Lucy Review Roundup: Do Critics Like Superhuman Scarlett Johansson?

Find out how Luc Besson-directed science-fiction action film, also starring Morgan Freeman, is received

By Rebecca Macatee Jul 25, 2014 6:03 PMTags
Morgan Freeman, Scarlett Johansson, LucyUniversal

Scarlett Johansson certainly seems perfect, but even she needs a little movie magic to reach superhuman status. 

In Lucy, that's what happens, but it's not as cool and glam as it sounds. A gang uses her character, the titular Lucy, as a drug mule, and when the potent substance they placed within her begins to leak, she finds she's able to use much, much more than the 10 percent of our brain we usually use. 

Inevitably, this leads to problems, and Lucy fears she's "losing all the things that make me human." Morgan Freeman plays a professor and top scholar when it comes to all things brain, but even he isn't sure what will happen to Lucy when the drug enables her to use all of her brain power.

The science-fiction action film, directed by Luc Besson, is not for the faint of heart, but so far, it's getting (mostly) positive critical reviews. 

Time's Richard Corliss writes that Lucy is "the summer's best, coolest, juiciest, smartest action movie," while Vulture's David Edelstein calls the flick "an outlandishly entertaining mixture of high silliness and high style."  

NPR's Chris Klimek, however, isn't quite as unmitigated in his praise, but he does write that Lucy "isn't, how you say, smart…[but] it's smarter than you expect." In other words? It's "a would-be summer blockbuster that respects your time!" 

Mania.com's Rob Vaux was quite honest in his critique, writing, "Lucy is either the dumbest smart film or the smartest dumb film I've ever seen. I don't think it would be quite as fabulous if it were anything else." Forbes' Jonathan Leaf has a similar view, writing that the film is "fact-paced and eye-popping, if silly."

Silly? Sci-fi? ScarJo? Sign us up! Lucy hits theaters Friday.