Plot: What’s it about?
The human mind is truly an amazing thing. I don’t know why, but the other day I was thinking to myself (well, of course to myself, who else would I be thinking to?) of all the things that we as a people have accomplished. What if, for whatever odd reason, one of us was banished back to the stone age? What could we accomplish with all the knowledge that we’re inundated with on a daily basis? Things like the wheel, the written word and even the most basic ability to communicate are taken for granted. What I’m getting at is that it’s a well-known fact that we only use about 10% of our brain. What the movie “Limitless” explores is that what if we were able to use the other 90%. There are infinite possibilities both mentally and physically for us as a race. We’ve only begun to scratch the surface as to what we can really accomplish and what if the aid of a little pill could help us do that? Certainly if we’re to evolve a pharmaceutical company must be involved, right?
Eddie (Bradley Cooper) has a lot of potential. Unfortunately he’s not using it to the best of his ability. His girlfriend (Abbie Cornish) has just dumped him and the novel he’s been working on will most likely never be published. Truly he’s hit rock bottom. This all changes when he meets up with Vernon (Johnny Whitworth), his ex-brother in-law. Vernon works for a pharmaceutical company and gives Eddie a prototype for a new drug called NZT. This drug allows Eddie to become “super focused” and utilize every aspect of his brain. When Eddie returns for more, he finds Vernon murdered. He does manage to find the stash and his life immediately changes for the better. He becomes more productive, he finishes his novel and then starts to dabble in the stock market. This catches the eye of billionaire financial tycoon Carl Van Loon (Robert DeNiro) who sees Eddie as an untapped resource for him to make even more money. However the drug has some pretty wicked side effects – notably death. Will Eddie end up like the other NZT addicts or will he find a way to make everything work out in the end?
“Limitless” is a great concept for a film. The acting is top notch (pretty much anything with Robert DeNiro is) and the story is easy to follow. While I doubt the existence a drug like this exists, it is a perplexing thing. I’ve become more of a fan of Bradley Cooper since his “Wedding Crashers” days and with the success of “The Hangover” movies, he’s most likely not going anywhere for a while. The story itself is somewhat akin to being on steroids and I found it amazing how engrossed in the film I became. Do I want to use the other 90% of my brain? You bet. The film has a pretty good supporting cast with Abbie “I’m in every movie” Cornish along with a strong supporting character actors. While “Limitless” won’t blow your mind, it is a step above the usual films that we’re deluged with in the early Spring. Recommended.
Video: How does it look?
The film has a very unique look and feel to it, namely it’s a very drab and diluted transfer until Eddie takes the NZT and then we see the surge of color take over the screen. The 2.40:1 AVC HD transfer delivers as expected and Fox does another fine job with their day and date Blu-ray’s. The detail in some scenes is amazing and with this somewhat unique transfer, it’s hard to accurately get a read on everything. Still, the scenes where he’s “performing” do look amazing, so don’t be let down by the otherwise humdrum color palette. There’s color, you just have to wait for it.
Audio: How does it sound?
To compliment the video, we’ve got a very encompassing DTS HD Master Audio soundtrack. As we might expect, this soundtrack rocks (in spots) and follows the pattern of some other drams in the weaker spots. Dialogue is very clear and strong as well. The surrounds are particularly active, most notably during the scenes in which Eddie takes the drug. This is what gives the film some of its power – the parallel use of the audio and video to immerse the viewer in the movie. Yes, there are better-sounding tracks out there but this one isn’t half bad.
Supplements: What are the extras?
We don’t really get a lot in terms of extras here. There’s a fairly standard offering of featuettes entitled “A Man Without Limits” as well as the obligatory “The Making of ‘Limitless'”. We do get an alternate ending that I didn’t really prefer as well as the unrated version of the movie. Having never seen the film before its debut on Blu-ray, I really don’t know what was changed but the extended cut is there nonetheless. The second disc is a DVD/Digital Copy of the film.
