Through an unrealistic set of circumstances, Scarlett Johansson winds up being dosed with a drug that unlocks her potential. Strangely, the people who invented this drug see what she can do, and they never think to dose one of their army of thugs to do mental battle with her. But, I'm getting ahead of myself by describing a battle that I didn't setup. You see, Scarlett slowly increases the percentage of brain that she's using, and it gets displayed periodically on screen so we don't get lost.
The issues arise when her ability to use more of her brain starts to reveal itself through a strange ability to manipulate electrical fields and then eventually to telekinesis. I know what you're thinking: are we supposed to believe that manipulation of energy is an inherent ability in the human brain, and we simply need to unlock it to essentially become Neo from The Matrix? That's what we're supposed to believe.
I'm reminded of Sherlock. The people who write Sherlock have the unenviable task of writing a character who is WAY smarter than they are. I'm not saying that writers are not particularly smart. Some are, and some aren't. But the way you fake it is by taking your time, plotting everything out, and going back over the story several times to shine the character up to a mirror finish. Sherlock is a great character, and he is played brilliantly. The writers of this movie should have just made her smarter and smarter. Instead, they gave her superpowers that make no sense and ultimately make her too powerful for her enemy.
The story is weak
The acting is very good
Dialogue is good
Direction was good
Effects were great
Bottom Line: A flashy movie with a great director that is let down by the science it relies on.
2.75/5