"What if a pill could make you rich and powerful?"
And honestly, that's all I needed to know.
The film follows Eddie Morra (Bradley Cooper), a struggling writer who gets hold of a mysterious pill that allows him to access the full potential of his brain. Suddenly, he can remember everything, learn anything and seemingly outsmart everyone around him.
What could possibly go wrong?
As you'd expect, quite a lot.
The film does a great job of showing both the highs and lows of Eddie's newfound abilities. One minute he's on top of the world, making money and impressing everyone he meets. The next, he's discovering that every shortcut comes with a price.
Watching Eddie navigate his way through all of this reminded me of JJ Powell from No Ordinary Family. Both have incredible brains, but Eddie is far more ambitious. Give him superhuman intelligence and he's not about to spend his time solving crossword puzzles.
He's going straight for money, power and influence.
The pace is relentless. There's always something happening and the film never really lets its foot off the accelerator. Bradley Cooper is excellent throughout and carries the whole thing effortlessly.
What I enjoyed most was the central idea. It's one of those concepts that immediately makes you ask yourself the question:
"What would I do?"
Would I become rich?
Would I become powerful?
Or would I spend three days learning obscure facts from Wikipedia before forgetting to leave the house?
This was one of those films that completely grabbed me from start to finish.
It's clever, entertaining and packed with great ideas.
The only downside is that after watching it, you spend the next week wishing the pill was real.
5/5
