# Lucy: the movie with Scarlett Johansson - wow, what a dumb movie **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 27, 2014, 9:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lucy-the-movie-with-scarlett-johansson-wow-what-a-dumb-movie/694186 "2014-07-27T21:35:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![sciurophobic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/cab0a1/32.png) [@sciurophobic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sciurophobic)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 3:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lucy-the-movie-with-scarlett-johansson-wow-what-a-dumb-movie/694186/41 "2014-07-28T15:42:17Z")
It reminded me of _2001, The Matrix_ and _Akira_ and not in a good way. ---
**Author:** ![John\_Bredin](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/96bed5/32.png) [@John\_Bredin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/John_Bredin)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 3:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lucy-the-movie-with-scarlett-johansson-wow-what-a-dumb-movie/694186/42 "2014-07-28T15:51:25Z")
My reaction right at the end of the movie was that it was two different movies mashed together: a shitty-yet-pretentious sci-fi pic and a wanna-be John Woo action pic. Except instead of being like peanut butter in my chocolate and chocolate in my peanut butter, it was like getting tuna in my chocolate and chocolate in my tuna. ☹ ---
**Author:** ![iiandyiiii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/iiandyiiii/32/7924_2.png) [@iiandyiiii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/iiandyiiii)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lucy-the-movie-with-scarlett-johansson-wow-what-a-dumb-movie/694186/43 "2014-07-28T16:20:22Z")
Saw it. It was pretty dumb. All the characters, even the law-enforcement guy, also seemed surprisingly nonchalant about the massive numbers of people getting mowed down by gangsters. ---
**Author:** ![Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/13edae/32.png) [@Stranger\_On\_A\_Train](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Stranger_On_A_Train)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lucy-the-movie-with-scarlett-johansson-wow-what-a-dumb-movie/694186/44 "2014-07-28T16:30:28Z")
> [@Sherrerd](#): > > It’s a shame for Scarlett Johansson’s career–it was (I think) her first chance to carry a movie. Looks as though she’ll be back to “the girl” roles. Johannson has acquited herself by carrying plenty of films; arguably she had the best scenes in _Iron Man 2_ (aside from Sam Rockwell’s “Hammer Dance” and Tony Stark synthesizing a new element in his basement over a weekend using a 5m cyclotron jury rigged from components bought on Amazon; clearly, CERN should be recruiting Stark instead of SHIELD). And of course she’ll be headlining the _Black Widow_ movie slated for a 2016 or 2017 release. As for _Lucy_, anyone who didn’t see broad idiocy from the trailer alone wasn’t paying attention. The pitch for this film was clearly a mashup of _Johnny Nmemonic_ and _Limitless_ with the same character Morgan Freeman has played in every low grade conspiricy thriller/sci-fi actioneer since _Chain Reaction_, even if it wasn’t immediately apparent that it was directed by the hackmaster Luc Besson. Stranger ---
**Author:** ![blindboyard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blindboyard/32/2833_2.png) [@blindboyard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/blindboyard)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 4:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lucy-the-movie-with-scarlett-johansson-wow-what-a-dumb-movie/694186/45 "2014-07-28T16:35:12Z")
> [@WordMan](#): > > I laughed at it. They were more just angry. They wanted to know what ScarJo was thinking by agreeing to be in this movie. And Morgan Freeman and his riDICulous brain capacity thing. God, the stupid boggles. Is it bad to be ridiculous? I once saw a Morgan Freeman film where he gave a speech about a magic loom that told him to kill people, it was fine. Incidentally, Scarlett Johannson has been in some odd movies recently. Under the Skin, for example, incredibly weird. ---
**Author:** ![Indyellen](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/indyellen/32/4176_2.png) [@Indyellen](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indyellen)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lucy-the-movie-with-scarlett-johansson-wow-what-a-dumb-movie/694186/46 "2014-07-28T17:00:01Z")
We saw this yesterday. I didn’t necessarily go straight to “dumb”, because I was already prepared to dismiss the brain capacity premise as such. I will say it kept my attention through the whole movie, and some of the action was good. I’m also not necessarily ready to dismiss it as bad, either. It was unusual, and different, but not easily categorized besides that. I don’t know that I’ll recommend it, or watch it when it comes out on cable, but I don’t feel like I totally wasted 85 minutes. ---
**Author:** ![WordMan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/e8c25b/32.png) [@WordMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WordMan)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 5:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lucy-the-movie-with-scarlett-johansson-wow-what-a-dumb-movie/694186/47 "2014-07-28T17:10:52Z")
> [@blindboyard](#): > > Is it bad to be ridiculous? To quote Spinal Tap “there’s a fine line between clever and stupid.” ---
**Author:** ![Iggins](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Iggins](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iggins)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lucy-the-movie-with-scarlett-johansson-wow-what-a-dumb-movie/694186/48 "2014-07-28T17:19:22Z")
About 15-20 minutes in I decided that this was another comic book translated to film, and ignored the terrible, terrible science. It was fast, relatively exciting, and Scarlett did a good job, especially during the kidnapping at the beginning. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lucy-the-movie-with-scarlett-johansson-wow-what-a-dumb-movie/694186/49 "2014-07-28T17:20:17Z")
Does Scarlett use at least 100% of her hotness capacity? ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lucy-the-movie-with-scarlett-johansson-wow-what-a-dumb-movie/694186/50 "2014-07-28T17:38:04Z")
> [@Wile\_E](#): > > Does Scarlett use at least 100% of her hotness capacity? FINALLY the key question is asked! ---
**Author:** ![Exapno\_Mapcase](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/exapno_mapcase/32/1051_2.png) [@Exapno\_Mapcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Exapno_Mapcase)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lucy-the-movie-with-scarlett-johansson-wow-what-a-dumb-movie/694186/51 "2014-07-28T18:20:22Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > FINALLY the key question is asked! The only bit of integrity this movie had is that it didn’t exploit Ms Johansson’s remarkable epidermis. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lucy-the-movie-with-scarlett-johansson-wow-what-a-dumb-movie/694186/52 "2014-07-28T18:21:08Z")
> [@sciurophobic](#): > > It reminded me of _2001, The Matrix_ and _Akira_ and not in a good way. Don’t forget “Scanners”, “Carrie”, “Firestarter”. > [@blindboyard](#): > > Is it bad to be ridiculous? I once saw a Morgan Freeman film where he gave a speech about a magic loom that told him to kill people, it was fine. Yeah, but it sounds so plausible the way Mr Freeman says it! > [@blindboyard](#): > > Incidentally, Scarlett Johannson has been in some odd movies recently. Under the Skin, for example, incredibly weird. I guess why not? She’s already been in 4 Avengers-based films and has her own Black Widow film coming out. Plus critically acclaimed indie films like Lost in Translation and Her. Plus a couple of Woody Allen films. Even a crappy Michael Bay explosionfest. Unless she plans on going for an Oscar by playing a deformed trans-sexual MMA fighter/high school guidance counselor fighting against corporate corruption, I would assume the only thing left is to play whatever weird-ass roles strike her fancy. ---
**Author:** ![Evil\_Captor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/f17d59/32.png) [@Evil\_Captor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Evil_Captor)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 6:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lucy-the-movie-with-scarlett-johansson-wow-what-a-dumb-movie/694186/53 "2014-07-28T18:24:53Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > Unless she plans on going for an Oscar by playing a deformed trans-sexual MMA fighter/high school guidance counselor fighting against corporate corruption, I would assume the only thing left is to play whatever weird-ass roles strike her fancy. Don’t be giving people ideas! :eek: Seriously, ScarJo clearly likes to take on risky roles as well as lucrative roles. Good on her, I respect her for that. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lucy-the-movie-with-scarlett-johansson-wow-what-a-dumb-movie/694186/54 "2014-07-28T19:17:31Z")
> [@aldiboronti](#): > > OK, we all know the ‘only use 10% of our brain’ is pure BS . . . 'Twould be more-or-less true if they added, **“at any given time.”** You use all of your brain, but different parts have different functions – one bit for walking, one bit for talking, etc. If neurons in all regions are firing at once, what you have there is an epileptic seizure, not a paranormal ability. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 7:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lucy-the-movie-with-scarlett-johansson-wow-what-a-dumb-movie/694186/55 "2014-07-28T19:29:13Z")
Ah, but if you could control the seizure and channel that power… Sorry, can’t finish the thought - it’s just too stupid. ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 8:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lucy-the-movie-with-scarlett-johansson-wow-what-a-dumb-movie/694186/56 "2014-07-28T20:18:19Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > The only bit of integrity this movie had is that it didn’t exploit Ms Johansson’s remarkable epidermis. She doesn’t have to be naked to be hot. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/74df32/32.png) [@The\_Devil\_s\_Grandmother](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Devil_s_Grandmother)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lucy-the-movie-with-scarlett-johansson-wow-what-a-dumb-movie/694186/57 "2014-07-28T21:05:00Z")
> [@Andy\_L](#): > > When I saw the trailer, I thought it might be a bad adaptation of Ted Chiang’s “Understand” (a terrific novella). That is apparently not the case, but it’s always a good time to reread a Chiang story. Really? I’ve been assuming Lucy was a high-tech remake of the short story _Flowers for Algernon_ (Also a movie called _[Charly](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0062794/)_), but I haven’t actually paid attention to the commercials. I’ll have to look up Ted Chiang’s “Understand”. ---
**Author:** ![Knorf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/58956e/32.png) [@Knorf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Knorf)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lucy-the-movie-with-scarlett-johansson-wow-what-a-dumb-movie/694186/58 "2014-07-28T21:34:57Z")
> [@Wile\_E](#): > > She doesn’t have to be naked to be hot. No, but it’s never a bad thing, surely. ---
**Author:** ![jrepka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ee59a6/32.png) [@jrepka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jrepka)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 10:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lucy-the-movie-with-scarlett-johansson-wow-what-a-dumb-movie/694186/59 "2014-07-28T22:52:44Z")
1. I think this movie has done more to dispel the 10% brain myth than anything in the history of science education, since almost literally every article or review written about it has debunked the myth (can we go after the left/right brain myth next?)… 2. Though the technobabble was indeed annoying\* I generally enjoyed the flick on a purely visceral, action movie level. It’s no Bourne movie but it worked. 3. ScarJo kicked Hercules butt, and there will be a Lucy 2 (and it will be terrible). \*I have to admit that the line that annoyed me more than any other was when she diagnosed her roommate’s kidney problem and a key part of her advice was to “eat organic.” I wanted to throw something at the screen at that point. ---
**Author:** ![alphaboi867](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alphaboi867/32/3898_2.png) [@alphaboi867](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/alphaboi867)\ **Post date:** [July 28, 2014, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lucy-the-movie-with-scarlett-johansson-wow-what-a-dumb-movie/694186/60 "2014-07-28T23:14:41Z")
> [@Exapno\_Mapcase](#): > > …The review at The Atlantic is titled [Lucy: The Dumbest Movie Ever Made About Brain Capacity](http://www.theatlantic.com/entertainment/archive/2014/07/life-is-futile-so-heres-what-to-do-with-it-according-to-lucy-a-spoilereview/375006/). It’s full of spoilers because it lists 26 dumb things the movie does…Here’s the biggest: > > The fake drug is synthetic. Anybody can make more of it at any time. Lucy didn’t take it all; it’s already out there in the world. The scientists - who are useless appendages to the plot, since all they do is dissolve the drug in liquid, something anybody in the hospital could have done - might do so themselves. The whole movie turns out to be a countdown about defusing _a bomb that has already gone off_.… That was pretty spot on. I agree with you 100% about the spoiler. It’s a magic potion that in huge enough quantities turns the user into a god, and the best the drug syndicate’s marketing department can come up with is there’s year’s hot new party drug? :dubious: Then again to international drug syndicates even have a marketing department (or product testing). 😛 In all this was a fun move, as long as you keep reaping the MTSK mantra. Speaking of; this movie is just begging for a Riffing. Preferable with Mayim Bialik as a guest riffer. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lucy-the-movie-with-scarlett-johansson-wow-what-a-dumb-movie/694186.md?page=2) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lucy-the-movie-with-scarlett-johansson-wow-what-a-dumb-movie/694186.md?page=4)