These days, it seems that just about every film with a theatrical run is a remake, reboot, sequel, or spinoff of an existing franchise, leaving little to no room for new and fresh ideas in Hollywood. Luckily, this isn’t always the case, as proven by the success of Lucy, a 2014 movie starring Scarlett Johansson, which is currently streaming on Netflix. The film is an all-original script, offering Johansson the ability to place her action hero chops on display front-and-center, long before she was given the chance to lead her own MCU Black Widow film in 2021.
Helmed By Legendary Fifth Element Director
The Lucy movie was written and directed by French filmmaker Luc Besson, and centers on the debunked myth that humans can only access 10 percent of their brain functionality. Besson previously helmed such classic films as 1994’s Léon: The Professional and 1997’s The Fifth Element, so his action and sci-fi bona fides are well documented. Scarlett Johansson leads the cast of the film, alongside actors such as Choi Min-sik, Amr Waked, Julian Rhind-Tutt, Game of Thrones‘ Pilou Asbæk, and the legendary Morgan Freeman.
Scarlett Johansson Is Lucy Miller
The narrative of the Lucy movie centers on an eponymous young woman studying for a degree in Taipei, Taiwan. After getting wrapped up with an unsavory crowd thanks to her nefarious boyfriend Richard, Lucy becomes an unwilling drug mule for a Korean mob, who pack a mysterious blue substance into her body for transport across continental borders. One of the bags, which was surgically sewn into her abdomen, pops open as the gang members attempt to get Lucy to the airport, causing her to overdose on the experimental new substance, and undergo a wide array of bizarre side effects.
More Limitless Than Limitless
The drugs in Lucy aren’t your run-of-the-mill street narcotics, and behave similar to the NZT pill in the movie Limitless. The fictional substance actually improves the cognitive function of the user, causing Lucy to tap into the full potential of her brain bit by bit as the narrative progresses. As she continues fighting off hordes of gang members who hunt her down to retrieve their product, Lucy begins to develop telepathy, telekinesis, and even the ability to time travel.
Insane Premise Executed Perfectly
While the premise of Lucy is a tad bit absurd when viewed under a microscope, the movie is still a great deal of fun, and manages to perfectly blend action-adventure set-pieces with science fantasy concepts. The film was a major success at the box office, taking in just under $470 million against an estimated production budget of only $40 million, making it quite surprising that Lucy never turned into an entire franchise.
Stream Lucy On Netflix
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Lucy received mixed reviews from movie critics at large, though many general audiences have gone on to regard the film as a cult classic. Today, the film is often mentioned in conversation with other acclaimed Scarlett Johansson movies such as JoJo Rabbit, Hail Caesar, and Her. For those of you who have not yet had the chance to catch Lucy, or those simply overdue for a rewatch, the film is available to stream on Netflix now.
