minutes are stylized a-la Stanley Kubrick with juxtaposition between Lucy and several doomed animals sprinkled in with Morgan Freeman explaining the brain’s capacity. It makes for a unique opening sequence and this intriguing and entertaining.
But the film’s true centerpiece is its high stakes action mixed with top notch effects. Explosions and car chases follow Lucy flinging people through walls and dropping them to the ground with the swish of her finger. Couple that with its short run time of 89 minutes, you have a fast paced visual stunner.
Scarlett Johansson delivers a phenomenal performance that drastically varies in range. She switches from scared innocent girl to a murdering machine effortlessly. Even when synthetic drugs are going off like fireworks in her intestines, she holds the movie together with her stone cold charm.
Don’t be surprised if you get lost at the end of the film. It would probably take more than 10% of your brain to understand it as it quickly switches from femme fatale blood bath to a history lesson.
‘Lucy’ is your typical summer blockbuster full of explosions and violence, but just because its cliche doesn’t mean its not highly entertaining.
