Lucy (2014) - Three gifted main actors, an incredible director and stunning visual effects lead us through a thought-provoking story where science and fiction collide in equal parts - 9/10 (13/08/14)

Lucy could easily be the best film of the year and should attract a lot more cinephiles to the movie theatres than it already does. The movie has many different strengths, differs from similar films and feels fresh and entertaining despite a more philosophical and scientific approach.

First of all, the movie has a running time of ninety minutes only. The viewer is immediately thrown into a story filled with pace and tension. This films simply doesn't include any unnecessary lengths.

The acting performances in this film are completely incredibly. Scarlett Johansson starts as a naive and shy lady that slowly becomes a clever heroine in a credible manner. Her character doesn't include the usual weaknesses of so-called superheroes. She doesn't talk too much, she only uses her powers when she has to and is still quite impressive and there is no cheesy love story or a demon from her past to distract us from the main plot. Morgan Freeman only has a smaller role in this movie but he simply convinces for being there because he is credible in his role as a clever scientist and has a lot of charisma. The ruthless main villain is portrayed by the incredible Choi Min-Sik who is one of my favourite actors ever and it's great to finally see him in a Western movie where his incredible talents get some more attention. This may not be his greatest performance but this man has a talent and history for playing dark characters.

The story of the movie is another strong point. It's not your usual tale of crime and vengeance. The film has a rather profound philosophical and scientific side and takes its time to explain what is actually going on without boring the audience. Many viewers felt let down by the ending of the movie but in relation to the entire film, it completely makes sense. The movie doesn't only convince with gifted actors and addicting action sequences but also offers some real food for thought.

The visual effects of the movie exploit all contemporary technologies extremely well. I was stunned by many impressive images from animal and nature sequences over animated pictures of the human body up to modern images with different rays and colours. These effects make the movie even more enjoyable in a cinema.

The rest of the movie is very well executed as well. There are no annoying shaky camera passages, the soundtrack is very fitting and the whole movie has an intriguing multicultural touch as it takes place in Taiwan and France and involves actors and characters from many different countries. The fact that the Korean actors only speak Korean might be annoying for some viewers but it makes the experience even more realistic. Just as Scarlett Johansson's character in the beginning, the viewer doesn't always understand what is going on when the Korean characters are talking and this adds even more tension to the plot and is a great element that is more and more employed in commercial movies as well.

Lucy may not reinvent a whole genre but this science-fiction movie focuses on the best elements of science and a really gripping fiction. If you only like slow-paced dramas or comedy movies for the whole family, this movie isn't for you but anyone else should absolutely watch this film as soon as possible. There are still some interesting movies to come out this year but so far, this film is a more than solid candidate for the greatest movie of the year and you really don't want to miss it.