Relativity Media releases this science fiction-themed thriller, about a mild-mannered copywriter (Bradley Cooper), who discovers a top-secret drug that gives him superhuman mental and physical abilities (we’re talking about enhanced intellect rather than leaping tall buildings at a single bound, so we’re not quite into comic book territory). Neil Burger (THE ILLUSIONIST) directed from a screenplay by Leslie Dixon, based on the novel by Alan Glynn. Robert DeNiro, Abbie Cornish, Anna Friel, Johnny Whitworth, Andrew Howard, and Robert John Burke fill out the cast.
Just in case I missed any details, here is the official plot synopsis:
Bradley Cooper and Robert De Niro star in Limitless, a paranoia-fueled action thriller about an unpublished writer whose life is transformed by a top-secret smart drug that allows him to use 100% of his brain and become a perfect version of himself. His enhanced abilities soon attract shadowy forces that threaten his new life in this darkly comic and provocative film.
I do want to add that the “100% of your brain” nonsense is based on the popular misconception that humans uses only 20% of their brains (a myth spoofed in the Albert Brooks film DEFENDING YOUR LIFE). In fact, all of us use all of our brains; it’s just that only a small percentage of neurons fire at any particular time. You wouldn’t want them all firing at once – that’s an epileptic seizure.
At least the trailer gets extra credit for the soundtrack, which excerpts a cover of King Crimson’s “21st Century Schizoid Man.”
