Trailer Review: Lucy (2014)

Lucy (Johansson) is enjoying a night out in a club when somebody slips a drug into her drink. She wakes up the next morning with no memory of what happened and is then kidnapped by gangsters. To make matters worse her captors sewed a bunch of drug packages into her stomach while she was drugged. They then try to force her to deliver the drugs as a mule to their cronies but that plan quickly backfires. Unfortunately for the hoods one of the drug bags accidentally leaks into Lucy’s bloodstream and the consequences will be severe. Whatever is in the drugs is so powerful that it gives Lucy super strength, speed and superior intelligence to all other people.

The film is mainly about Lucy’s mission to exact revenge on those responsible for doing this to her. At the same time, Lucy gradually becomes more intelligent as she learns to use parts of the brain that are off limits to other mere mortals. The downside is that she also begins to lose what it is that makes her a human being. She starts to become cold and emotionless like a machine who views other humans as inferior. There is a danger that she will quickly become a law unto herself and a serious threat to all other people.

Johansson is very well cast here as she is able to be both vulnerable and then ruthless when the film requires it. The actress proved she can play an action heroine with a soft side when she appeared as Black Widow in The Avengers and Captain America: The Winter Soldier. She also plays a cold, hard character in Jonathan Glazer’s Under the Skin. Morgan Freeman is also a reliable presence as he plays a boffin who knows all about the human mind. He will no doubt be able to shed light on some of the things that are happening to Lucy and also the possible consequences of her changes. The film borrows a few ideas from Limitless which had a similar concept and also quite similar special effects.

The trailer is full of action as it features Lucy exacting revenge on her captors with steely-eyed determination. Fans of Luc Besson will be pleased as he appears to have made another high concept action flick with a convincing female heroine. He certainly has experience with this kind of film as he made La Femme Nikita back in 1990 which featured a female assassin (Anne Parillaud.) He also directed The Fifth Element which featured another super powered woman played by Milla Jovovich. The trailer gives the viewer brief glimpses of Lucy’s abilities without spoiling too much which is cool. It also charts her gradual change from a normal woman into a cold super heroine rather effectively.

Lucy could be just another action flick but there is also potential for the film to also be thought provoking and have a little depth. Fans can check out the film when it is released on August 8th in the US and on the 22nd here in the UK. Have a look at the trailer and share your thoughts.