Limitless

For a film based on Alan Glynn’s novel The Dark Fields, about a pill, unlimited brilliance and the nature of the human mind, one might expect Limitless to be similarly ingenious. Unfortunately, much like the pill, the movie’s thrilling effects wear off quickly.

On the surface, everything looks peachy for protagonist Eddie Morra, played by Bradley Cooper, a failed writer who comes across a pill (known as NZT) that allows him to access all of his brain, instead of the supposed 20 percent that others can use at any given time. With it, he becomes incredibly successful and turns his life into a high-powered fairy tale. Of course, what goes up must come down, and eventually he finds himself in a dilemma that only the pill can solve.

It’s a good premise—if slightly hazy on all the scientific facts—and has the inimitable Robert De Niro in a supporting role. Yet after those two pieces of advertising bait, the film, written by Leslie Nixon (The Thomas Crown Affair) and directed by Neil Burger (The Illusionist), ultimately fails to deliver. The plot has holes miles wide and often picks up an interesting quandary only to waste it with a ridiculous solution. This is especially true of the ending, which is perhaps the biggest cop-out I’ve ever seen in a film. And De Niro is left stranded without a well-developed character to inhabit—he seems almost like a corollary to the main story.

Limitless does a few things well: It has a fast-paced charm about it that holds one’s attention, and the cinematography is appropriately creative and entertaining. But it’s almost certainly a one-time-only sort of experience.

Looks like Burger could have used a little NZT himself.