This one’s been a long time coming… Primarily because it feels like a send-off.
This review is being done off of a three time viewing by the way.
Easily one of my all-time favorites both because of its concept and Scarlett Johannson’s face. I just love the stoicism in her face. It would be unfair to criticize her lack of expression since if we look beyond that it rhymes with the rapidly building intelligence that came alongside her trauma. It’s the same thing I felt with Jessica Alba in Fantastic Four. She sat pretty and was badass because her capabilities made it so, although I liked her more as an actor than the Invisible Woman. In actuality, I have always liked the “power through trauma” concept since in a lot of ways I can resonate. That is where the movie “Split” (another all-time favorite) took the concept, but in a way that can go pretty wrong too. But we’re not here to discuss what can go wrong because so much about this movie was made so right.
As one who obsesses about origins it was easy to identify with what when went on in this movie. Immediately after our girl Lucy was made to be a victim, she reversed every role in the book. By unlocking her abilities and learning what she could about what ultimately was her own inner universe, she changed the world. She refused to stay behind to see what was left of it or rather, what it could become. In fact, she made the choice to become what she did with the time she had. It felt like we were chasing an afterimage of someone who was soul-bound, something the characters in the film could not anticipate.
This movie feels less like an adventure about where Lucy could have gone and more about where we as a collective group of people could be. The visual effects feel incredibly believable and totally integrated into Lucy’s character and newfound powers. The way she tunes into audio events and memories, tapping into movements with her mind and body in tandem, all of it really gives me the sensation that with enough concentration, I could do it too. If there was anyone that made me believe that I could be a hero, it was Lucy.
The groundedness I received from knowing Lucy was human resolved a lot of the suspension of disbelief I might have received from knowing that our protagonist was a complete alien and then on top of that, gifted, like Superman. Lucy however, did in fact become alien; Alien to our primitive ways of being and belonging, alien to social convention and constructs. Besides, Earth is usually the place where aliens learn what their planet was missing and that is consistent with all main sci-fi themes from sources like Star Trek, Justice League, and Mass Effect to name a few (Mass Effect because they are explicit about discrimination against humans which is a refreshing take). Other sci-fi sources show why Earth is better in a competitive sense via weaponry, science, or in how their society operates.
Lucy takes this idea from the ground up, lifts it into the air, and dispenses it throughout the atmosphere.
Heroines have always held a special place in my heart in the world of fantasy and the supernatural, because there the playing field levels out and differences are flattened. What occurs at the same time is that the masculine and feminine role becomes magnified as the essence of power takes more and more physical form, rather than biology and chance. That is what any Doctor Strange film portrays effortlessly, which is probably why that series flows so well for me.
But now, here’s the really important question…
Is there any CPH4 on retail… or wholesale?
Cheers!
At The Dinner Table 