‘Lucy’ runs wild with its take on the human mind

The central tenet in “Lucy,” a Luc Besson-directed film starring Scarlett Johansson and Morgan Freeman, requires you to make a bit of a distinction without really explaining it to you.

The premise, frequently explained to us via the ever-soothing Freeman, revolves around the belief that humans only use 10 percent of their “mental capacity.” That phrase is what matters here, because the real-life idea that humans only use 10 percent of their brain has been more or less debunked. The science shows that nearly every part of our brains are constantly active and in use to some extent. “Lucy,” though, makes a distinction between use and control and runs wilds with the latter. If humans could control their brains and maximize conscious utility of that power-hungry organ (weighs 3 percent of your body mass but consumes 20 percent of your body’s energy), the possibilities would be both endless and infinite.

Enter Lucy (Johansson), a bit of a lackluster individual who finds herself in the wrong place at the wrong time. Intelligent through seemingly lazy and subject to whim, Lucy finds herself serving as a drug mule for a Korean drug lord gangster while in Taipei. Her cargo: the ever-so-interesting CPH4, a compound created by pregnant women to help their child grow. Apparently, in extremely small quantities, the chemical is a boon. But when half a kilo leaks while still inside Lucy’s body, she begins undergoing a dramatic psionic, nearly god-like transformation. It’s basically just a souped-up version of 5-Hour Energy.

Click here to read the full review at TDN.com.

Three aptly titled stars out of five.

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Lucy finds herself gaining extraordinary powers in “Lucy,” which she then uses to exact vengeance on her former captors. (Photo credit: Universal Studios)