LIMITLESS (Rated PG-13)

The premise that an experimental drug would allow someone to use 100 percent of the brain was explored in Alan Glynn’s thriller novel “The Dark Fields.”

Using one’s mental abilities to its fullest potential as the perfect panacea for coping in the Information Age was adapted by screenwriter Leslie Dixon for “Limitless,” a paranoia-fueled action thriller about a slacker writer whose life is transformed by a top-secret drug that acts like steroids for the brain.

We already know that enhancements for physical abilities lead to disastrous side effects. Imagine, then, the downside for the mental side of the equation.

In a nutshell, that’s the cautionary tale that is explored by “Limitless.”

Aspiring author Eddie Morra (Bradley Cooper) is suffering from chronic writer’s block. Looking untidy and disheveled, Eddie can’t even work up a title for new his book. Meanwhile, his publisher, having provided an advance, is impatiently awaiting results.

Eddie’s life changes instantly when an old friend introduces him to NZT, a revolutionary but untested new drug that allows him to tap his full potential.

With every synapse crackling, Eddie can recall everything he has ever read, seen or heard, learn any language in a day, comprehend complex equations and beguile anyone he meets.

Complications arise because Eddie has to keep taking NZT, and while his brain power may be limitless, the drug supply is not.

Initially, the mind-enhancing substance turns the unkempt Eddie into a sharply-dressed wunderkind. He hastily finishes his novel and then parlays a small sum into highly successful investments in the stock market.

His nascent financial skills soon draw the attention of Robert De Niro’s mega-mogul Carl Van Loon (what a name!), who invites Eddie to help broker the largest merger in corporate history.

The new and improved Eddie even manages to win back his old girlfriend Lindy (Abbie Cornish), who had become impatient and unforgiving about his previous indolence and disregard for professional advancement.

Meanwhile, Eddie’s newfound fame, fortune and ambition also bring him to the attention of people willing to do anything to get their hands on his stash of NZT.

With his life in jeopardy and the drug’s brutal side effects taking their toll, Eddie dodges mysterious stalkers and a vicious Russian mobster anxious to muscle in on what could be very profitable turf.

Watching Eddie’s journey from sloth and obscurity to wealth, fame and brilliance is an entertaining ride.

Effortlessly charming and charismatic, Bradley Cooper (notable for his starring performance in “The Hangover”) is well-cast in the role of turning a slacker into a smooth operator who can enthrall beautiful women and hard-charging tycoons with equal aplomb.

Similarly fascinating is watching Eddie, when things get hairy as bad people are after him, think and fight his way out of those situations with the help of a little pill.

Life gets more convoluted and thorny for Eddie when he gets embroiled in a police investigation of the murder of a young model. But his troubles with the pesky detectives pale in comparison to the threats posed by sinister forces eager to control the NZT product for themselves.

There is also the significant problem with the diminishing supply of NZT, upon which Eddie relies for staying on top of the world.

To what lengths will Eddie and others go in order to secure a hold on the black market drug? The answer to that question is what drives the suspense in this fantasy thriller.

Like most thrillers, “Limitless” has its limits when dealing with suspense. Unlike other movies in the genre, “Limitless” does not suffer pretensions about its greater meaning.

Not burdened with artistic or intellectual affectations, this suspenseful movie that just wants to deliver a fun time, and in that goal it succeeds very well.

Under the direction of Neil Burger, “Limitless” employs a number of visual tricks to suggest the unlimited potential of a brain firing on all cylinders. At times the imagery works; other times it looks more like gimmickry.

Overall, “Limitless” is enjoyable because Bradley Cooper is just as good at seducing the audience as his character is at doing the same to nearly everyone in his path.

Tim Riley writes film and television reviews for Lake County News.