‘Lucy’ may not be one of Luc Beeson’s best action films, but it’s certainly his most ambitious and challenging given the subject matter. It attempts to find some meaning and reasoning to the essence of life from the perspective of someone who can see almost every aspect of reality. That’s not quite the story you’d expect from a director that specializes in gun-toting action sequences. And while Beeson still doesn’t shy away from his bread and butter, he at least takes some unexpected chances for a conceiving a very different action picture.

Our title protagonist played by Scarlett Johansson is party girl unwittingly forced into a drug smuggling campaign by a Hong Kong mafia boss. The blue powdered substance is apparently so powerful that a hefty dose can fry your brain. This does not bode well for the drug mules that forcefully hold the packaged material within their abdomens. Lucy, however, has her bag of the lethal narcotic opened, exposing her body to the harmful effects. Somewhat to her benefit, the drug increases her brain activity above the usual 10%. With her newfound superpower, she can read minds, float objects and fire guns with pinpoint accuracy. The only drawback is that her awareness will continue to grow until she eventually dies. With little time left on this Earth, Lucy makes the tough decision of what to do with new awareness as her time runs out.

Unlike this Beeson’s previous works, this scenario is not limited to a revenge plot. In fact, the revenge on this mafia head himself is very early, very brief and more of a torture than a takedown. She seems far more preoccupied by making sure the drug doesn’t get out into the public. Additionally, she takes an interest in a scientist (Morgan Freeman) who she confides her knowledge with and hopes that she can in trust him with the secrets she’s discovered. Of course, those expecting her to use these psychic powers on an onslaught of gangsters will not be let down either. She disassembles guns, traps the bad guys inside invisible walls and suspends them in the air to get what she wants.

Scarlett Johansson really puts her all into this performance as a woman who tries to grapple with her new understanding of the world. Despite her initial status, she’s not bouncing around playing all kinds of goofy parlor tricks with her new powers. She knows far too much about the world and finds a certain vulnerability at comprehending all of existence through her super brain. Her cold delivery and exploration of life creates a fully realized character that you both sympathize with and genuinely want to see her succeed in her end goal of bettering human life. I was surprised to find this in a film where the title hero is essentially an immortal god capable of perfect accuracy and undefeatable psychic powers.

While I don’t quite feel the film is as transcendent as it likes to think it is with some unsubtle editing, it’s still a wildly impressive visual treat that takes more chances with it subject material. It would be all too easy to play it safe by making ‘Lucy’ a simple story of a dying mutant’s revenge. Beeson attempts to say so much more about human existence with the piece even if he’s not exactly putting the puzzle together very accurately. This is an action movie that won’t exactly expand your mind with its science fiction angle, but it will give your brain something unique to chew on.

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