# 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:** 8
**Author:** ![JKilez](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e5b9ba/32.png) [@JKilez](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JKilez)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2015, 2:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lucy-the-movie-with-scarlett-johansson-wow-what-a-dumb-movie/694186/142 "2015-01-25T02:22:44Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > $459M of box office later I finally got around to seeing this on VOD, and I have to say that I went in with such low expectations that I enjoyed it. It’s clearly very very stupid, and sophomorically written, and also stupid, but watching ScarJo kick ass for an hour kept it watchable. Plus some good music. So, it is not that bad as long as you only use 10% of your brainpower watching it? ---
**Author:** ![CalMeacham](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/calmeacham/32/35_2.png) [@CalMeacham](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CalMeacham)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2015, 2:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lucy-the-movie-with-scarlett-johansson-wow-what-a-dumb-movie/694186/143 "2015-01-25T02:42:34Z")
I finally saw this last weekend at Arisia in Boston. My God, but that was dumb. I’m glad I didn’t have to pay to see it. The plot makes not one iota of sense, even without the stupid “10% of our brain” thing. ---
**Author:** ![mr.jp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/48db29/32.png) [@mr.jp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mr.jp)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2015, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lucy-the-movie-with-scarlett-johansson-wow-what-a-dumb-movie/694186/144 "2015-01-25T10:21:05Z")
> [@LawMonkey](#): > > Eh. The premise, while not ideal, isn’t really the problem. I was prepared to grit my teeth and just let it slide as the necessary excuse to get me my 90 minutes or so of fun sci-fi/fantasy action hijinks. > > The trouble is that it took the premise absolutely seriously, and seemed to be trying to make some sort of Serious Statement about it. So by analogy, if Spider-Man played the radioactive spider thing straight as an arrow, and then tried to make some profound statements about human potential or something based on the spider thing. I just watched it, and I fully agree with this. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2015, 2:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lucy-the-movie-with-scarlett-johansson-wow-what-a-dumb-movie/694186/145 "2015-01-25T14:20:28Z")
> [@JKilez](#): > > So, it is not that bad as long as you only use 10% of your brainpower watching it? Yes! ---
**Author:** ![Jonathan\_Chance](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jonathan_chance/32/701_2.png) [@Jonathan\_Chance](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jonathan_Chance)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2015, 2:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lucy-the-movie-with-scarlett-johansson-wow-what-a-dumb-movie/694186/146 "2015-01-25T14:26:36Z")
> [@friedo](#): > > Everybody knows God’s computer is the Commodore 64. And he’s playing Lemmings. “Oh no!” POP God’s kind of a dick. ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2015, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lucy-the-movie-with-scarlett-johansson-wow-what-a-dumb-movie/694186/147 "2015-01-25T17:16:56Z")
A class I was subbing for the other day, one of the students said something about using only 10% of the brain. “Oh no”, I said, “were you in some sort of horrible accident?”. One thing new about kids nowadays, though. They still don’t trust authority figures like teachers (thus has it ever been, thus shall it ever be), but they _do_ trust the little magical voice that comes out of their smartphones. So a little bit of ignorance ended up busted, that day. ---
**Author:** ![marshmallow](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/df705f/32.png) [@marshmallow](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/marshmallow)\ **Post date:** [January 25, 2015, 5:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lucy-the-movie-with-scarlett-johansson-wow-what-a-dumb-movie/694186/148 "2015-01-25T17:32:44Z")
Finally got around to seeing it. Stand by my earlier post, though I can understand some of the complaining because the 10% excuse was much more than a handwave. Morgan Freeman’s speeches were terrible. An emotionless woman named Lucy strolls through guards, effortlessly tossing them aside with TK…except there’s no nudity or dismemberment. So it’s like a G-rated Elfen Lied. The point of life is reproduction, and the greatest calling of humanity is to find and catalog knowledge. Gotcha. So she gets all the knowledge and gives it to us. Uh, thanks? Everyone can go home and twiddle their thumbs now, I guess. What if other people use the blue drug and get super powers? Will the world be thrown into chaos? Or does increased intelligence necessarily lead to detached benevolence as you become one with the universe? Can she prevent that from happening since she’s basically God now, or is she just watching? Was the implication that she traveled back in time and imparted sapience to the Lucy ape, or did she just do that for the lulzy symbolism? My favorite sequence was when she was orbiting Earth in space. The music was cool and they even included the Theia impact. I laughed when she broke out and killed five dudes with a pistol in like half a second. Aim bot! Hax! Ban that sick filth. I fully expected the gang guy to ingest the blue stuff so there could an epic psychic showdown…but I guess that would be too cliche and on the nose. But cribbing from 2001 isn’t. ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2015, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lucy-the-movie-with-scarlett-johansson-wow-what-a-dumb-movie/694186/149 "2015-08-07T22:34:34Z")
Let me awaken this sleeping beast. I tried watching this. I couldn’t finish. For some reason, this movie couldn’t make me suspend disbelief. I’ve seen plenty of schlock science sci-fi shows that I gleefully enjoyed, but not this one. Johannsen tried hard, Freeman was phoning it in, but nothing could save this turd. Luc should have followed George Costanza’s advice and “left on a high note” after **Leon** and **La Femme Nikita**. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2015, 10:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lucy-the-movie-with-scarlett-johansson-wow-what-a-dumb-movie/694186/150 "2015-08-07T22:57:23Z")
> [@D\_Odds](#): > > Luc should have followed George Costanza’s advice and “left on a high note” after **Leon** and **La Femme Nikita**. You do realize how much money this made on how small a budget, right? ---
**Author:** ![D\_Odds](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/d_odds/32/2882_2.png) [@D\_Odds](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/D_Odds)\ **Post date:** [August 7, 2015, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lucy-the-movie-with-scarlett-johansson-wow-what-a-dumb-movie/694186/151 "2015-08-07T23:30:26Z")
Besson has laughed all the way to the bank, I know. I just can’t figure out why. Even when I was young and watching many more movies than I do now, I never understood wanting to pay and sit through a bad movie. But that’s me. Not that Besson is in the same category, but it is like Kubrick’s career ending with **Eyes Wide Shut** (not that Kubrick knew it was going to be his last film, of course). ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2015, 12:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lucy-the-movie-with-scarlett-johansson-wow-what-a-dumb-movie/694186/152 "2015-08-08T00:25:33Z")
Besson also says a sequel is in the works, and why not? If it only makes half the box office the first one did, it’ll be another windfall. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2015, 12:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lucy-the-movie-with-scarlett-johansson-wow-what-a-dumb-movie/694186/153 "2015-08-08T00:32:28Z")
Even with the “10% of the brain” nonsense, the wife and I really liked it. Would watch the sequel. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2015, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lucy-the-movie-with-scarlett-johansson-wow-what-a-dumb-movie/694186/154 "2015-08-08T00:40:00Z")
> [@Maserschmidt](#): > > Besson also says a sequel is in the works, and why not? If it only makes half the box office the first one did, it’ll be another windfall. And still no BLACK WIDOW movie. How is that even possible? ---
**Author:** ![Snowboarder\_Bo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snowboarder_bo/32/229_2.png) [@Snowboarder\_Bo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Snowboarder_Bo)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2015, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lucy-the-movie-with-scarlett-johansson-wow-what-a-dumb-movie/694186/155 "2015-08-08T00:50:03Z")
> [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](#): > > You do realize how much money this made on how small a budget, right? > [@D\_Odds](#): > > Besson has laughed all the way to the bank, I know. Just for the record in this thread, [IMDB says that on a US$40M budget, the film made US$459M worldwide](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2872732/business?ref_=tt_dt_bus). That’s an excellent return on any investment, IMO. ---
**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:** [August 8, 2015, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lucy-the-movie-with-scarlett-johansson-wow-what-a-dumb-movie/694186/156 "2015-08-08T05:28:48Z")
I watched it on cable, I want to thank everyone in this thread who warned me how stupid it was, though that 10 percent of the brain thing was a big red flag. I enjoyed the ride, but I had to throttle down to one percent of my brain to do so … if the whole 10 percent had been active, I couldn’t have stood it. ---
**Author:** ![EllisDee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ellisdee/32/4531_2.png) [@EllisDee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/EllisDee)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2015, 10:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lucy-the-movie-with-scarlett-johansson-wow-what-a-dumb-movie/694186/157 "2015-08-08T10:28:39Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > I enjoyed the ride, but I had to throttle down to one percent of my brain to do so … if the whole 10 percent had been active, I couldn’t have stood it. This is a perfect review of Lucy. ---
**Author:** ![j666](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/9de0a6/32.png) [@j666](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/j666)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2015, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lucy-the-movie-with-scarlett-johansson-wow-what-a-dumb-movie/694186/158 "2015-08-08T12:33:26Z")
> [@Evil\_Captor](#): > > I watched it on cable, … I never watch action movies on cable, the screen isn’t big enough to really ‘blow you away’. “Lucy” was a perfectly fine way to spend a couple of hours in air conditioning on a hot summer Sunday. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2015, 1:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lucy-the-movie-with-scarlett-johansson-wow-what-a-dumb-movie/694186/159 "2015-08-08T13:16:26Z")
I had seen the commercials so I knew it would be stupid. The first part of the film setting up the situation was boring. We knew what was going to happen, and it did, and it didn’t add anything to the movie, could have all been done in 90 seconds instead of 15 minutes that seemed like 15 hours. Then the movie picked up, quick pace, action, moving through the lame story rapidly. Then it gets to the end and slows down again and comes to a pointless ending. It’s a stupid and useless movie but it can be watched to waste time when there’s nothing else to do. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [August 9, 2015, 11:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lucy-the-movie-with-scarlett-johansson-wow-what-a-dumb-movie/694186/160 "2015-08-09T11:04:02Z")
…I just have to add that every time I glance across this thread title, I hear it read in Lord Humungus’ voice. “What a puny movie.” ---
**Author:** ![Gothic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/839c29/32.png) [@Gothic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gothic)\ **Post date:** [August 11, 2015, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lucy-the-movie-with-scarlett-johansson-wow-what-a-dumb-movie/694186/161 "2015-08-11T15:16:12Z")
How could everyone miss the satire in this movie? On a more serious note, I thought Morgan Freeman’s performance was poor. They kept zooming in for a reaction and just came away with nothing most times. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lucy-the-movie-with-scarlett-johansson-wow-what-a-dumb-movie/694186.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lucy-the-movie-with-scarlett-johansson-wow-what-a-dumb-movie/694186.md?page=9)