Limitless

A great premise was the key in Limitless. "Imagine what you could if you could access all of it" was the exhilarating line from the trailer referring to the pill which struggling writer Eddie Mora is given which lets him use the whole of his brain.

Bradley Cooper's first starring role as said writer has a genuinely intriguing plot. He captures the declining Mora well and is likeable enough as the "hero" we follow. After the predictable but enjoyable initial extravagant use of the "enhanced Eddie", he settles down to the serious business of making money which in turn leads him into the clutches finance-giant Karl van Loon (De Niro). I thought they had a great on-screen relationship with De Niro his usual mafia-esque self.

Mora sets about causing a huge stir by making a killing on the stock market over the course of only a few days. As his profile increases people become suspicious and as NZT (the miracle drug) is more widely discovered he attracts what you could call some heat. As I said, Cooper is likeable in his role so I was willing Eddie on to eventually come out on top, a journey which is thrilling despite some real lapses in common sense. A few times I said to my neighbour (I knew him, I'm not an overly-forward stranger) "Why doesn't he just do that?" or "surely he'd do this?" etc, which let the film down a bit. But actually, one of my queries was answered at the end, so there's some comfort there.

 Visually exciting too, with some camera work which I can only describe as "zooming", but is evidently extremely difficult to film gives it another edge and throughout it's viscerally interactive, which seems like an attempt to overwhelm our senses, but something I enjoyed nevertheless. I left the cinema annoyingly frustrated. Not because of the film, just because I really wanted to take some of the NZT and experience the super-human brain power!! Imagine it?

So Bradley Cooper's attempt to break out from his Rom/Com type cast is on the whole a success. Despite some fore mentioned holes in the plot, I can guarantee you an exciting, well-paced 104 minutes with enough development to keep you on your toes. Some actually quite funny moments too, notably with his new found language skills, increased my enjoyment no end. Its not a film to nit pick through but if you sit there, take it for what it is and relax, the fun you'll have is Limitless....