Limitless

So this is what being a university student is like huh? I watched this flick last Friday and am only now (being Thursday) blogging about it. I must reduce my hours at work...
What would you do if you could do everything? Everything? Wrong answer.
Limitless is directed by Neil Burger who not only directed The Illusionist but also wrote it. Leslie Dixon (Hairspray) adapted the novel The Dark Fields by Alan Glynn.
Eddie Morra (Bradley Cooper - The Hangerover) is a writer. We know this because he tells us this. Yes, this film is very voice-over heavy. A master of procrastination, Eddie, the long-haired lout, has a book due at his publishers really soon but he hasn't written a word.
Enter ex-son-in-law Vernon (Johnny Whitworth - remember the cute guy from Empire Records?) who looks like a drug dealer. Shock, he IS a drug dealer. He's got a fancy new pill called NZT-48. This pill allows the taker to access all of their brain as opposed to the supposed 20% us mere mortals are only able to access at the moment.
With nothing to lose, Eddie pops the pill and before you know it, he's walking like John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever, getting a haircut and a new wardrobe to boot. He finishes his book in four days and is looking for another challenge. A pill a day keeps the boredom away.
So what would you do if you could do everything? Finance, of course. After wowing a finance type person at a party after making $2 million dollars in a few days, Eddie is quickly introduced to Carl Van Loon (Robert DeNiro - all his films) head of a super duper finance company firm place. Can you guess how much I know about finance?
Eddie and Carl plot to take over the world, starting with the Middle East, and get all chummy over expensive lunches. Eddie shacks back up with ex-girlfriend Lindy (Abbie Cornish - Bright Star) and buys a swanky New York apartment with shit loads of security. Things are going well.
Eddie loses his stash of pills and the effects are pretty nasty. He starts turning back to pre-Hulk Eddie - all dumb and stuff. Unfortunately this happens in front of Carl who isn't impressed.
All the while, Eddie is being followed by a bunch of mysterious goons. Who are they? Do we care? Why do they always have to wear leather jackets???
I said before this is heavy on the voice over, so much so it probably could have stayed in book form. I would have read that. The fact that Eddie has to tell us pretty much everything that is going on is a bit annoying. What if I want to find out something for myself?
Cooper was OK, though a lesser actor could have done the same. DeNiro... was it that long ago I was wondering why some great actors do less than great films? Here is another perfect example.
One good thing about the film was the editing. I really liked the things added post-production. The extended zoom (technical term pls?) that took us down the seemingly endless blocks of New York were great.
I thought the title was a bit naff, though I don't understand the book's title at all... Maybe it's too late in the day.
Things I learnt: secret jacket compartments don't stay secret for long; don't trust your lawyer; once you pop you can't stop.
Fluffy.
Five out of ten.