If anyone ever thought about increasing their IQ by taking a pill and accomplishing a month's work in a day, or even hours, here's a whimsy film that gives an answer, along with the consequences.

Directed by Neil Burger and starring Bradley Cooper, Robert De Niro, Johnny Whitworth and Abbie Cornish, 'Limitless' is a fast-moving, fantasy fun ride full of thrills.

Based on the novel 'The Dark Field' by Alan Glynn, the film starts with Eddie (played by Cooper), a divorced, struggling writer who hasn't started a page of the book and loses his working girlfriend, Linda (played by Cornish), because she's tired of putting up with his downward slope of confidence, as well as his lack of funds.

Enter his former brother-in-law (played by Whitworth), who sees how messy Eddie's life has become and offers him a strategy to be perfect in everything. We're not talking about being an average guy who makes due with what's in front of him, but the opportunity to open his mind to endless possibilities.

When given the untested drug NZT, which will give him 100% access to his brain at a quicker rate, Eddie is reluctant at first, but after giving it some thought, he takes the pill, and all of a sudden, he's an Einstein or, better yet, he's omnipotent.

Not only does he change his slacker, dirt-poor appearance for the better, but he's finished his book in record time and sets his sights on the Wall Street world, becoming a self-made millionaire. With his newfound status as the "smartest man in the world," he earns the respect of the most powerful men in the field, including a powerful financial magnate (played by De Niro). But there's one catch. The process to being brilliant is short term, and Eddie has to figure a way to sustain this ability before the side effects leave him and others, who are looking for his stash of supply, at death's door.
Cooper, with a winning charisma, makes the film interesting to watch and leaves you wanting a pill to swallow. De Niro, the icon that he is, did something similar with 'Awakenings.' As he takes a backseat to Cooper, he's frankly a bit underused in his role. Cornish is appealing, given that her role isn't as predictable as one would think.

As imaginative as 'Limitless' is, the film is an entertaining fantasy that's a joy to watch.