Artistic Manifesto is proud to present a new periodic column entitled "Netflix Reviews," centered around getting you through those boring weekends or lonely nights by evaluating movies that can easily be attained through Netflix. So next time you're bored, you have a legitimate, legal past time to pursue. You're welcome. Movie review by Exhibit Aye.
Director: Neil Burger
Running Time: 1hr 44mins
Say what you want about Ivy League schools producing stuck-up elitist jerks, Neil Burger did his thing with this one. Neil who? Graduate of Yale and Director of the 2011 thriller, Limitless.
The film begins with the main character Eddie explaining to us (there is subtle, appropriate narration throughout the film) how much he sucks as a person. He tells people he’s done things that he hasn’t, and dude has a book deal with no book written. Eddie’s been procrastinating, b.s.’ing, and going down a path of self-sabotage. Oh! And he was dumped by his girl, for being a bum. Sound familiar? Welp, all that changes when he runs into his ex-brother-in-law who offers him a powerful drug that allows one to access all of their brain power. He tries it, likes it, goes back for more, but ex brother-in-law turns up dead. And that’s when things start to turn up.
Eddie finds the stash of drugs in ex brother-in-law’s apartment and goes absolutely crazy. While on this self-enhancing drug, he experiences life 2.0 as he is able to do things he’s never been capable of doing before, and goes through some pretty trippy stuff. For viewers who have never experienced that level of, “high,” the visuals in the film do a nice job of making us feel a part of the “trip” by employing a sort of burst-mode, kaleidoscope effect from time-to-time where you’ll see the same shot in multiples; real artsy like, and used minimally with discretion.
FYI: when you’re on an awesome, mentally-enhancing, super powerful drug, just know that people will try to kill you at some point. It wouldn’t be right if they didn’t. Also, you may or may not get into a fight with a couple of guys on the platform of an NYC subway and use old video game moves to keep from taking an “L.” Just sayin’.
Wrap Up: Limitless was engaging from the beginning to almost the end. The plot was thought out fairly well and the acting was on par. You may look at our main-man Eddie and think, “What movie was he in?! What’s his real name?” His government name is Bradley Cooper, yet you may know him as “Phil” from The Hangover. The legendary Robert De Niro shows up, but he doesn’t necessarily show out. He was allotted his typical, ball-buster moment but it wasn’t the De Niro role we’re used to.
His character was a bit reserved compared to his usual persona. I will say the ending was a bit, “huh?” but it didn’t spoil my overall impression. Things that I could have done without? Well, there was a murder mystery-ish concept squeezed into the plot that just didn’t belong. It didn’t add any value to the thrill, and it actually weighed the movie down a bit and took away from the film. And as for the soundtrack? Expect a slight audio-cameo from Eric B. & Rakim’s “Don’t Sweat the Technique.”
Wrap Up: Limitless was engaging from the beginning to almost the end. The plot was thought out fairly well and the acting was on par. You may look at our main-man Eddie and think, “What movie was he in?! What’s his real name?” His government name is Bradley Cooper, yet you may know him as “Phil” from The Hangover. The legendary Robert De Niro shows up, but he doesn’t necessarily show out. He was allotted his typical, ball-buster moment but it wasn’t the De Niro role we’re used to.
His character was a bit reserved compared to his usual persona. I will say the ending was a bit, “huh?” but it didn’t spoil my overall impression. Things that I could have done without? Well, there was a murder mystery-ish concept squeezed into the plot that just didn’t belong. It didn’t add any value to the thrill, and it actually weighed the movie down a bit and took away from the film. And as for the soundtrack? Expect a slight audio-cameo from Eric B. & Rakim’s “Don’t Sweat the Technique.”
Rating on a scale of 1-5? Subtract one-tenth of a point for the murder mystery situation, ½ point gone for De Niro’s character not having more depth, and the other ½ point deducted for not using that Eric B. & Rakim track for an extended amount of time. Limitless gets a 3.9/5.
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