Limitless film review

I genuinely didn’t expect very much of Limitless. The trailer really doesn’t do it much justice and the posters and bus adverts look terrible. Then there’s the fact that Robert De Niro’s serious acting credentials have been watered down slightly thanks to the likes of Meet the Little Fockers. This combined with the fact that Bradley Cooper is a bit typecast as Mr Comedy thanks to The Hangover and you doubt the films potential almost immediately.

However, it tuned out to be a genuinely well made film, with some decent acting on both parts and more than a few tense scenes, making it work well as a thriller. The storyline is a lot more believable when you watch the film too, so you buy into the concept a lot more than you’d expect.

Limitless revolves around Eddie Morra, a failed writer whose girlfriend leaves him because she’s sick of his waster ways. However, his life is turned around when he bumps into his ex girlfriend’s brother who gives him a little clear pill. Taking it makes him mentally Limitless and he starts to transform his life. However, when the source of the pills is killed brutally the dark reality of the pharmaceutical pierces Eddie’s bubble.

Bradley Cooper is fairly compelling in the lead role and not as comic strip as he was in the A-Team movie. The scenes become tense as the film moves on and Robert De Niro’s hard bitten business man is a welcome return to a serious role for him. Limitless is by no means perfect and the shorelines, no matter how well delivered, was always going to be a bit far fetched, but it’s well worth watching and not the pile of stupid it comes across as.

Limitless film review – 3.8/5