Blu-ray Review Limitless
Directed by: Neil Burger Cast: Bradley Cooper, Anna Friel, Abbie Cornish, Robert De Niro Running Time: 1 hr 45 mins Rating: PG-13 Due Out: July 19, 2011
PLOT: A floundering writer (Cooper) discovers a top-secret drug which gives him with super human abilities.
WHO'S IT FOR? I imagine this film would appeal greatly to the readers of Esquire and GQ and the like -- it plays like their articles read. However, Limitless is well-crafted enough to appeal to basically anyone. That is, unless you find spending time with Bradley Cooper a challenge, which is where I was at just awhile back. Cooper has finally grown on me though, and I liked him here quite a lot. All in all, it's pretty standard action-thriller fare, but it's stylish and face-paced enough to maintain one's interest for the duration.
MOVIE:
Until recently, I couldn’t stand Bradley Cooper — and no, it wasn’t his role in A-Team that won me over, it was, hearkening back a decade, his role in the television series Alias. Yes, I’m a total johnny-come-lately when it comes to that show, but I love it, and I love Bradley Cooper in it. He can act, I was surprised to see. Looking back, it was his success with Alias that ultimately launched his career, and now, ten years later, here he is approaching A-list status, starring in a very entertaining action film, sharing the screen with none other than, in the words of Ricky Gervais, “the greatest screen-actor to have ever lived” — Robert De Niro.
Limitless is pretty slick, pretty energized, and to be honest, I can't really think of too much to criticize. If you love soft-sci-fi action thrillers and/or Bradley Cooper, you'll eat this one up. Cooper's perfectly cast here, and considering the genre, his character is fairly fleshed out, and pretty fascinating really — he's a good-natured law-abiding (struggling) American, whose reckless punk (lurking beneath) gets a chance to not only come out and party full-on, but also to embrace alpha male success after alpha male success. It doesn't hurt to throw a little Abbie Cornish in there too, you know, for good measure.
The whole premise is very appealing, and I’m sure there's a load of Esquire and GQ readers out there whom would agree. Good stuff; a surprisingly fun watch.
MOVIE SCORE: 7/10
EXTRAS
-Theatrical and Extended Versions -Audio Commentary with Neil Burger -A Man Without Limits (5 min. HD) -Taking It to the Limit (12 min. HD) -Alternate Ending (HD) -Theatrical Trailer (HD)