Morgan Freeman enjoys genius role in Luc Besson Blockbuster Lucy

Oscar winning actor Morgan Freeman will never be lonely.

Twice-divorced, he loves nothing more than spending time on his own, opening his laptop and pressing “deal.”

“I’m addicted to computer solitaire,” he says. “I can sit through the whole day playing it if I have nothing better to do. I also enjoy crosswords. I’ve been doing them since I was eight.”

We’re talking things that engage the brain because of Morgan’s latest film, Luc Besson’s blockbuster, Lucy.

If action movies are best enjoyed (or, more accurately, endured) by switching your brain off for two hours, Lucy contemplates what would happen if we tap into the 90% of grey matter that usually goes unused.

Starring Scarlett Johansson in the title role, it tells the story of a dim-witted drugs mule who inadvertently ingests a synthetic drug manufactured to replicate the growth hormone pregnant woman pass on to a foetus.

This enables her to unlock a human’s true potential, which is largely untapped given that some scientists believe we only use one 10th of the brain’s capacity (comfort yourself with the knowledge this is still double most other creatures).

Now able to control pain, learn skills at an exponential rate, morph her body’s cells and listen in to sound waves in the air, Lucy becomes the ultimate fighting weapon seeking revenge on the Taiwanese gang that used her body as a vessel for drug smuggling.

Freeman plays a neurological scientist who is seeing his life’s work realised in the supreme being of Lucy, and reckons this is a blockbuster with an above average IQ.

“The thing that struck me when I read the script was how intelligent it was,” says the 77-year-old.

“What if you could get access to more of your ‘supposed’ brainpower? ‘Supposed’ because some people believe that we do use all of its capacity but are just not aware of it.

“It’s hard to say. The brain monitors our body and tells us when something is going wrong, and then it is also capable of re-wiring itself after a stroke around that damaged part of itself.

“So I believe we use more of it than we think we do but what would happen if we could consciously gain control of more? That’s a question we don’t know how to answer or what the consequences would be, good or bad.”

Morgan, who has two grown up children from his first marriage as well as two other children from previous relationships, doesn’t have to think twice when quizzed what he would do with Lucy’s power.

“If I had some kind of incredible power, I would eliminate all the weapons of destruction on the planet,” he states.

“Every single weapon would be gone. This way, if two people needed to get into it, they would have to use their fists, sticks or rocks.”

Filming took place in France, which allowed Morgan to use a skill he’d learnt 50 years ago, when he was still deciding what he wanted to do with his life.

“When I was 22, I started studying French because I had every intention of moving to Paris and teaching dance. That never came to fruition, but I did learn some French, and my fascination with the language and the country remained.

“Luc Besson is what appealed to me most about this project. He is one of the most fascinating filmmakers around today. He is so inventive and creative.

“I’ve never seen a movie of his that didn’t have a lot going on in every frame. All of his films move fast and keep you on the edge. That’s why he is a great storyteller and his work is so watchable.

“I also liked how intelligent my character is. He’s the guy who tells you what is going on and what may happen if you get a certain amount of control over your brain power. Reading it, I thought, ‘Yes, I can do this. I can pull this off’.”

While enjoying playing the most intelligent man in the room, Morgan abides by the golden rule of never taking himself too seriously.

“Listen, if you are not laughing at yourself, somebody else is. So, you should probably try to get a jump on him!”

Our verdict 2/5

Anyone hoping last year’s offering from Luc Besson, The Family, was just a temporary losing of the plot from a director who has previously given us Leon, The Fifth Element and Nikita, will be horrified by this follow-up.

And yet, through the morass of cheesy lines, there are some positives, not least Scarlett Johansson reminding everyone that she has a fantastic range as an actress.

It’s not big by Hollywood budget standards and it tries to be clever, but ends up being unintentionally funny.

Lucy is at cinemas now.