Limitless was released on March 18, 2011. Critical reviews were mixed to positive, and the film became a box-office success, grossing over $161 million on a budget of $27 million. A television series of the same name, covering events that take place after the film, debuted on September 22, 2015, but was cancelled after one season.
Plot
Eddie Morra is a struggling author in New York City. His girlfriend Lindy, frustrated with his lack of progress (as well as his seeming lack of ambition, motivation, and focus), breaks up with him. Eddie encounters Vernon, the brother of his ex-wife Melissa, who gives him a sample of a new nootropic called NZT-48, which Vernon implies will help Eddie with his "creative problems". On the drug, Eddie discovers that he has acquired perfect recall, and is able to analyze minute details and information at incredible speed. As the pill takes effect, he is being yelled at by his landlord's wife. With his new power, he calms her down, helps her with her law school homework, and sleeps with her. His abilities compel him to tidy up his apartment and give him immense inspiration for his book.
Soon afterwards, Vernon is murdered by someone searching for the drug. Eddie locates Vernon's supply and takes increasing doses. As his life improves, he decides to begin investing in the stock market. He is hired at a brokerage firm and resumes his relationship with Lindy. His success leads to a meeting with finance tycoon Carl Van Loon, who tests him by seeking advice on a merger with Hank Atwood's company. After the meeting, Eddie experiences an 18-hour loss of memory, which he refers to as a "time skip". The next day in a meeting with Van Loon, Eddie sees a news telecast that a woman has been murdered in her hotel room. Eddie recognizes her as the woman he slept with during his time skip and abruptly leaves the meeting.
Eddie realizes that everyone taking NZT-48 is either hospitalized or dead. A man in a trench coat is revealed to have been following him. Lindy tells Eddie she cannot be with him while he is on the drug. Eddie experiments with NZT-48 and learns to control his dosage, sleep schedule, and food intake to prevent side effects. He hires a laboratory in an attempt to reverse-engineer the drug, an attorney to keep the police from investigating the death of Vernon or the woman, and two bodyguards to protect him from Gennady, a loan shark, who is threatening him to obtain more NZT-48.
On the day of the merger, Atwood falls into a coma. Eddie recognizes Atwood's driver as the man in the trench coat and realizes Atwood is on NZT-48. While Eddie participates in a police lineup, his attorney steals Eddie's supply of pills from his jacket pocket. Eddie enters into withdrawal, and while Van Loon questions him about Atwood's coma, Eddie receives a parcel that is found to contain the severed hands of his bodyguards. He hurries home and locks himself in, before Gennady breaks into Eddie's apartment, demanding more NZT-48. Gennady flaunts his abilities while injecting himself with NZT-48, explaining that by injecting it directly into the bloodstream, the effects last longer and the withdrawal symptoms are lessened. As Gennady threatens to eviscerate him, Eddie grabs his own knife and kills Gennady. Eddie then consumes Gennady's blood to ingest the NZT-48 in the blood. This gives Eddie the mental abilities of the drug once again, and he is able to kill the remaining henchmen. He then meets with the man in the trench coat, surmising that Atwood employed the man to locate more NZT-48. Once Atwood dies, the two recover Eddie's stash from his attorney's apartment.
A year later, Eddie has retained his wealth, published a book, and is running for the United States Senate. Van Loon visits him and reveals that he has absorbed the company that produced NZT-48 and shut down Eddie's laboratory and both acknowledge that Eddie will likely become President of the United States one day, so Van Loon offers Eddie a continued supply of the drug in exchange for Eddie becoming his political backing. Eddie tells Van Loon that he has already perfected the drug and weaned himself off it, retaining his abilities without side effects. Defeated, Van Loon leaves.
Eddie goes to lunch with Lindy. After Eddie speaks in fluent-sounding Chinese with the waiter, Lindy looks at Eddie suspiciously, wondering if he's really off NZT. He looks at Lindy and says "What?"
Limitless is based on the novel The Dark Fields by Alan Glynn. The film is directed by Neil Burger, and is based on a screenplay by Leslie Dixon, who had acquired the rights to the source material. Dixon wrote the adapted screenplay for less than her regular price in exchange for being made one of the film's producers.[4] Fellow producer Scott Kroopf and she approached Burger to direct the film, at the time titled The Dark Fields. For Burger, who had written and directed his previous three films, the collaboration was his first foray solely as director.[5] With Universal Pictures developing the project, Shia LaBeouf was announced in April 2008 to be cast as the film's star.[4]
The project eventually moved to development under Relativity Media and Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Produced with Universal distributing through Relativity's Rogue Pictures. By November 2009, Bradley Cooper replaced LaBeouf in the starring role.[6] Robert De Niro was cast opposite Cooper by March 2010, and The Dark Fields began filming in Philadelphia the following May.[7] Filming also took place in New York City.[5] For a scene filmed in Puerto Vallarta, filmmakers sought a luxury car. Italian carmaker Maserati provided two Maserati GranTurismo coupes free in "a guerrilla-style approach" to product placement.[8] By December 2010, The Dark Fields was re-titled Limitless.[9]
The film notably incorporates fractal zooming, jump-cutting, and out-of-body scenes to convey the effect of the wonder drug on the protagonist. Green screens and motion-control photography were used to produce the visual effect of characters performing an action, and then turning around to see themselves doing that action again.[10] The opening scene was created with still photographs stitched together using a variety of special-effects techniques.[11]
Release
Limitless had its world premiere in New York City on March 8, 2011.[12] It was released in 2,756 theaters in the United States and Canada on March 18, 2011.[3]
The film grossed $18.9 million on its opening weekend to rank first at the box office, beating other openers The Lincoln Lawyer and Paul, as well as carryovers Rango and Battle: Los Angeles.[13]Limitless was released in the United Kingdom on March 23, 2011.[14]
Before the film's release, Box Office Mojo called Limitless a "wild card", highlighting its "clearly articulated" premise and the pairing of Cooper and De Niro, but questioned a successful opening. The film opened at number one in its first week in the U.S. The film did well at the box office, earning some $79 million in the U.S. and Canada, as well as some $157 million worldwide against its $27 million budget.[15]
Reception
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, Limitless has an approval rating of 68% based on 204 reviews, with an average rating of 6.3/10. The site's critical consensus reads, "Although its script is uneven, Neil Burger directs Limitless with plenty of visual panache, and Bradley Cooper makes for a charismatic star."[16]Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 59 out of 100, based on 37 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[17] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale.[13][18]
Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 2.5 out of 4 stars and said it was "not terrifically good, but the premise is intriguing" and also stated that director Neil Burger uses "inventive visual effects." Lastly, adapting a line from the movie, he said, "Limitless only uses 15, maybe 20 percent of its brain. Still, that's more than a lot of movies do."[19]
Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter wrote, "Limitless should be so much smarter than it is," believing that it took conventional plot turns and stuck closely to genre elements like Russian gangsters and Wall Street crooks. Honeycutt reserved praise for Cooper, Abbie Cornish, and Anna Friel. He also commended cinematographer Jo Willems' camerawork and Patrizia von Brandenstein's production design in the film's array of locales.[20]
Variety's Robert Koehler called Limitless a "propulsive, unexpectedly funny thriller". Koehler wrote, "What makes the film so entertaining is its willingness to go far out, with transgressive touches and mind-bending images that take zoom and fish-eye shots to a new technical level, as the pill enables Eddie to experience astonishing new degrees of clarity, perception, and energy." He said of Cooper's performance, "Going from grungy to ultrasuave with a corresponding shift in attitude, Cooper shows off his range in a film he dominates from start to finish. The result is classic Hollywood star magnetism, engaging auds [audiences] physically and vocally, as his narration proves to be a crucial element of the pic's humor." The critic also positively compared Willems' cinematography to the style in Déjà Vu (2006) and commended the tempo set by the film's editors Naomi Geraghty and Tracy Adams and by composer Paul Leonard-Morgan.[21]
Bradley Cooper announced in October 2013 that Leslie Dixon, Scott Kroopf, and he would be executive producers of a television series based on Limitless.[26]
On November 3, 2014, CBS announced it would be financing a pilot episode to continue where the film left off. The pilot was directed by Marc Webb, with a script by Elementary executive producer Craig Sweeny.[27] The pilot was screen-tested on June 1, 2015, with Jake McDorman, Jennifer Carpenter, Hill Harper, and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio starring.[28] The main character was called Brian Finch[29] and Bradley Cooper made regular appearances, reprising his role as Edward Morra.[30][31]
The TV show premiered on CBS on September 22, 2015, with a 1.9 rating[32][33] and was cancelled after one season.[34]
Bradley Charles Cooper is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award and two Grammy Awards. In addition, he has been nominated for twelve Academy Awards, six Golden Globe Awards, and a Tony Award. Cooper appeared on the Forbes Celebrity 100 list three times and on Time's list of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2015. His films have grossed $13billion worldwide, and he has been placed in annual rankings of the world's highest-paid actors four times.
Abbie Cornish is an Australian actress and rapper. In film, Cornish is known for her roles as Heidi in Somersault (2004), Fanny Brawne in Bright Star (2009), Sweet Pea in Sucker Punch (2011), Lindy in Limitless (2011), Clara Murphy in RoboCop (2014), and Sarah in Geostorm (2017). She worked with writer/director Martin McDonagh in Seven Psychopaths (2012) and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri (2017). For the latter, Cornish won her first Screen Actors Guild Award as part of the cast. In 2018, she portrayed Cathy Mueller in the first season of Amazon Video series Jack Ryan opposite John Krasinski, a role she reprised in the fourth and final season in 2023. She also played Dixy in the film The Virtuoso (2021) alongside Anthony Hopkins.
John Allen McDorman IV is an American actor best known for the 2014 film American Sniper and starring on television shows such as CBS' Limitless (2015–2016) and the Disney+ historical drama The Right Stuff as Alan Shepard. He is also well known for his roles on the ABC Family comedy-drama Greek (2007–2011), the fourth season of the Showtime comedy-drama Shameless (2014), the revival season of the CBS sitcom Murphy Brown (2018), FX's What We Do in the Shadows (2019), and Peacock's sci-fi comedy drama series Mrs. Davis (2023).
Beastly is a 2007 novel by Alex Flinn. It is a retelling of the fairytale Beauty and the Beast set in modern-day New York City from the view of the beast. Flinn researched many versions of the Beauty and the Beast story to write her book. Many of these are playfully alluded to in portions of the book, particularly the chat room transcripts in which the character of Kyle talks to other teens who have been transformed into creatures.
Neil Norman Burger is an American filmmaker. He is known for the fake-documentary Interview with the Assassin (2002), the period drama The Illusionist (2006), Limitless (2011), and the sci-fi action film Divergent (2014).
Robert De Niro is an American actor, director and producer. His early films included Greetings (1968), The Wedding Party (1969), Bloody Mama (1970), Hi, Mom! (1970), Jennifer on My Mind (1971), The Gang That Couldn't Shoot Straight (1971), and Mean Streets (1973). In 1974, De Niro was cast as the young Vito Corleone in The Godfather Part II. His performance in the film led him to win the Academy Award for Best Actor in a Supporting Role. After The Godfather Part II, he starred in Martin Scorsese's psychological drama Taxi Driver (1976). In the film, De Niro portrayed Travis Bickle, who is a lonely, depressed 26-year-old living in isolation in New York City. He won the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actor, National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actor, New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor, and he was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor. De Niro's "You talkin' to me?" dialogue was ranked number 10 on the American Film Institute's AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movie Quotes. In 1978, De Niro appeared in Michael Cimino's war drama The Deer Hunter, a film based on a trio of steelworkers whose lives were changed forever after fighting in the Vietnam War. De Niro was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor.
The Dark Fields is a 2001 techno-thriller novel by Irish writer Alan Glynn. It was re-released in March 2011 under the title Limitless, in order to coincide with its 2011 film adaptation.
Tomas Arana is an American actor. He appeared in the films The Hunt for Red October (1990), The Bodyguard (1992), L.A. Confidential (1997), Gladiator (2000), The Bourne Supremacy (2004), Limitless (2011) and The Dark Knight Rises (2012).
Robert Anthony De Niro is an American actor and film producer. Known for his collaborations with Martin Scorsese, he is considered to be one of the greatest and most influential actors. De Niro is the recipient of various accolades, including two Academy Awards, a Golden Globe Award, the Cecil B. DeMille Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award. In 2009, De Niro received the Kennedy Center Honors, and earned a Presidential Medal of Freedom from U.S. President Barack Obama in 2016.
Beastly is a 2011 American romantic fantasy drama film loosely based on Alex Flinn's 2007 novel of the same name. It is a retelling of the fairytale Beauty and the Beast and is set in modern-day New York City. The film was written and directed by Daniel Barnz and stars Vanessa Hudgens and Alex Pettyfer.
Silver Linings Playbook is a 2012 American romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by David O. Russell. The film is based on Matthew Quick’s 2008 novel The Silver Linings Playbook. It stars Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence, with Robert De Niro, Jacki Weaver, Chris Tucker, John Ortiz, Shea Whigham, Anupam Kher and Julia Stiles in supporting roles.
Snitch is a 2013 American action thriller film directed by Ric Roman Waugh and starring Dwayne Johnson, based on the experiences of DEA informant James Settembrino. The film was released in the United States on February 22, 2013. The film also stars Barry Pepper, Susan Sarandon, Jon Bernthal, Benjamin Bratt, and Michael Kenneth Williams. The plot focuses on John Matthews, who goes undercover for the DEA after his estranged son Jason Collins is framed in a drug deal by his best friend.
American Hustle is a 2013 American black comedy crime film directed by David O. Russell. It was written by Eric Warren Singer and Russell and inspired by the FBI Abscam operation of the late 1970s and early 1980s. It stars Christian Bale and Amy Adams as two con artists forced by an FBI agent to set up an elaborate sting operation on corrupt politicians, including the mayor of Camden, New Jersey. Jennifer Lawrence plays the unpredictable wife of Bale's character. Principal photography took place from March to May 2013 in Boston and Worcester, Massachusetts, as well as New York City.
Lucy is a 2014 English-language French science fiction action film written and directed by Luc Besson for his company EuropaCorp, and produced by his wife, Virginie Besson-Silla. It is an English-language film shot in Taipei, Paris, and New York City. It stars Scarlett Johansson, Morgan Freeman, Choi Min-sik, and Amr Waked. Johansson portrays the titular character, a woman who gains psychokinetic abilities when a nootropic, psychedelic drug is absorbed into her bloodstream.
Joy is a 2015 American biographical comedy-drama film written and directed by David O. Russell and starring Jennifer Lawrence as Joy Mangano, a self-made millionaire who created her own business empire.
Dirty Grandpa is a 2016 American buddy sports romantic sex comedy film about a lawyer who drives his grandfather to Florida during spring break. The film was directed by Dan Mazer and written by John Phillips. It stars Robert De Niro and Zac Efron in the leading roles, with Aubrey Plaza, Zoey Deutch, Julianne Hough and Dermot Mulroney in supporting roles. It was filmed on location in Atlanta from January 19 to May 9, 2015.
A Star Is Born is a 2018 American musical romantic drama film produced and directed by Bradley Cooper with a screenplay by Cooper, Eric Roth and Will Fetters. It stars Cooper, Lady Gaga, Dave Chappelle, Andrew Dice Clay and Sam Elliott, and follows an alcoholic musician (Cooper) who discovers and falls in love with a young singer (Gaga). It is the fourth American adaptation of the story, after the original 1937 romantic drama and its 1954 and 1976 remakes. Principal photography began at the Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival in April 2017.
Limitless is an American comedy-drama television series that aired on CBS for one season from 2015 to 2016. It is a continuation of the 2011 film of the same name, and takes place four years after the film's events. The series stars Jake McDorman as Brian Finch, who discovers a mysterious nootropic drug NZT-48, which unlocks the full potential of the human brain and gives its user enhanced mental faculties.
Heather Kadin is an American television producer and film producer. She co-executive produces Star Trek: Discovery.
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