Surprised there's no thread already.  Just saw this one today, after hearing lots of positive word of mouth.  I'm happy to say that I agree with that positive word of mouth for a change.

This is a good flick.  It has a different feel and vibe to it, which I appreciate.  It's well put together and well thought out.  It doesn't flow like the usual big budget thriller, and again, that's a good thing.

Bradley Cooper is very impressive here.  He has several different looks and personalities and he pulls them all off very impressively.  The fight scene on the subway platform was very well done and reminded me why I liked the first Bourne film so much...because of the realness of the hand to hand fights.

I bet this was written as an R rated flick and turned into a PG 13 by the producers, in hopes of cashing in on Cooper's charm and good looks, with the younger demographics.  I would have liked it more if it was R rated and even though it's not, it definitely comes across as "real" in terms of its ugliness...and there is alot of ugliness going on here.

I wasn't too thrilled with the middle section, as it really slowed down and reared its ugly side a bit too much for me.  I was digging the "highs" that the drug invoked and all the "limitless" possibilities.  The tone changed and I was starting to get concerned.

The last act was nicely done and it definitely turned quite a bit from where it started dragging.  Can't say I loved the ending, and I actually have some ideas on how I think it should have actually ended...but what do I know?

There are numerous things that don't make alot of sense and/or weren't explored completely or even enough. I know things often get cut out while others get added.  Just the way it goes.  Because of this, I was left with many questions that there aren't answers for.  Some are logic based, some are plot based, and others are situation based.  Oh well...

Al in all, a near great movie for me.  Had a certain feel of "Strange Days" for me, which is a movie I frequently watch over and over.  I'm pretty sure this will be the same deal...multiple viewings ahead.

I haven't seen this one yet but lots of people I've spoken to and who's opinion I value said it good. The guy who wrote the book it's based on is an Irish author, forget his name.

It is good...check it out!

Wow Jeff, considering I rarely see you speak approvingly of movies, it surprises me that Limitless is considered near great by you. This was a mess. A complete mess. The notion of a pill that creates a situation where you realise your full potential is ripe, and yet they failed to fashion a cohesive narrative. What is this film about? There were a couple of interesting ideas posed, but nothing was followed through. Cooper's character starts off as a writer, abandons it, becomes a corporate hotshot turned killer, before suddenly solving the pill problems, then becoming embroiled  in a low level gang battle, then overcoming everyone to become President down the line. Absurd.

The problem is that it never makes me feel as though it's all that great to have limitless possibilities at your fingertips. A few cursory pointers to women, money, holidays and that's it. This film needed someone to grip it and shake a clear idea of what they were filming. I can only assume they added stuff or edited it poorly.

Maybe I'm being overly harsh but this film was almost shockingly bad to me.

Quoted from Andrew Cooper's character starts off as a writer, abandons it, becomes a corporate hotshot turned killer, before suddenly over owing the pill problems, then becoming embroiled  in a low level gang battle, then overcoming everyone to become President. Absurd.

Really?    

You took out "down the line".

But that's the gist. Simply Scripting by phone is not ideal!

Well, Andrew, what can I say?  It seems like you and I are polar opposites when it comes to scripts and movies, and I'm cool with that.

My "near great" rating has to be tempered by all the not great points I did allude to.  For me, though, over all, this definitely worked and was a very enjoyable ride.  And with a 69% Tomato rating, looks like I'm not all alone for once.

I think you took everything way too seriously and were obviously looking for something that this film had no intention of delivering on.  Implausibilities abounded everywhere and if I wanted to, I could tear this thing apart, but it didn't need that.  It worked.  It was different, it was fun, and it provided exactly what it set out to do...entertain.

Hey, that's entertainment...for some, at least.

Quoted from Dreamscale It was different, it was fun, and it provided exactly what it set out to do...entertain. Hey, that's entertainment...for some, at least.

Hey Jeff, I have a question.  This is kind of stemming off from the conversation I saw happening on Avatar.

Do you have a favorite film that is particularly deep?  Something that's main purpose isn't popcorn entertainment?  One that you leave that inspires discussion, makes you think, gives you a different outlook...

I'm not asking to be a dick or anything, I just want to know.

Haha. Mate, I don't care if you like it or not, or if it's considered entertainment by 69% of people. You posted a thread alluding to a lack of views, so I added mine. For example, I recall you disliking Taken, while I loved it, and that movie was full of holes.

I don't personally think citing the lack of logic in the movie (as a means of disliking it) in lieu of anything interesting going on is looking for something, or being too serious. It's just two different reactions and approaches. But... who cares.

Matt, favorite movies of mine?  Well, here's a few (out of the horror genre), guess it's up to you whether or not they're particularly deep or inspire discussion...

The Abyss
The Outlaw Josey Wales
True Romance
Casino
Good Fellas
Pulp Fiction
Silence of the Lambs

Andrew, no, man, it's all good.  We can all enjoy whatever it is we enjoy.  I have no problem with that.  I just get really dumbfounded when people knock stuff that shouldn't be knocked.

Taken was alright, far from anything special, IMO.  Liam Neesan just isn't a badass like the character called for and the fight scenes were weak for me, and unbelievable.

Movies can be full of holes if there's enough positive stuff to over-ride the holes...or the negatives.  When there's not enough positives, the holes look bigger.

Finally caught this.

Wasn't expecting much...just a relatively fast paced ride through some nice imagery, but it didn't even do that for me.

I'm with Andrew on this...it was a complete mess.

Boring and unfocused.

Considering it was about people with limitless potential...their goals seemed very limited as well. Just seemed like a terrible lack of imagination went into it.

Cooper was OK, but that's about all I can say about the film.

The central moral..that you just need to medicate highly and keep medicating and everything will turn out great is more than a little scary as well...and didn't make for any kind of story.

Maybe if they'd have gone a bit deeper into some of the side effects...looked at the darker side of humanity and the benefits and dangers of transhumanism a bit more...but it was just hopeless.

Ah well...wonder what the original script was like?

This was a great flick! I don't know if/when it came out at the theater...I rented it on RedBox...Both I and my husband liked it. Infact, I think I even listed it as one of my top tens this year. I'm surprised it didn't do better....I'd never heard of it until I rented it.

Didn't do better?  HUH?

It did $79 Million NABO, and $162 Million WW, all on a nice $27 Million budget.  It ran 15 or 16 weeks.  Major, major success in all ways.

I thought it was very good. Saw it at the theater and just watched it again on Netflix last week. The protag is not the most likeable, for sure. Yet, when Bradley Cooper's character starts to become pressed by the Russian, i find myself cheering for him. Just like Rocky 4!

It drags a bit, but has a kick-ass climax IMO. Then, he gets the best of Deniro, it made me smile. The only thing, as I mentioned above, he wasn't the clearest of protags, but who truly is in real life? Thats why I liked it, felt gut wrenchingly real to me...

James

Well, the movie was enjoyable in a way but it was far from good. There was only one word that came to me when it finished and that was stupid. It was stupid. I mean it just had the dumbest things.

SPOILERS.

Like his first ex was already on the pills and then she randomly disappears. I mean wtf! Did she die? If so, I mustn't have been paying enough attention. Also, when he gives the pill to his second ex and she runs to some little girl, picks her up and slices the bad guy's face. I mean really? That just took me out of the film.

And when he goes to pick up the dealer's dry cleaning and comes back to find him murdered? What??? Anyway, I'm not saying I could do better but it wasn't as good as it could be IMO.

RANT/SPOILER OVER!

My mate bought the DVD and lent it to me. He seemed to enjoy it, even stating it was in his top 10. Perhaps I was expecting too much. It was enjoyable if you didn't take anything seriously so I didn't hate it if that's what my comments put it out to be.

Also, Jeff. I found this on imdb awhile back about the rating if you're interested.

"In the USA, the theatrical version was rated PG-13 (for thematic material involving a drug, violence including disturbing images, sexuality and language) by the MPAA. For the home cinema release the US audience is able to buy a DVD and a Blu-ray that both include the theatrical version as well as an "Unrated Extended Cut". Mostly, you can expect rather senseless extensions - not so for Limitless, the Unrated version is absolutely recommendable. You get to see that the movie actually had to be shortened in order to receive the PG-13 rating (you will notice the typical altered dialogues, framecuts or alternative footage)."

There was also another link somewhere about the original rating but I can't seem to find it.

Just curious, has anybody read the book?

Mohammad

Hey Mo...yeah, on IMDB, you can actually see the additional frames in the extended, uncut version.  There is 1 topless sex scene and some additional violence with the knife and needle scene.  It was definitely cut down from the original R rating it was shot on, although it appears it was a rather light R, so the cuts didn't really affect it negatively.

It's streaming on Netflix now, but I haven't rewatched it yet...probably will later this week, though.

I'm surprised by all the negativity from peeps on it, still.  IMO, it was well done, well conceived, and just one of those movies that worked, flaws and all.  If you haven't seen it yet, check it out on Netflix before it goes away.

*Some spoilers*

Actually I'm with the "I liked it" side on this one.

I loved the premise (enjoyed looking at Bradley Cooper, admitedly.)  And *overall* enjoyed the film...more than I do alot of them out there.  

Were there holes?  Yep, definitely.  For a guy that could outthink the world...he didn't realize that he needed to pay off his debt to the gangster first thing?  And the trailers were misleading ...they make one think that Cooper's character works for Robert Dinero from the beginning, and that he gave him the drug, which is far from the truth.

Was it perfect?  No. Others are right that it didn't get more than 2/3rds of the way to it's full potential and promise.  But at least the concept was fresh and different.  (Kind of the way I feel about Daybreakers - another 'different' sort of movie...)  

Neither terribly bad nor terribly good. Plenty of stupid things going on but also some entertaining stuff as well. All in all an alright way to spend 105 minutes. Cooper does pretty good I guess (though I can't stand that twat).

I heard an interesting interview with screenwriter Lesley Dixon about Limitless. There's a particular funny story as to how she secured the rights to the book. Check it out here.