This R-rated action/thriller reminded me once again that writer/director Luc Besson ("The Family") is the French Martin Scorsese, with characters "popped" (shot) without compunction, people stabbed unexpectedly and beaten mercilessly, but his complex plot is laid out with crystal clarity.
The film switches back and forth between college student Lucy, as she is thrust into a terrifyingly lethal situation, and an anthropology lecture which provides us with the background that enables us to follow the story. We soon find ourselves questioning the nature of knowledge.
We watch:
In my opinion, the eye-popping special effects were a bit overdone (but I always say that, don't I?), and I would have been happy if we had stopped when she had achieved only 80% of her potential, but based on the size of the screening crowd which had to be shoe-horned into the theater, this exciting, involving film should do very, very well.