LUCY (2014) REVIEW : SHE?S (NOT) REALLY HIT THE 100 % CAPACITY

Mungkin jarang yang tahu siapa itu Luc Besson, bukan? Bagaimana jika disebutkan beberapa film seperti Transporter, 3 Days To Kill, dan Taken? Ya, nama Luc Besson memang sudah tidak asing lagi di film-film aksi spionase. Pria asal perancis ini mungkin lebih banyak mengambil andil dalam menuliskan setiap adegan lewat naskah. Pun dia juga pernah mengarahkan filmnya sendiri dan pernah menyapa penontonnya di tahun lalu lewat Malavita atau The Family.

 

Kali ini, sineas perancis ini kembali menyapa penontonnya. Dengan didistribusikan oleh Universal Pictures, Luc Besson mengajak aktris cantik Scarlett Johansson di film terbarunya. Terlalu lama berkutat dengan film spionase, Luc Besson menjajal genre baru yaitu Science Fiction. Sineas asal perancis, Luc Besson mendapat kesempatan untuk mengarahkan dan menulis sendiri film terbarunya dengan judul Lucy. 

Apa yang ditawarkan oleh Lucy sebagai film science fiction? Dimulai saat Lucy (Scarlett Johansson) diberi perintah oleh sang cinta satu malamnya untuk mengantarkan koper kepada Mr. Jang (Choi-Min Sik). Pada awalnya, Lucy tidak mau hingga akhirnya Lucy terpaksa mengantarkannya ke MR. Jang karena tangan Lucy terkunci dengan koper yang harus diantar. Lucy pun berusaha menemui Mr. Jang agar bisa melepaskan diri dari koper tersebut.

Na?as, bertemunya Lucy dengan Mr. Jang malah merubah kehidupan Lucy. Mr. Jang adalah gangster yang melakukan transaksi narkoba versi terbaru, CPH4 yang harus dikirim ke berbagai belahan dunia. Lucy dijadikan seorang kurir yang mengantarkan paket CPH4 di dalam perutnya. Suatu ketika, paket berisi CPH4 di dalam perutnya ini bocor dan meracuni organ tubuhnya. Tak disangka, CPH4 mengubah Lucy sehingga bisa menggunakan kemampuan otaknya hingga 100 persen. 

Risky way to talk about human.

Setelah lama terus berkutat pada proyek-proyek film spionase, Luc Besson menjajal genre Science Fiction yang bisa menjadi bumerang bagi dirinya. Lucy memang memiliki tidak menawarkan hal baru untuk film ini. Sebuah obat sintetis buatan baru yang merubah kegunaan organ tubuh manusia yang sudah pernah digunakan di film Limitless. Tetapi, sesuatu berbeda digunakan oleh Luc Besson dalam presentasi di film Lucy kali ini.

Apa yang berbeda? Ya, penggunaan narasi untuk memaparkan setiap adegan film Lucy inilah yang berbeda. Mungkin, Luc Besson menginginkan sesuatu eksperimental namun tetap mempertahankan gaya khas Luc Besson dalam film-film spionase-nya seperti biasa. Ditilik dari bagaimana Lucy ini memaparkan proses evolusi manusia bisa dibilang mencomot atau berkiblat pada film milik Stanley Kubrick's 2001 : A Space Odyssey (dan memang Luc Besson terinspirasi dari film tersebut) bertemu dengan Terrence Malick's The Tree of Life.

Menawarkan beberapa lambang atau pun simbol metaforik yang menuntun penonton ke dalam 89 menit tentang Lucy dan perubahannya. Visual layaknya sel-sel, proses terbentuknya bumi, zaman pra-histori yang bisa dibilang berada di luar konteks film Lucy sendiri menemani penonton untuk menangkap sendiri makna dari narasi Luc Besson yang tidak seperti biasanya. Sangat mengejutkan terlebih film Lucy ini sendiri masih dipromosikan sebagai film science fiction mainstream untuk menarik penonton. 

Lucy bisa dibilang adalah sebuah film yang eksperimental bagi Luc Besson. Mungkin di film ini, sineas asal perancis ini berusaha untuk keluar dari zona nyamannya untuk menyajikan sebuah film science fiction yang juga masih penuh dengan signature ala dirinya tetapi dengan penuturan metaforik yang merupakan hal yang baru baginya which is good but there?s something bad happened too in this movie. Ya, sesuatu yang cukup riskan untuk memaparkan narasi film Lucy dengan cara yang berbeda ini karena akan membuat penontonnya terbelah ke dalam dua kubu yang berbeda. Di mana akan ada penonton yang menyukainya dan ada penonton yang akan sangat membenci film Lucy.

Tetapi Lucy bukan berarti suatu film metaforik masterpiece dengan unsur fiksi ilmiah layaknya 2001 : A Space Odyssey. Lucy masih memiliki banyak keterbatasan yang harusnya bisa diolah ulang agar lebih baik. Film ini terkesan ambisius untuk memaparkan narasinya yang absurd itu dengan fast pace non-stop action yang menarik penonton awam. Akhirnya, film ini seperti memiliki dua babak yang berdiri sendiri dan mencoba untuk dipersatukan tetapi masih ada dinding yang membatasi hal tersebut. 

Untuk sebuah film science fiction pun, konsentrasi Luc Besson masih tidak bisa terfokus dan meninggalkan signature-nya. Akhirnya, Lucy pun not stay on the science fiction track tetapi menjadi film aksi non-stop di segmen kedua filmnya. Kesan ambisiusnya untuk mencoba keluar dari zona nyamannya pun terlalu berlebihan. Ya ada baiknya untuk Luc Besson, akhirnya dia berkonsentrasi di bagian cerita agar berjalan seimbang. Tetapi, hal tersebut malah membuat Luc Besson tersesat dan tidak tahu bagaimana caranya untuk membawa cerita menarik ini berakhir. 

Ending film bisa dibilang hampa dan tidak memiliki pengertian yang cukup jelas. Sepertinya Luc Besson memang sengaja untuk memberikan sebuah ending yang hampa tersebut tanpa penjelasan yang cukup agar penonton bisa berinterpretasi sendiri dengan adegan tersebut. Beberapa akan menyebut ending tersebut menggelikan meskipun 10 menit akhir adalah sebuah perjalanan evolusi yang cukup memiliki arti lambang yang cukup dalam. 

Seperti halnya karakter Lucy di film ini yang tak sengaja menjadi kelinci percobaan dari obat sintetis CPH4, film arahan Luc Besson ini pun bernasib sama. Ini sesuatu eksperimental karya Luc Besson yang mencoba keluar dari zona nyamannya. Menarik jika disimak ketika filosofi penggunaan otak manusia hingga proses evolusi yang ditampilkan secara metaforik dan di-blend dengan non-stop fast paced action ala Luc Besson. Meskipun terlalu over the top dan penanganan yang masih mediocre, Lucy belum bisa menjadi masterpiece tetapi ini adalah sebuah film science fiction yang sayang untuk dilewatkan. 

AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON: Satisfyingly More Of The Same

Now playing at every multiplex in the galaxy and beyond:

AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON

(Dir. Joss Whedon, 2015)

If you live on planet Earth, you?re aware that today the Marvel machine is rolling out the biggest super hero movie of the year - sorry, ANT-MAN, but, c?mon!

AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON (from this point on, A:AOU), the sequel to the biggest superhero movie of 2012, THE AVENGERS, and the 11th entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise that began with the first IRON MAN back in 2008, is here to officially kick off the summer 2015 movie season - sorry, FURIOUS 7.

But if you?re reading this, you most likely know all that, and just want to know if this highly anticipated, star-studded, and CGI-saturated production lives up to its huge hype.

I?ll say - yeah, it does. I had a tremendous amount of fun watching the reunited team - Iron Man/Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America/Steve Rodgers (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Clint Barton/Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), The Hulk/Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), and Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) ? working together with lots of wit and energy to defeat the powerful robotic villain Ultron (voiced by James Spader).

This adventure begins with an already-in-progress action sequence, involving the comic book crew storming the castle of Hydra leader Baron von Strucker (Thomas Kretschmann) in the icy terrain of the fictional European nation of Sokovia.

Amid the standard chaos and wisecracks (most of which are pretty funny) we are introduced to a couple of new characters, brother and sister duo Pietro/Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen). ?He?s fast, she?s weird,? is what SHIELD?s Maria Hill (the also returning Cobie Smulders) says of their powers, which means that Pietro can move at supersonic speeds, while Wanda can manipulate minds with magic.

The Avengers rescue Loki?s scepter, one of the McGuffins of the series, and return to their headquarters at the Stark Tower Complex in Manhattan, where we actually get to hang out with the guys as they party, and engage in a game of taking turns trying to lift Thor?s hammer. Meanwhile, Stark?s Ultron project, which is supposed to be a global peacekeeping program, is co-opted by the scepter and becomes sentient.

That means Spader, who in addition to providing the voice, performed on set in a motion-capture suit, takes over as the movie?s major villain, and sets out to wipe out humanity (?There is only one path to peace... your extinction?).

As if he thinks we don?t have enough characters to keep up with, Whedon keeps piling them on. We meet Barton?s (Renner, in case you forgot) wife (Linda Cardellini of Freaks and Geeks and Mad Men fame) and kids living at a ?safe house? farm where the Avengers lay low between battles, geneticist Helen Cho (Claudia Kim) who gets co-opted by Ultron, arms dealer Ulysses Klaue (Andy Serkis, a motion capture master himself), and the re-occuring role of Stark?s A.I. companion J.A.R.V.I.S. (voiced by Paul Betttany) is expanded via a red and green android body (Bettany in the flesh).

There?s also the many cameos from the MCU including Don Cheadle getting in a few good one-liners again as as James ?Rhodey? Rhodes/War Machine and Anthony Mackie getting in a few glaring grins as Sam Wilson/Falcon, along with appearances by Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter, Idris Elba as Heimdall, and of course, Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, who no Marvel movie should be without. And yes, there?s a Stan Lee cameo, but, c'mon, you knew there would be.

Yes, A:AOU covers every single fan-pleasing base it can in its 2 hour and 21 minute running time and is a pretty bloated affair because of it, but it swiftly juggles all these strands until they collide in the big climax set on a ginourmous hunk of a Sokovian city land mass that Ultron has lifted from the earth and is planning on crashing down. The Avengers try to save the city's people while warring with the armies of robots that are all forms of Ultron (in a MATRIX sort of way I guess).

The special effects, of course put together by thousands of digital artists, are flawlessly top notch, but it?s the human moments that give a lot of heart, soul, and humor to this enterprise. A romance blooming between Ruffalo?s Banner (another invested portrayal - where's this guy's Hulk movie?) and Johansson?s Romanoff adds a thoughtful touch, and while Downey Jr.?s Stark is still full of snark, there?s an unmistakable conscience behind it. The rest of the gang also have their moments, but Hemsworth's Thor is still my least favorite Avenger.

Spader, even with only a mechanical presence, makes for a powerfully worthy foe, one who gets his share of well delivered quips and takes delight in destruction.

If this is Whedon?s final fling with the super hero franchise, he went out with a multitude of big bangs. Maybe they?re all riffs on the familiar formulaic tropes of the genre we?re all used to, but that doesn?t make them any less effective. 

A:AOU is winningly and satisfyingly more of the same; it?s everything a superhero superfan would want out of a Marvel movie. Non fans who haven?t been won over by any of the movies in the series before won?t be converted by it, but I seriously doubt many of them will have read this far into this review anyway.

More later...

AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON: Satisfyingly More Of The Same

Now playing at every multiplex in the galaxy and beyond:

AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON

(Dir. Joss Whedon, 2015)

If you live on planet Earth, you?re aware that today the Marvel machine is rolling out the biggest super hero movie of the year - sorry, ANT-MAN, but, c?mon!

AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON (from this point on, A:AOU), the sequel to the biggest superhero movie of 2012, THE AVENGERS, and the 11th entry in the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise that began with the first IRON MAN back in 2008, is here to officially kick off the summer 2015 movie season - sorry, FURIOUS 7.

But if you?re reading this, you most likely know all that, and just want to know if this highly anticipated, star-studded, and CGI-saturated production lives up to its huge hype.

I?ll say - yeah, it does. I had a tremendous amount of fun watching the reunited team - Iron Man/Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.), Captain America/Steve Rodgers (Chris Evans), Thor (Chris Hemsworth), Clint Barton/Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner), The Hulk/Bruce Banner (Mark Ruffalo), and Natasha Romanoff/Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson) ? working together with lots of wit and energy to defeat the powerful robotic villain Ultron (voiced by James Spader).

This adventure begins with an already-in-progress action sequence, involving the comic book crew storming the castle of Hydra leader Baron von Strucker (Thomas Kretschmann) in the icy terrain of the fictional European nation of Sokovia.

Amid the standard chaos and wisecracks (most of which are pretty funny) we are introduced to a couple of new characters, brother and sister duo Pietro/Quicksilver (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) and Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen). ?He?s fast, she?s weird,? is what SHIELD?s Maria Hill (the also returning Cobie Smulders) says of their powers, which means that Pietro can move at supersonic speeds, while Wanda can manipulate minds with magic.

The Avengers rescue Loki?s scepter, one of the McGuffins of the series, and return to their headquarters at the Stark Tower Complex in Manhattan, where we actually get to hang out with the guys as they party, and engage in a game of taking turns trying to lift Thor?s hammer. Meanwhile, Stark?s Ultron project, which is supposed to be a global peacekeeping program, is co-opted by the scepter and becomes sentient.

That means Spader, who in addition to providing the voice, performed on set in a motion-capture suit, takes over as the movie?s major villain, and sets out to wipe out humanity (?There is only one path to peace... your extinction?).

As if he thinks we don?t have enough characters to keep up with, Whedon keeps piling them on. We meet Barton?s (Renner, in case you forgot) wife (Linda Cardellini of Freaks and Geeks and Mad Men fame) and kids living at a ?safe house? farm where the Avengers lay low between battles, geneticist Helen Cho (Claudia Kim) who gets co-opted by Ultron, arms dealer Ulysses Klaue (Andy Serkis, a motion capture master himself), and the re-occuring role of Stark?s A.I. companion J.A.R.V.I.S. (voiced by Paul Betttany) is expanded via a red and green android body (Bettany in the flesh).

There?s also the many cameos from the MCU including Don Cheadle getting in a few good one-liners again as as James ?Rhodey? Rhodes/War Machine and Anthony Mackie getting in a few glaring grins as Sam Wilson/Falcon, along with appearances by Hayley Atwell as Peggy Carter, Idris Elba as Heimdall, and of course, Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, who no Marvel movie should be without. And yes, there?s a Stan Lee cameo, but, c'mon, you knew there would be.

Yes, A:AOU covers every single fan-pleasing base it can in its 2 hour and 21 minute running time and is a pretty bloated affair because of it, but it swiftly juggles all these strands until they collide in the big climax set on a ginourmous hunk of a Sokovian city land mass that Ultron has lifted from the earth and is planning on crashing down. The Avengers try to save the city's people while warring with the armies of robots that are all forms of Ultron (in a MATRIX sort of way I guess).

The special effects, of course put together by thousands of digital artists, are flawlessly top notch, but it?s the human moments that give a lot of heart, soul, and humor to this enterprise. A romance blooming between Ruffalo?s Banner (another invested portrayal - where's this guy's Hulk movie?) and Johansson?s Romanoff adds a thoughtful touch, and while Downey Jr.?s Stark is still full of snark, there?s an unmistakable conscience behind it. The rest of the gang also have their moments, but Hemsworth's Thor is still my least favorite Avenger.

Spader, even with only a mechanical presence, makes for a powerfully worthy foe, one who gets his share of well delivered quips and takes delight in destruction.

If this is Whedon?s final fling with the super hero franchise, he went out with a multitude of big bangs. Maybe they?re all riffs on the familiar formulaic tropes of the genre we?re all used to, but that doesn?t make them any less effective. 

A:AOU is winningly and satisfyingly more of the same; it?s everything a superhero superfan would want out of a Marvel movie. Non fans who haven?t been won over by any of the movies in the series before won?t be converted by it, but I seriously doubt many of them will have read this far into this review anyway.

More later...

Lucy

***DISCLAIMER*** The following review is entirely my opinion. If you comment (which I encourage you to do) be respectful. If you don't agree with my opinion, that's fine. To each their own. These reviews are not meant to be statements of facts or endorsements, I am just sharing my opinions and my perspective when watching the film and is not meant to reflect how these films should be viewed. Finally, the reviews are given on a scale of 0-5. 0, of course, being unwatchable. 1, being terrible. 2, being not great. 3, being okay. 4, being great and 5, being epic! And if you enjoy these reviews feel free to share them and follow the blog or follow me on Twitter (@RevRonster) for links to my reviews and the occasional live-Tweet session of the movie I'm watching! The film doesn't go into it but her last name is Goosey.

Lucy ? 2 out of 5

Here?s another movie that pushes the myth that we humans only utilize 10% of our brains and that if we were able to use all 100%, we would somehow gain superpowers that would instantly grant use a full free ride to Charles Xavier?s School for Gifted Youngsters. The reality is we DO use 100% of our brain and NO we don?t have dormant super powers waiting to be unleashed (and believe me, that last fact depresses the hell out of me). However, movies are work of fiction and I don?t expect reality?I want to be entertained and often people with freakish powers are entertaining as hell. Add to the fact that the person with said freakish powers is the very talented Scarlett Johansson?or as some call her ScarJo?but I call her Lettson?and it seems like I was in for a fun, action-packed romp. The reality? Not even close.

Oh shit, the internet hoax about losing gravity wasn't a hoax after all!

After her boyfriend forces her to make an illicit delivery to a shady man, Lucy (Lettson) finds herself submerged into the world of drug-based crime. An evil drug kingpin named Mr. Jang (Min-sik Choi) had his men surgically place a bag of a powerful drug into her abdomen but when Mr. Jang?s men get too rough with her, the bag ruptures and she begins absorbing the drug. She soon learns that the narcotic is opening up her mind and it seems the more open her brain (or brian, if you spelled it wrong) gets, the less limits are restricting her in nearly every aspect of her reality. 

It's a hell of a drug.

However, this comes at a price as the more she is able to use her mind, the shorter her own morality gets. Quickly, she seeks out the brilliant Professor Norman (Morgan Freeman) in order to show him what the mind is truly capable of and to try to pass on what she?s learned before she dies. The biggest problem is that Mr. Jang is not happy and he?s doing what a lot of drug kingpins do when they are not happy?if I have to spell out what Mr. Jang plans to do then you haven?t seen many movies.

Wait...this kinda looks like another Scarlett Johansson film...

Lucy starts out decent enough. The film is a tad tongue-in-cheek and has some silly?but fun?foreshadowing gags during the opening sequences. Sadly, that?s about as good as the film got for me because the rest of the time the film sits knee-deep in its bad movie science and pseudo-philosophy.  Then, when writer/director Luc Besson isn?t thinking he?s being deep with the film?s dialogue, the film spends the rest of the time feeling like the beginning of the First Act and can?t quit escape into what needs to be a action-packed Second Act and a completely epic Third Act.

"Hey you guys!!!"

One reason that made the movie feel like it was never really making any forward progress was the fact that the film?s antagonist, Oldboy?s Min-sik Choi, isn?t really developed and I never really got a feeling that he actually had some plan he was enacting. A little mystery is good but when I spend the whole movie saying, "What exactly was his operation to begin with?" it makes for a weak film experience and an even weaker antagonist...which, in turn, harms the protagonist by failing to give them a decent barrier to leap over.

But, at least this time his story didn't end with him having sex with his daughter.

Finally, the film ends on a real light note that's complete with an utter lack of luster and is totally underwhelming. When the end of the film is nearing, it feels like the movie is about to hit its nutso Third Act and shit is about to hit the fan?shit was already getting crazy at this point but it felt like it was building to something even more crazy?but then *BAM* the film fades out and ends. It made the entire film feel very empty and, in retrospect, makes all the minor action and conflict I already witness feel unnecessary and almost pointless.

His "trapped in a box" is second-to-none.

Acting wise, the film is very good. Lettson, Freeman and Choi are all doing very well in the film but their characters don?t have much going on with them. Lucy might be the most dynamic and deepest of them all but as the story progressed and her characters gains more abilities and loses her humanity, she started to lose the potential to be the action badass the trailer and early moments of her drug-induced awakening promised and she became very unlikable to me and any depth she might have held was rendered moot. I get that she?s become more logical and less feeling but the amount of innocent people she was willing to mow down in her journey to pass on her knowledge didn?t really make her that good of a character to watch. While Lettson played the character well (except for the moments she is giving an emotional reaction after the character of Lucy says she no longer feels emotions?but more on that soon), the fact is I just wasn?t interested in her character and didn?t really find her that compelling to watch.  To top it off, she would become less and less interesting as the film went on.  In reality, she should have been more interesting as more of her brain is unlocked.

Her character sucks but she knows how to hold a gun like the cool kids do.

Now, finally finally (I know I said the last paragraph was my final issue but what are you going to do?), this movie has a lot of plot holes. Aside from the fact this film pushes the myth about using only 10% of your brain and the constant showing of emotion after Lucy says she no longer feels those pesky things, there are tons of moments in the plot that make no sense and are counterproductive to the whole "Lucy is becoming omnipotent and knows all stuff." Or the fact that Morgan Freeman's character is suppose to be super intelligent but gives off the wrong estimate that is commonly used by the scientific community about how old the planet is (and is off by a couple of billion years).  Or the fact Lucy is giving off medical expertise of certain body parts from x-rays that don't show the body part.  While this seems nitpicky, it?s a reflection of the whole subject of the story and becomes quite laughable when you realize this film took a decade to make and, the whole time, these moments weren't ever researched or given much consideration.

You just read this caption in Morgan Freeman's voice...or you didn't.
I don't know.

And finally finally finally (yes, I know I already said finally twice already), this film is very light on the action. The trailer and promotional material for this film say it is an "action epic" but, aside from a single fight in a hallway where Lucy doesn?t even bother throwing a punch and just levitates her attackers towards the ceiling, I didn?t really see any action sequence in the film that was that memorable or even remotely interesting. 

"I should be angry but this is funnnn!"

I really wanted to like Lucy because I was sold on the trailer and, honestly, seeing Lettson with kick-ass powers that she uses to kick ass seems like a decent popcorn action film that I can zone out to, kick up my feet, and just enjoy. Sadly, the story is pretty weak, the action isn?t very spectacular, and the film?s numerous plot holes ended up making the film pretty forgettable for me.