A woman tricked into becoming a reluctant drug mule. A well renowned professor who may be able to help her. A ruthless drug kingpin who will stop at nothing to retrieve his stash of drugs. I’ve watched a few Luc Besson movies to know that this would be a fast paced, almost frantic movie that captures a woman on the run, with increasing strength, stealth and telekinetic power that turns the tables on the bad guys.
I’m also a Morgan Freeman fan, hence why I tuned into this movie. He plays one of the few people who can help Lucy. Now, what ticks me off about the premise of this movie is that Lucy appears to be a fairly intelligent young woman, who is studying abroad and seems to have a steady relationship with her boyfriend. Well, turns out that the boyfriend is a dud. BIG TIME. He’s such a charming guy that he dupes her into becoming a drug mule. I’ve read enough articles and seen enough documentaries to know that young women all around the world are employed (I say that term loosely – th
ey are usually beaten or sold into this sick business) as drug mules. Except that this is a movie about a woman who has some pretty serious side effects once she’s assaulted and the drugs seep into her immune system. The reality is that most drug mules die due to internal injuries or they are jailed.
In Lucy’s case, she develops hyperactive powers to the point where she can read minds, extract crucial information and literally beat the pulp out of anyone who gets in her way, especially all of drug kingpin Mr. Jang’s cronies. Personally, I didn’t feel bad that they got their just desserts. They were scum and deserved to get a good smack down. The saying “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned” could more or less apply here. Lucy not only manages to decimate anyone who attempts to come after her, she can mentally go back and forth in time and no her advantage, not feel any physical pain. Unfortunately, surgically removing the bag of drugs from her body is not enough of a preventative action. She needs help and fast, for who knows what else is going to happen to her physically, mentally, emotionally and psychologically.
Professor Samuel Norton is one of the very few people who are able to understand her condition, based on his scientific research. Another person of interest is the French police officer, Captain Pierre Rio, who assists with finding the other drug mules in France. As she travels to France to in order to get help from the French police and the Professor, she experiences pretty bad side effects and the only way to slow down this process is to ingest more of the drug that seeped into her system – the CPH4. Down the hatch they go.
Police chases, drug cartel members and gun fights ensue. Lucy begins to contemplate the meaning of life and what people are meant to do with their time on earth. As with any scientific experimentation, either things go good or they go awry. In this case, they go completely bizarre. Her transformation from a human being into that of a black substance that can invade computers and other technical or scientific equipment is just right out of left field. Some surreal time travel from present to the beginning of creation takes place and all the while Lucy is undergoing this eerie transformation, Mr. Jang and company are on her trail, blowing things up and attempting to retrieve her and the drugs.
In the most out of body, eclectic sequence in the movie, Lucy goes all the way back to the beginning, where she sees the first primate, also known as Lucy and they lightly touch at the fingertips. The bad guys don’t win – even though it looked like Lucy’s fate was sealed. She literally disappears, with only her clothes left as a clue that she was actually in Professor Norton’s laboratory. Professor Norman is the sole owner of a black flash drive – which is basically what was left of Lucy. However, she’s not gone. She’s all around us.
I don’t know….to be honest with you, I really just want to insert a True Detective Rust Cohle joke here: “Time is a flat circle” or some such weird nonsense. If you like fast paced, completely over the top plot lines, then this is the movie for you.
Judge for yourself when Lucy debuts Saturday, April 09 at 8:00pm.
