Limitless 2011

Tom Long, Detroit News: Limitless is limited, but intriguing nonetheless. Read more

Tom Charity, CNN.com: Limitless may not be as brainy as it would like to think it is, but it's a relatively sharp and surprisingly playful head-trip, a satisfyingly novel twist on mindless entertainment. Read more

Gary Dowell, Dallas Morning News: Limitless is an amusing, clever tale of self-actualization run amok. It's also a surprisingly effective hybrid of comedy, drama and action. Read more

Kathleen Murphy, MSN Movies: Limitless delivers some pleasurable punch -- and rarely makes you feel small. Read more

A.O. Scott, New York Times: An energetic, enjoyably preposterous compound - it's a paranoid thriller blended with pseudo-neuro-science fiction and catalyzed by a jolting dose of satire - directed by Neil Burger. Read more

Tom Keogh, Seattle Times: Certainly there are a few times "Limitless" teeters on interesting possibilities, but it has a weird way of pulling back on its most stimulating ideas. Read more

Scott Tobias, AV Club: Limitless' highs are sustained and visually snappy, a David Fincher-esque vision of New York conquered. But the side effects are a little troubling. Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: Some of its conceits may not hold up under intense scrutiny, but, generally speaking, it's a good time at the movies. Read more

Wesley Morris, Boston Globe: The movie is too chaotic to be very good. But it's fun and not stupid, which is something. Read more

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader: Without much fanfare Neil Burger has emerged as one of the best suspense directors in the business. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: Cooper's an able light comic performer as well as a shrewd dramatic actor, and "Limitless" lets him run considerable distances in both directions. Read more

Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle: The visuals are giddy, illustrating Eddie's high with fun house lenses, over-exposed colors, supersonic edits -- and, when side effects kick in, dizzying flights through the streets of New York. Read more

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: What would you do if you could take a pill and suddenly access 100 percent of your brain power? This is the premise behind Limitless, a sci-fi thriller that looks as if its makers utilized around 30 percent of theirs. Read more

Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: Limitless just wants to give you a good time, and it does, yet the film leaves you wondering: Now that our world has been saturated with antidepressants, is this where big pharma strikes next? Read more

Kirk Honeycutt, Hollywood Reporter: Limitless should be so much smarter than it is. Read more

Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: The disappointment is that for all of the possibilities, "Limitless" never gets beyond "limited." Read more

Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: For all its peripatetic energy, Limitless still winds up with the same-old blazing guns and wanton destruction of property. No matter how smart you may be, Hollywood will figure out a way to dumb you down. Read more

David Denby, New Yorker: Very limited, actually. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: If you want a movie with a sermon, well, look somewhere else. But if you want an adrenaline shot to the heart, look here. Read more

Mark Jenkins, NPR: The filmmakers doesn't sweat the fact that Eddie is a chemically enhanced fraud. What scares them is any possibility of alienating the movie's target audience with a downer ending. Read more

Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: If you're willing to ignore the many leaps in logic, his fast-paced thriller goes down easy enough with a side of popcorn. Read more

Kyle Smith, New York Post: "Limitless" may please a few looking for a shallow fantasy thriller, but won't fire up the synapses of the intellectually demanding. Read more

Rex Reed, New York Observer: Directed with a pulsating fervor by Neil Burger, Limitless is absurd but entertaining action-adventure escapism. Read more

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: Limitless rocks. Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: For a plot about super-intelligent people, the screenplay is surprisingly dumb. Read more

Richard Roeper, Richard Roeper.com: Occasionally skirts greatness and is definitely worth your time. But it could have been much more. Read more

Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times: "Limitless" only uses 15, maybe 20 percent of its brain. Still, that's more than a lot of movies do. Read more

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: Limitless hits you like an adrenaline rush that will have you saying, "I'll have what he's having." Read more

Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com: This movie's veneer of knowing slickness is more than canceled out by a thick, fatty layer of stupidity. Read more

Dana Stevens, Slate: Limitless is frustrating, in part, because it could have been much better. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: "Limitless" misfires on any number of points; it's not a particularly smart or imaginative yarn. Read more

Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: If there were a pill that made people smarter, I'd donate an extra supply to the creators of "Limitless." Read more

Christy Lemire, Associated Press: You could pick the script apart for impossibilities. But why bother? It's much more enjoyable to shut your brain off and have a good time. Read more

Rick Groen, Globe and Mail: Add it all up, including the nifty twist at the end, and what we have here is a fun Hollywood flick with a good head on its shoulders. Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: Overall it's smart entertainment that even manages to make Robert De Niro, Cooper's co-star, sound fully engaged. Read more

Mary F. Pols, TIME Magazine: It feels vapid, even when it's trying to persuade us of the nefarious significance of NZT, in large part because the screenplay is so indecisive about the impact of the drug. Read more

David Jenkins, Time Out: It's scatty and fast paced, and director Neil Burger employs some Gaspar Noe-style, bad-trip CG effects to heighten the mood. Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: Better living through chemistry is a debatable notion satirically explored in this briskly paced, suspenseful thriller. Read more

Robert Koehler, Variety: [A] propulsive, unexpectedly funny thriller. Read more

Nick Schager, Village Voice: Without a complex thought about narcissism, merit, or addiction, Limitless is content to be an empty, one-note, satire-free fairy tale of avarice and corporate-political ambition. Read more

Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post: "Limitless" is a heck of a ride. On the way to its unpredictable (if less than wholly satisfying) conclusion, it is entertaining, a little silly and visually dazzling. Read more