Spoiler Alert! Went to see a movie on Saturday night with the intention of seeing a beautiful woman kicking ass (or whatever she wants to do) but end up stumbling on a profound conversation on evolution, human potential, and God. Scarlett Johansson is accidentally dragged into an international drug ring where she is forced to transport drugs stored in her abdomen. Due to a leakage, large doses of the drug enters her body rendering her able to fully utilize her brain cells over 24 hours. As her brain power grows, she literally becomes omniscient. She’s more than a walking internet. She is able to tap into the mind of others and know what they know.
By the time she can utilize 40% of her brain, she is able to move objects and people through manipulation of the electro-magnetic field. In a sense, she has become omnipotent. She reaches 100% of brain power at the end of the movie and she no longer expresses herself in physical form. She becomes omnipresent. “Knowledge” (or “truth” or what was it again?), according Lucy, is reduced to simplicity so that human can understand it. “One plus one” does not equal “two”. In fact, there is no answer to that. Knowledge is measured not by the unit of human but only by “time”. The imagery of evolution permeates the entire film, as we are reminded that time is the key factor in evolution. Incidentally, “Lucy” is the name of the first homo-sapiens discovered. Rather than appealing to the “first Adam”, the director appeals to the “first Eve”. When Johansson and Lucy stretch out their fingers towards each other, it intensely mirrors the Michelangelo’s famous painting on the ceiling of Sistine Chapel of God meeting man. It is, perhaps, the most powerful scene in the entire movie.
On a personal level, the thought that any person – no mater how ordinary or lowly – has the inherent potential inside him or her to become greater than anything I can imagine humbles me.