Lucy

Writer-director Luc Besson, the French madman behind giddy, gaudy pieces of pop-art like La Femme Nikita and The Fifth Element, is well and truly in his element with the completely nonsensical but thoroughly entertaining sci-fi action-thriller Lucy. Okay, perhaps not completely nonsensical. There are some scientific and philosophical ideas in here that could merit further discussion, and their inclusion gives Lucy a strange, surreal kick. But its main notion – the theory that we only use ten per cent of our brain’s capabilities – is one that has been debunked time and again by some fairly big-brained people. Still, having someone able to utilise 100 per cent of their brain is a pretty nifty hook for a story, not a mention a pretty nifty way for Scarlett Johansson’s Lucy to gain some superhuman abilities.

After an unauthorised operation by the ruthless Mr Jang (Choi Min-sik, the star of the marvellous Korean thriller Oldboy), Lucy is an unwilling drug mule, transporting a bag full of an experimental new narcotic in her belly. But when the bag starts leaking after she is brutally assaulted, she starts changing in some unexpected ways. As her brain power escalates, Lucy’s seemingly able to do everything from manipulate energy to travel through time. She has to avoid Jang and his bloodthirsty gang but how much trouble can a pack of guys with guns cause a woman who’s rapidly evolving into some kind of god?

You have to give Besson his due: he throws a lot of stuff against the wall with Lucy and a surprising amount of it not only sticks but forms something compelling and captivating. His trump card is Johansson, an actress of incredible control and precision. She moves beautifully and purposefully, and she conveys curiosity as well as anyone working today.