Blu-Ray/Movie Review: Limitless

 

Limitless is a movie that starred Bradley Cooper as a down-on-his-luck writer named Eddie Mora. Eddie's ex-brother-in-law gives him a sample of a new nootropic called NZT-48 which allows Eddie to have perfect recall and the ability to analyze information almost immediately. He uses the ability to invest in the stock market and make himself rich, which puts him on the radar of multiple shady characters. He also begins to experience side effects of the drug that get worse as time goes by.

For those who get the Blu-Ray, the A/V quality of the movie is very good, especially being a non-blockbuster movie. The disc has two versions of the movie, the theatrical version, and an extended version. The extended does not extend the movie by much time, it just keeps in a bit more swearing, sex, and violence that is edited out of the theatrical edition in a handful of scenes. But, it does not substantially change the movie at all. There is a commentary track with the director and a couple of short (less than five minutes) making-of featurettes.

Overall, the movie is good. Besides Cooper, the other name actor in the movie is Robert De Niro and includes Abbie Cornish and Anna Friel in supporting roles. Of course, the movie is based on the widely debunked myth that humans can only use 10-20% of their brain's ability and that a magic pill can somehow unlock more (in the case of NZT, it allows a person to access and use 100% of their brain's potential). So, while you do have to suspend your disbelief to accept the premise, Cooper does a great job both in the slacker version of Eddie and the cleaned-up, polished version. At the end of the movie, we learn that Eddie is going to run for the US Senate, which is continued in the storyline of the TV series that Cooper produced and guest-starred in as Eddie. Although, some of the rules about NZT get tweaked from the movie when it goes to the series. So, if you like the movie, the overall storyline has more to it. So, if you like suspense-dramas, this is definitely worth checking out.

DVD/TV Series Review: Limitless

 

Limitless was mostly an adaptation, but partly a continuation of the movie of the same name starring Bradley Cooper. Like the movie, the premise of the series is based on the myth that humans only access 10 percent of their brain's power which can be expanded by taking a nootropic drug called NZT-48, which unlocks the full potential of the human mind. Jake McDorman, who up to this point in his career played character parts in either guest starring or recurring roles on series like Shameless and House, had been a series lead in a few short-lived relatively unknown shows, as well as having a few movie credits under his belt, plays Brian Finch, a 28-year old musician who has to take odd jobs to keep himself afloat. He is mainly a slacker with little direction in his life. He is given NZT and for 12 hours becomes incredibly smart, with perfect recall, and is able to solve any problem. In the pilot, he becomes the suspect in a murder investigation and uses NZT to figure out who the real murderer is. Cooper reprises his role from the movie, Eddie Mora, as a recurring character, who is a senator with presidential aspirations. He provides Brian with a shot that counteracts the devastating side effects of NZT, and Brian ends up becoming a consultant for the FBI working with Special Agent Rebecca Harris (played by Dexter's Jennifer Carpenter, in her first big role after Dexter ended) and Special Agent Spelman Boyle (played by Hill Harper) who is less than enthused to have Brian as a consultant. Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio plays FBI Special Agent in Charge Nasreen "Naz" Poura, who assigns missions to the team.

The series is definitely a bit uneven, and it took a while to really find its footing. Early in the season, episodes included more of Brian's family, played by Ron Rifkin (of Alias) as Brian's father, Blair Brown (from Fringe) as Brian's mother, and Megan Guinan as Brian's sister, Rachel. About halfway through the season, the series shifted to focusing a lot less on Brian's personal life (mainly because of the backlash from viewers over the recreational use of marijuana by Brian and Rachel) and focused almost exclusively on the FBI cases. Cooper made a handful of appearances throughout the season but did not have as large a role in the show as the previews for the series made it seem, I think the fact that Cooper did not have a larger part in the show ultimately hurt the show in the long run.

For those who get the DVD set (the series only got a DVD physical media release), the extras include series promos, a handful of behind-the-scenes featurettes, a commentary track on the episode Headquarters!, and a gag reel. A decent amount for a series that only lasted one season.

Overall, the series is very good, despite the rougher start when the series was trying to figure out if it wanted to be a straight drama or more of a blended drama and comedy. It was mostly a case-of-the-week procedural crime drama but also had some serial storylines. The acting was great, especially once a single tone was picked, and all of the characters (even the ancillary ones) were given good material to work with. The series, thankfully, does not end on a total cliffhanger, but it ended in a way that was definitely setting up a second season that would ultimately never come. So, if you watch it and get into it, you may be disappointed that not everything gets resolved by the end. That said, it is still a very good series that is worth watching.