Limitless

[Gray_Area]

I saw this last night, off the cuff from a site suggestion. Though it had some weak story spots, I thought it was pretty decent. Anyone here seen it?

[Well Fed Games]

I saw this last night, off the cuff from a site suggestion. Though it had some weak story spots, I thought it was pretty decent. Anyone here seen it?

Yeah, thought it was interesting, but the abandoned, unresolved plot-line about him possibly murdering a woman really bugged me. I assume that was one of weak story spots you refer to. Whole thing could have been "tighter," especially how they portrayed his relationships. Worth a watch for sure.

[shmokes]

God, I've been especially cumudgeonly lately. I thought it was awful. It was riddled with plot holes, but the one that just ruined the whole movie was that he was constantly doing retarded things, which kind of ruins the whole, "I'm a bajillion times smarter than anyone else in the world," dynamic. At every turn I was like, "WTF . . . why . . . would you do that?"

Had potential, but a film with a premise like that has to be written by a much smarter person than whoever wrote Limitless.

[kahlid74]

God, I've been especially cumudgeonly lately. I thought it was awful. It was riddled with plot holes, but the one that just ruined the whole movie was that he was constantly doing retarded things, which kind of ruins the whole, "I'm a bajillion times smarter than anyone else in the world," dynamic. At every turn I was like, "WTF . . . why . . . would you do that?"

Had potential, but a film with a premise like that has to be written by a much smarter person than whoever wrote Limitless.

This.  I pretty much had a huge issue the moment he was "dumb" enough to borrow from a loan shark and then proceeded to "not" pay him back.  I'm pretty sure that if you made bajillions in the stock market you'd be smart enough to pay the loan shark back 20k.  At that point I was angered by the obvious attempt at suspense and action with the story involving said loan shark.

[Gray_Area]

It's hard to say what, even augmented, people would do in certain situations. In the story, people could still get distracted with their new greatness.

[shmokes]

No . . . that's not the story the movie told. This guy didn't miss things. That's the whole point of the drug. He explicitly says so in the final scene of the movie, when he makes it clear to DeNiro that he'll always be two steps ahead of him. It's problematic to have a superhuman intelligence constantly doing things that the human observer in the audience is way too smart to do. You see that. That is what kept distracting me and pulling me out of my suspension of disbelief while I watched.

And don't get me started on all the other asinine things in the movie, like his ultra secure apartment that had like a hollow tin door that could be brute-forced open in about a minute with no special tools, or the safe in his apartment that could be opened with an ax, like a super-intelligent person with a finite supply of pills who starts taking two per day for the incremental increase in smartness, like getting his fix by taking a sip of someone's blood who had taken a pill--not drinking all the guy's blood or even 4-5 quarts (which still would only be a fraction of a dose since much or the pill would be metabolized already), but just a sip . . . And there's the nonsensical murder subplot that was never resolved.

The whole thing was just way too sloppy, and written by someone not nearly smart enough to pull off a character that smart.

[ark_ader]

I liked it.  I do not need realism in a fictional story.

[Vigo]

I enjoyed it....I guess I don't require complete believably in a film like this. Sure, the conflict was sporadic, and there were a number of plot holes, but It told a good story with an interesting concept in the process. I guess since I just randomly watched the movie with zero anticipation or expectation, I don't really feel the need to nerd rage at it. The movie felt low budget and not concerned with making the story deserving of an academy award or anything. I'm not saying complaints don't have merit. I just don't think it's a big deal that a movie like this be flawless.

[shmokes]

I guess I don't require complete believably in a film like this.

Nor I. I had no problem with the plot holes or incredible aspects of Inception, or even the giant holes in The Matrix. I thought both of those were great. I could go on and on with a list of films. This movie just didn't manage it, IMO. It wasn't just little things that didn't add up upon reflection. It was the core of the movie. The movie was pretty much about exactly one thing: showing how smart this guy had become. But nonstop he was doing not just less-than-brilliant things, but WTF? things--things that nobody in the audience would be stupid enough to do. Well . . .maybe Ark, but that hardly counts.

[ark_ader]

But nonstop he was doing not just less-than-brilliant things, but WTF?Huh things--things that nobody in the audience would be stupid enough to do. Well . . .maybe Ark, but that hardly counts.

   Got a job yet?

[shmokes]

  Aww . . . Ark. That's sweet.

[ark_ader]

Well you are so very clever you must have limitless opportunities. 

[Gray_Area]

No . . . that's not the story the movie told. This guy didn't miss things. That's the whole point of the drug. He explicitly says so in the final scene of the movie, when he makes it clear to DeNiro that he'll always be two steps ahead of him. It's problematic to have a superhuman intelligence constantly doing things that the human observer in the audience is way too smart to do. You see that. That is what kept distracting me and pulling me out of my suspension of disbelief while I watched.

And don't get me started on all the other asinine things in the movie, like his ultra secure apartment that had like a hollow tin door that could be brute-forced open in about a minute with no special tools, or the safe in his apartment that could be opened with an ax, like a super-intelligent person with a finite supply of pills who starts taking two per day for the incremental increase in smartness, like getting his fix by taking a sip of someone's blood who had taken a pill--not drinking all the guy's blood or even 4-5 quarts (which still would only be a fraction of a dose since much or the pill would be metabolized already), but just a sip . . . And there's the nonsensical murder subplot that was never resolved.

The whole thing was just way too sloppy, and written by someone not nearly smart enough to pull off a character that smart.

You mean like Michael Crighton?

I had a hard time with Inception, actually, possibly because it attempted to be so fabulous. But you can only pull off so well mashing together  (first and foremost, 1983's) Dreamscape, The Matrix, Mission Impossible, and What Dreams May Come.

There is a point De Niro's character makes, about experience, and that often gives people the incentive or/and inclination to think in certain ways. For example, I've seen people who've been trained to be ultra observant, yet they don't think of some things I would, and vice-versa.

[Vigo]

I think the movie perhaps did not elaborate enough on how the drug was seriously flawed. It was no Huey Lewis magic drug. Perhaps that is what you are hung up on, Shmokes. Think about how everyone who was taking the drug was never thinking their situation over and ended up as a bunch of deadbrained addicts on withdrawal.  An intelligent person, when taking a random street drug, will naturally think about chance of addiction, dangers of withdrawal, source of supply, side effects, the whole gamut of issues related to an unknown drug. Not one of them though this problem through. Not until Eddie was slapped in the face with the gravity of the problem did he even begin to think about it.

What I inferred out of it was that it only gave them mental clarity on the problem they put their focus on. And their brain naturally progresses to work on solving math complex equations, becoming rich and famous, thrill seeking, etc....they lost control to think straight, but in exchange gained perfect clarity and observation on their current situation. Perhaps the drug was perfected in the end, but throughout the movie, I saw nothing but a overly smart guy missing everything outside of his tunnel of focus. I've had a number of college professors just like that.

[shmokes]

That's not true. He was a slob and became a constantly and effortlessly charming, well dressed, well manicured gentleman. He became a tidy person, whereas before his world was a mess. And he did think about supply. He hired a guy to replicate the drug--offered him like $2 million or something (hey, maybe he only had $1,980,000 in the bank, and that's why he decided not to repay the loan shark). The authors tried to make him smart. They just weren't smart enough themselves to figure out how reconcile his super-intelligence with generating action-packed conflict. So they took short cuts and hoped they'd either go unnoticed, or that the audience would turn out to be apologists for them. The movie didn't elaborate on this "flawed drug" thing because you just made it up. Those people who ended up as "a bunch of deadbrained addicts on withdrawal" weren't taking a flawed drug. They had run out and weren't taking any drug at all. Which actually just points out another retarded plot hole in the movie. What's the point, as a drug pusher, of getting someone hopelessly addicted to your product and then withholding it from them? Doesn't it seem like another option would be . . . like . . . continue selling it to them? Isn't that sort of the whole point of being a drug dealer?

An ax, Vigo. The bad guys opened up a safe . . . with an ax. And main guy got a fix by taking a lick of the bad guy's blood. These things are characteristic of the quality of writing throughout the entire film. The movie is too stupid for words.

[Vigo]

So because he was well manicured, charming and sharply dressed, that is suppose to indicate that the drug didn't inhibit him from thinking over other things in his life? The guy said himself that his brain was forcing itself on solving problems and couldn't. ever. relax. His mind couldn't dwell on things that he never registered as a problem to begin with. He had to jump off cliffs and drive 200mph just to keep his mind occupied.

It has been a while since I have seen the movie, but the only problem I remember him putting his mind to was getting more of it. I don't think he even focused on making his own until he saw that dealer guys sister looking like a meth head. No matter what, he doesn't think at all about any of the issues I mentioned in my previous post. (And when I said source of supply, I was referring not to getting more, but figuring out who is behind making them, where they come from, and why). Getting more is the basic instinct of any addict. To answer your question as to why his was pushing that drug, I assume this drug was never intended to just make money on the street. I figured it was a military experiment or stolen/smuggled drug from a pharmacy of some sort.

I think the movie does mention quite a bit how the drug is flawed....I think a few things they mentioned, and only directly from the dudes observations, were loss of appetite, inability to control thoughts, blackouts, sleep deprivation, personality shifts, killing chicks, being a smug SOB. In the end he talked to deniro about needing to change the forumula to fix it up as well. At that point alone, he seemed to be far more even and normal in thought, and yet just as intelligent.

[shmokes]

Shrug . . . I guess that's why they make chocolate, vanilla, and poop flavored ice cream. Something for everyone.

[Vigo]

Meh, never said the movie was really great....just that it didn't bother me. I guess as a viewer I infer things in a movie from observation. I am not gonna call things that are not spelled out for me as plot holes.

[shmokes]

I am not gonna call things that are not spelled out for me as plot holes.

By that standard there's no such thing as a plot hole. The writer/director aren't like, "Okay . . . now we're going to put a plot hole here." They don't spell them out. They just make crappy stories that contain inconsistencies and impossible/nonsensical situations that don't jive with the story or follow the story's own logical rules.

[CCM]

The movie is too stupid for words.

You sure have spewed alot of words on it...

[leapinlew]

I am not gonna call things that are not spelled out for me as plot holes.

By that standard there's no such thing as a plot hole. The writer/director aren't like, "Okay . . . now we're going to put a plot hole here." They don't spell them out. They just make crappy stories that contain inconsistencies and impossible/nonsensical situations that don't jive with the story or follow the story's own logical rules.

Not liking a movie? Thats ok, being an ass to people who aren't bothered by the same movie? I give you 2 thumbs down.

[shmokes]

The movie is too stupid for words.

You sure have spewed alot of words on it...

Rather ineffectually, you may have noticed. 

[shmokes]

I am not gonna call things that are not spelled out for me as plot holes.

By that standard there's no such thing as a plot hole. The writer/director aren't like, "Okay . . . now we're going to put a plot hole here." They don't spell them out. They just make crappy stories that contain inconsistencies and impossible/nonsensical situations that don't jive with the story or follow the story's own logical rules.

Not liking a movie? Thats ok, being an ass to people who aren't bothered by the same movie? I give you 2 thumbs down.

Shrug. I don't think I was particularly impolite. I just disagree with him.

[Malenko]

the only thing that really bugged me about the flick was the unresolved dead woman plot arc.

I'm inclined to agree with Vigo, especially about the side effects of the drug. I think I'm just jelly he got to bang T.V. Carpio on screen :/

[ark_ader]

I am not gonna call things that are not spelled out for me as plot holes.

By that standard there's no such thing as a plot hole. The writer/director aren't like, "Okay . . . now we're going to put a plot hole here." They don't spell them out. They just make crappy stories that contain inconsistencies and impossible/nonsensical situations that don't jive with the story or follow the story's own logical rules.

Not liking a movie? Thats ok, being an ass to people who aren't bothered by the same movie? I give you 2 thumbs down.

Jake wants attention.  It is much better just to give in and let him rant on, before he decides to start looking at everyone's syntax and starts floating his boat with it.

He loses interest easily if he gets his way. 

[shmokes]

before he decides to start looking at everyone's syntax and starts floating his boat with it.

Lol . . . yeah, because between the two of us, I'm the one who goes about making (hilarious) attempts at correcting grammar in other users' posts.   

[ark_ader]

before he decides to start looking at everyone's syntax and starts floating his boat with it.

Lol . . . yeah, because between the two of us, I'm the one who goes about making (hilarious) attempts at correcting grammar in other users' posts.   

There, you see, he is happy.  That wasn't hard.

Maybe we will get some sensible, and positive posts out of him tonight.   

[abispac]

Not liking a movie? Thats ok, being an ass to people who aren't bothered by the same movie? I give you 2 thumbs down.

 

[Gray_Area]

I used to be a total hard-ass on storyline. I stopped watching movies after 1995.

If you want to be critical, the first thing that stands out is the ex-brother-in-law. NTX isn't a street thing, it's too complex for that, so how does he get connection to it? Second, those kind of people don't bother with looking for a stash. They just burn the place down with the body in it.

But, wait.....maybe some street people got ahold of it, and he knew them, and kyped it from them....and.......no.