Visual problems no, imo. Ah, now that I remember the subtitles are in SDH format.

*door slams shut* stuff like that.

Geez. Didn't know there was such a hard-on for Besson in these parts. I will admit, Besson has made many a strong female character. However, I think that for what Marvel studios would want in a Black Widow movie, they would be better going with Whedon. Besson is who you would get if you want to make a dark, moody, hard-R Widow movie with lots of details about the "red in her ledger" along with a sex scene or two.

Besson can do PG-13 too. Fifth Element was PG-13.

True, but I just don't think his style would fit an American production.

Depends on where Black Widow's mission takes her. If she has a job to do in Europe then Besson would be perfect.

Average score so far is a 3.2/5

Edit, now 3.0/5

This will drop like a rock (no pun intended) next weekend. I could tell this was NOT what a lot of the audience was expecting, and it will hurt it. However, it will establish SJ as having drawing power , and she deserves it.

I would eagerly pay to see a Besson-produced Black Widow film starring Johansson for the reasons you describe. If Whedon were involved, I would probably still go, but with less eagerness.

I thought this movie was deeply silly and unlike, say, Wanted, it wasn't able to inhabit that silliness naturally. Still, it was entertaining, helped by pretty good performances and a short running time.

Watched this tonight and....well, I was entertained, but there were too many eye roll inducing moments. The dialogue was cringe-worthy at times, and the last 20 minutes of the movie....what the fuck?!

Seriously, guys. Was the ending really hard to understand?

No, it was just stupid and over the top. What the fuck does not necessarily mean "I don't know", it can be used as an expression of frustration or disappointment. It was as if Besson said "I can't figure out a good way to end this...fuck it! I am going to come up with the most ridiculous shit ever"

I loved every second of LUCY. Ever since THE AVENGERS, I’ve been wanting to see Scarlett Johansson in a standalone action movie and this sure fit the bill. She’s great. I was with her every step of the way right up to and right through the cosmic finale. The movie was constructed around her and she delivered the goods. What’s not to love? Up until the finale, it’s a straight-ahead action science fiction movie with lots of clever touches and plot twists and plenty of suspense. And with that whole finale, Luc Besson succeeded in doing what Terrence Malick attempted to do in TREE OF LIFE. I’m not sure what it was he did, but I was enraptured the whole time, whereas I was bored with TREE OF LIFE and found that whole “cosmic” parallel just trite. There, Malick was trying to hammer a point into our heads. Here it flowed seamlessly and effortlessly and so beautifully out of the narrative. There is one brilliant moment in the finale of LUCY that thrilled me in a way I almost never encounter in the movies, because it visualized something I’ve always dreamed about (and I mean something I’ve literally dreamed about). I’m not going to say I can explain the point of it all or that I understood it, but some things are not meant to be understood. I’m not sure many human beings are even capable of understanding the nature of the cosmos. If I was able to understand the ending, I think I would have been let down in a “That’s all there is?” kind of way. Instead it’s like 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY. Not sure I understood that one either, but that’s the point. We’re not evolved enough to understand. It’s something beyond our ken, just like the mysteries of the universe and our existence.

I cannot wait to see an action film with Scarlett Johansson, Jennifer Lawrence and Rooney Mara. (That remake of the Hong Kong movie, SO CLOSE, I hope.)

Yet my AMC theater decided to add nearly thirty minutes of trailers before this probably due to the fact of its short running time ... I was getting nervous cause I had a second movie thirty minutes after... at a different theater this morning. As for the movie itself for a popcorn flick, I was entertained as well

Question, where there some scenes from "Samsara" put into this...? Cause some footage looked awfully familiar

This movie was OK. I will say that Scarlett worked really well in the role and after finding out it was originally written for Angelina Jolie I have a hard time picturing Scarlett not doing it. Really I would have been happy with this just being a superhero type of revenge story but Beeson went further with it and I don't think he succeeded. The ending was just way too wtf and I agree that it felt like he didn't really have an ending. Overall I would give it a 2.5/5. See it for Scarlett and some good action scenes but be prepared for some weirdness towards the end.

Not sure if it was literally from that film but the asian girls moving their arms in some type of choreography were in this film too. They're kind of famous too.

I don't know else could be from Samsara. Somebody post a video of those girls doing their thing. Their name has escaped me.

^ there's also a quick shot of the prison yard 'dance' scene too

This movie was gloriously stupid. Like just all out stupid, and it is often aware of how silly it is getting.

I think fans of anime will have an easier time digesting this one, it seems to borrow quite generously from Elfen Lied and Serial Experiements Lain. Kind of an up and down ride, liked the ending and recommend it overall. I actually rather enjoyed just how stupid he was willing to go with it in general.

And yeah, it's like Besson just took his favorite scenes from Samsara and tossed them in.

Just watched it just now. Despite the flimsy "science" of the initial premise, the movie is a whole lot of fun.

Funny enough, during the scene in the hospital hallway, it's apparent that this movie understood the rules of the Matrix far better than the sequels to that franchise ever did.

Like Ash, I loved every second of this. I don't know if I would classify it as an action movie though. That might be what left some people pissed off. To me, it's trippy, comic book sci-fi with several great action scenes in it. I also have to shake my head in disbelief at all the people having a problem with the ending. I found it a much more accessible, and satisfying resolution for what came before it, than something like the star child ending of 2001. Besson was clearly going for a similar enigmatic vibe, but doing it with the same comic book efficiency and verve as the rest of the film. And that is a positive to me not a negative. It's tonally consistent with the rest of the picture.
This is the kind of trippy, reluctant hero movie I would have gone ape shit for in the late 80's early 90's. (when I was still indulging in various substances).

Exiting this now, I honestly felt just as jazzed as when I walked out of a first showing of La Femme Nikita almost 25 yrs ago. However, I don't watch a lot of contemporary action/sci-fi and no anime whatsoever so what seems fresh to me might be extremely derivative to other people.

Roger Ebert wasn't talking about LUCY, of course, but this pretty much sums up my feeling (you can find my real review on one of IB's sister sites).

But you still gave it a 1.5 instead of 0.

I had a similar reaction to yours to the films Wanted and Salt- which are the kinds of movies I felt Lucy was compatible with, but vastly superior to.

Ultimately it's a comic book movie. Back in the day, comic book characters were clad in primarily bright, primary colors. The overall color palates of the books were limited, the storytelling brisk and complex ideas pared down and simplified. When I say the film is channeling a comic book, I mean things like character, plot points, concepts are by design simple, vivid. When the climax descends into phantasmagorical nonsense the viewer isn't supposed to take it as step by step literal cause & effect. It's a gaudy, garish illustration meant to evoke a poetic concept- it's not diagramming it so you can DIY at home.

I wonder if the frustration/hatred that some people had for it was based on expectations of the film being something else (a straight ahead superhero action/revenge movie)?

Just watched it,

Loved the visuals and it was pretty fun watching all the cool things that Lucy could do when she kept on expanding more and more of her mind. I wasn't expecting the ending that we got.

overall I enjoyed it enough