Limitless is a competent if fanciful thriller that brings a cyberpunk sensibility to a modern story that is held back by occasionally straying a bit to far over the line dividing science fiction and the absurd.

Eddie Mora (Bradley Cooper) is a down on his luck writer who, after being dumped by his current girlfriend, has a chance meeting with his former brother-in-law. Eddie is behind on his novel and laments the sad state of affairs to Vernon (Johnny Whitworth) who produces a pill he claims will solve all of Eddie’s problems. Vernon tells Eddie it is FDA approved and has gone through testing and will unlock the 80% of the brain that humans don’t use. Eddie figures ‘what the hell?’ and takes the pill and within 30 seconds can access information stored in his memory from years ago and recalls things only briefly glimpsed and barely read. This allows him to weasel out of an ass chewing by the landlord’s wife and weasel into her panties and he realizes that this has potential. When he goes back the next day for more, Vernon is shot in the head and Eddie finds his stash of pills and a whole grip of money. Eddie sets about using his new found powers to fix his life but power taken as opposed to power earned is power lightly wielded and before he knows it, Eddie is knee deep in a whole bunch of shit he didn’t bargain for.

Limitless feels very much like a cyberpunk story from the 80’s and follows most of those conventions from the corrupt and powerful companies to enhancement through technology and all the murder and paranoia that goes with it. In this case we aren’t dealing with cybernetics but pharmaceuticals. Where it differs from cyberpunk is that whereas cyberpunk tended to show the often deadly consequences of over reliance on technology and corporate money Limitless pretty much embraces it. The message thus becomes questionable but the over all story being told is engaging.

Director Neil Burger does a really great job of transitioning from moments when Eddie is on the drug and when he is not and representing what the effects of the drug might be like in Eddie’s head. The effects are psychedelic and off putting but feel very fitting and are effective. Likewise the changes in lighting, while not subtle, are also very effective at highlighting the effects of the drug on Eddie. It makes what could be dry and boring into something visually exciting and keeps audience attention.

The performances really help this process along as well as the change in Bradley Cooper between normal and on the drug is profound and he does a great job of conveying that to the audience. Robert De Niro strikes the right balance between sinister and helpful as the head of the investment company Eddie eventually works for and their scenes together really pop. Abby Cornish, who annoyed me so much in Sucker Punch I wanted to start cutting myself turns in a much better performance here as Eddie’s on again off again girlfriend. The supporting performances achieve what they need  to give weight to the proceedings and give it the proper sense of gravity.

The film’s writing is strong in a sort of film that would be easy to flub. Writing a character that is much smarter than you is a difficult proposition as while the character might have limitless intelligence, the writer does not. Here the character adapted from Alan Glynn’s novel is creative and well drawn and you never get the sense that someone is writing their impression of a really smart guy instead of the character feeling genuine. This is an impressive feat and serves the story well.

The biggest problem with the movie though is that it asks you to swallow a fairly enormous helping of bullshit and as the story goes on you get to a point where you are quite full. The developments flow naturally from a logical starting point but meander into absurd nonsense before the credits roll. This is too bad because you can generally hang with the film for most of its length and then you arrive at a certain moment and you have your girlfriend who attended the screening with you whisper ‘I swear to god if he *does something I won’t reveal* I am walking out.’ He did but she didn’t and it kind of softened the last act pretty badly to a point where it became difficult to digest at all.

Conclusion [7.5 out of 10]

Limitless has a great idea and a lot of potential which is largely realized for the majority of the movie. A weak third act hobbles the effort as if you go out on a sour note it poisons the whole thing. It is definitely worth a look on rental and maybe a matinee.