Posted: Jan 09, 2020 11:03 am
Just finished watching 'Limitless' on Netflix. It is a 2015 TV series that is based on a 2011 Hollywood movie. (I haven't seen the movie).
The premise is that there is a super new drug that allows the user to access 100% of his mental capacity, thus becoming super smart.The downside is that prolonged use drives you insane. In this series a typical 20 something New York slacker gets hold of it, but is immune to the side effects (kind of- no spoiler on this). He ends up being recruited by the FBI to help solve the most baffling cases.
I was expecting a more or less hum drum police procedural something like NCIS or CSI and was only going to watch a couple of episodes as a filler.
Although on the surface it did fall into this procedural genre (with a bit of 'the odd couple' thrown in as his slacker, dope smoking, pop culture trivia persona grated on the oh-so-serious FBI staff who were tasked with handling him) there was actually a lot of subtlety and subversive commentary woven into the story line.
I think the thing that I liked most about it was the fact that the hero was, despite his slacker outlook and deeply unserious take on things, a profoundly moral person. His first instinct once he is boosted is not to enrich himself or seek power over people. Rather he seeks to do the best he can to help others. Not in some mawkish, boyscout manner, hand on heart, 'I cannot tell a lie'..rather, he has gray areas where he will bend a little, and he succumbs to some low level temptations but he also has courses of action open to him that he finds morally repugnant and will not countenance.
I like the chemistry between him and his FBI handler (Jenifer Carpenter who played Dexter's sister in the series of that name.) She is actually a very talented actor and I hope to see more of her in the future.
There was a lot of comedy woven into the episodes. I laughed out loud when an awkward conversation about whether our hero 'hooked up' with someone suddenly transitioned into a full blown Bollywood song and dance routine...!
Glad I watched it, but be warned. It is 20 45-minute episodes in total.
The premise is that there is a super new drug that allows the user to access 100% of his mental capacity, thus becoming super smart.The downside is that prolonged use drives you insane. In this series a typical 20 something New York slacker gets hold of it, but is immune to the side effects (kind of- no spoiler on this). He ends up being recruited by the FBI to help solve the most baffling cases.
I was expecting a more or less hum drum police procedural something like NCIS or CSI and was only going to watch a couple of episodes as a filler.
Although on the surface it did fall into this procedural genre (with a bit of 'the odd couple' thrown in as his slacker, dope smoking, pop culture trivia persona grated on the oh-so-serious FBI staff who were tasked with handling him) there was actually a lot of subtlety and subversive commentary woven into the story line.
I think the thing that I liked most about it was the fact that the hero was, despite his slacker outlook and deeply unserious take on things, a profoundly moral person. His first instinct once he is boosted is not to enrich himself or seek power over people. Rather he seeks to do the best he can to help others. Not in some mawkish, boyscout manner, hand on heart, 'I cannot tell a lie'..rather, he has gray areas where he will bend a little, and he succumbs to some low level temptations but he also has courses of action open to him that he finds morally repugnant and will not countenance.
I like the chemistry between him and his FBI handler (Jenifer Carpenter who played Dexter's sister in the series of that name.) She is actually a very talented actor and I hope to see more of her in the future.
There was a lot of comedy woven into the episodes. I laughed out loud when an awkward conversation about whether our hero 'hooked up' with someone suddenly transitioned into a full blown Bollywood song and dance routine...!
Glad I watched it, but be warned. It is 20 45-minute episodes in total.