History Film / Lucy

* ArtisticLicensePaleontology: Professor Norman states that Lucy is the name of the "first woman." This is a reference to an early hominid fossil discovered in the 1970s, named "Lucy" by paleontologists after the Beatles song. While it is one of the earliest known female hominids, there is no reason to think it was the "first woman" (whatever that means).

* ArtisticLicensePaleontology: Professor Norman states that Lucy is the name of the "first woman." This is a reference to an early hominid ancestor discovered in the 1970s, named "Lucy" by paleontologists after the Beatles song. While it is one of the earliest known female hominids, there is no reason to think it was the "first woman" (whatever that means).

* ArtisticLicensePaleontology: Professor Norman states that Lucy is the name of the "first woman." This is a reference to an early hominid ancestor discovered in the 1970s, named "Lucy" by paleontologists after the Beatles song. While it is one of the earliest known female hominids, there is no reason to think it was the "first woman" (whatever that means).

* MindOverMatter: From early on, Lucy uses her psychokinetic abilities like a seasoned [[StarWars Jedi]]. However, she appears to be using them through control of neuronal impulses and electromagnetic activity rather than traditional methods.

** {{Lampshaded}}. As Lucy acquires more and more powers, she feels less empathy and concern over killing others, beginning right when she first wakes up after she gets dosed with the drug. The key moment of this is when she [[KickTheDog kills a patient who she knew would die while in the middle of surgery and pushing him off the operating table so she could get treatment herself]].

* ThisIsYourBrainOnEvil: Played with. Lucy's perspective becomes increasingly alien as her power amplifies... but she also comes to appreciate life in general more, even once going out to admit she never truly understood how much she cared for her mother until she developed a perfect memory of her childhood.

* WithGreatPowerComesGreatInsanity: {{Averted}}. Lucy actually becomes ''more'' rational with her developing power, and more mindful of using it for good ends. Unfortunately, this [[ThisIsYourBrainOnEvil has its detriments to her morality]].

* NinetyPercentOfYourBrain: 10% is apparently baseline human. When Lucy gets exposed to [=CPH4=], she gets more and more of her brain power unlocked. The more she uses the greater her powers become.

* GangstaStyle: How Lucy initially holds the pistol she procures after her ShowSomeLeg ploy (see latter trope below)

* NominalHero: If that. After being exposed to the drug, any restraint she might have goes right out the window, in favor of resolving the situation in the most expedient way possible, such as shooting a cab driver in the leg who didn't speak English to bully another cab driver to drive her to the hospital.

* GilliganCut: A doctor tells Del Rio he gave Lucy "a shot so big, she'll be asleep all day". The next thing we see is Lucy waking up.

** Lucy uses [[GunsAkimbo two silenced handguns]] at one point, shooting mooks through closed doorways with accuracy. In a non-weapon example she uses two laptops at once, typing at lightning speed. Both examples are justified given her abilities.

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* NominalHero: If that. After being expose to the drug, any restraint she might have goes right out the window, in favor of resolving the situation in the most expedient way possible, such as shooting a cab driver in the leg who didn't speak English to bully another cab driver to drive her to the hospital.

* ProHumanTranshuman: Lucy wants her new-found knowledge to be preserved for the benefit of humanity.

* SistineSteal: Done in first person, no less, when [[spoiler:Lucy begins mentally traveling back in time after unlocking 99% of her brain and meets what is implied to be the first human [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucy_(Australopithecus) (who also happens to be named Lucy)]].]]

* DualWielding: Lucy uses two silenced handguns at one point, shooting mooks through closed doorways with accuracy. In a non-weapon example she uses two laptops at once, typing at lightning speed. Both examples are justified given her abilities.

* FailedASpotCheck: When the cops roll in for the final showdown, they completely fail to notice the small army of Asian gangsters arming themselves with enough firepower to take over the district ''in broad daylight only a couple steps away from them''.

* MindScrew: Given how the director [[XMeetsY described the movie as]] "one part ''[[Film/TheProfessional Leon]]'', one part ''Film/{{Inception}}'' and one part ''Film/TwoThousandOneASpaceOdyssey''", you know he will aim for something to make audiences scratch their heads. [[spoiler:The GoingCosmic ending in particular shows the ''2001'' influence in "WTF".]]

* AsLongAsItSoundsForeign: The Chinese writing on the wall of a room Lucy is locked up in [[http://www.complex.com/pop-culture/2014/07/lucy-chinese-writing-nonsense is random words about fruit]].

* NoHuggingNoKissing: There's very little romance in the movie, and even when it is brought up it doesn't last long. The only times it's mentioned is Lucy's' BastardBoyfriend Richard who she's only been seeing for a week [[spoiler: and dies in the opening scene of the movie]] and Lucy giving Del Rio a kiss and telling him he's the MoralityPet.

* DualWielding: Lucy uses two silenced handguns at one point, shooting mooks through closed doorways with accuracy. In a non-weapon example she uses two laptops at once, typing at lightning speed.

Lucy (Johansson), is a young woman who is forced into working as a drug mule for the Taiwanese mob. A bag of one particular drug is inserted into her abdomen, which ruptures when she is attacked, causing her body to absorb the drug. This progressively causes her to access more and more of her brain's capabilities, granting several incredible abilities - and causing a remarkable metamorphosis.

* BodyHorror: When Lucy is on the airplane to Paris she begins to undergo a cellular breakdown due to lack of exposure to the drug. [[spoiler: First her teeth fall out, then her skin begins to shed, and finally her face ''disintegrates'' before she literally pulls herself together]]. In an intentional example, she mutates her own hand (including a pair of conjoined hands, CreepyLongFingers, and even a frog-like membrane hand) as she gives a lecture to Professor Norman and his colleagues.
* BullyingADragon: When Lucy steals the remaining three packets from the gangsters, they witness her do such things as make an invisible wall, send all their guns fly up into the ceiling, then send ''the gangsters flying to the ceiling''. The gangsters just get pissed, get more guns, and wage an all-out assault on the university to get their drugs back. Mind you, one of the guys ''personally witnessed'' said acts and joins the assault anyway.

* CelestialBody: The sum total of all of Lucy's knowledge regarding the universe [[spoiler:can be condensed to fit onto an elongated USB stick seemingly made of stars.[[note]]Which is a very oblique ShoutOut to the ''novel'' of ''2001''.[[/note]]]]

* TheComicallySerious: Lucy turns into it at times, as she displays and talks about her new abilities with no concern about how weird they seem to anyone else.

* DrivesLikeCrazy: Lucy takes the wheel from her cop friend when the gangsters are trying to get the [=CPH4=]. She's never driven before, takes the absolute quickest route, and undoubtedly breaks every traffic law known to man in the process. Thanks to her powers, however, she doesn't hit a single car doing it. [[spoiler:Rather, ''her'' car doesn't hit another vehicle. Lucy smacks other cars around like crazy though.]] For some reason, almost the entire route requires her to drive the wrong way down one-way streets.

* DullSurprise: After Lucy gets the drug in her system, she expresses little to no emotion for the remainder of the film. [[InvokedTrope This seems to be an effect of the drug itself.]]

* EnlightenmentSuperpowers: The drug isn't directly responsible for Lucy's powers. It just allows Lucy to access more of her brain, leading to these.

* OrganicTechnology: [[spoiler:When Lucy taps into 90% of her brain at the film's climax, she creates what Morgan Freeman's character describes as a "new generation computer" from her own body mass. It looks like something straight out of ''{{VideoGame/Prototype}}''.]]

* WhatHappenedToTheMouse: [[spoiler: The drug lord is shown working closely with a British man when Lucy and the other men receive their "assignment". He appears to be the "brains" behind the drug. He also states that if the mules are caught or go to the police, their families will be killed. After his one scene, this character is never heard of nor referenced again. Also, no reference is made to any of the mules' families actually being in danger after they are caught and Lucy speaks to her mom, who appears to be safe, after she goes off the grid. Apparently it was an empty threat.]]
* WhiteVoidRoom: Lucy creates one of these at 80%.