- Title: Limitless
- IMDB: link
Based on the novel by Alan Glynn, Bradley Cooper stars as a struggling writer who takes an experimental drug allowing him to use a larger part of his brain and granting him enhanced intelligence and creativity. His world instantly expands as he writes his novel and begins to clean up on Wall Street by using his intellect to see patterns in numbers.
However, the drug doesn’t come without a cost. Aside from being a stolen commodity which several people are willing to kill for, NZT-48 causes blackouts and time lapses, and is highly addictive as the body becomes dependent on the drug.
Using his enhanced abilities Eddie attempts to make his fortune, use his abilities to help a corporate tycoon (Robert De Niro) with an important merger, win back his former love (Abbie Cornish), and stay ahead of those (Andrew Howard, Tomas Arana) willing to kill for the drug.
Limitless works well as a sci-fi film, as it introduces and explores the idea and consequences of a drug which can boost a person’s intellect exponentially, but it works even better as a thriller. Eddie must continually stay ahead of the men after the drug as well as fight of the drug’s side effects in an attempt to score his big payday before his world comes crashing down on top of him.
The DVD includes both the theatrical and extended versions of the film, commentary from director Neil Burger, an alternate ending, and a behind-the-scenes featurette. The Blu-ray also comes with an additional featurette and a digital copy of the movie. If you missed it in theaters, I’d recommend giving it a try on DVD or Blu-ray.