Dir. Neil Burger
Cast: Bradley Cooper, Abbie Cornish, Robert DeNiro, Anna Friel
We have all imagined what our lives could be if there was just one quick fix to sort out all of our problems. And that is exactly what Eddie Morra finds in a mysterious clear pill called NZT. The drug instantly activates the entire brain, spilling out facts, numbers, details and knowledge that would otherwise be lying dormant. It makes Eddie a very rich, very powerful man. However, he soon discovers that there is a very dark and deadly side to this life enhancing drug and finds himself on the run from some unsavoury (yet disappointingly stereotypical) underworld characters.
The film uses a lot of choppy, fast paced sequences, designed to mimic the effects of NZT on its addicts. However, this is often disorientating and prevents the story from flowing. Similarly, the first half of the film plays out very much like a typical action thriller, with a bit of flashy camerawork and photography thrown in. As Morra delves deeper into the world of addiction, however, the heart pumping action moments are replaced by some fairly gratuitous bloody fight scenes. Of course, we are being shown the seriousness of the situation, and the lengths to which NZT addiction will take its users, but it just didn't seem to fit the rest of the film. I didn't need to see a man being stabbed in the eye with a syringe!
Bradley Cooper (really the selling point of this movie for me) plays a likeable character, who you just wish manages to free himself of his addiction. DeNiro is intimidating as Morra's boss, but does not make such an impact in this film that you would rank it highly among his other cinematic achievements. And Morra's on-again-off-again girlfriend Lindy (Cornish) is flawlessly beautiful but rather incomplete as a character.
In short, the film is interesting and watchable to the end - which offers perhaps the most cunning and well put together scene in the movie. However, it is slightly clunky and self indulgent in its execution.
My rating: *** 3/5 stars
Recommendation: For a fast paced drug-based thriller, it does the job.
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