Number 16: Limitless. The “podfather” himself, Bill Simmons of “Ringer” fame, created a micro-moment within film culture when he released his 50 most rewatchable movies of the 21st century at the beginning of 2026. He put Limitless, the now 15-year-old Bradley Cooper-led movie about a guy who accesses the full capacity of his brain, pretty high up his list. And you know what? He got it right. Looking back in 2026, Limitless is a time capsule of the type of movies we don’t get anymore, and highlights why we need them back.
The idea is simple. A man down on his luck takes a drug that turns his life around. And, of course, there are consequences. It’s not a novel idea by any stretch. In fact, it’s perhaps one of the most sure-footed storylines in Hollywood movie-making. Things are bad, something turns them good, but then they turn bad again because … well … consequences. Eddie Morra (Cooper) is our man at the center of it all. A writer, after residing in creative purgatory for god knows how long, pressed up against a deadline for his next book. What takes this simplistic setup to the next level is the very fact that Bradley Cooper himself is the star.
Cooper is a media magnate — a man who, for both good and bad, necessitates cultural conversation. There’s an entirely different argument about the case for Cooper himself as a creative and personality that Hollywood actually needs – someone who has aged out of stardom yet can’t tear himself from unapologetic passion for Oscar-bait roles. However, I digress. Limitless is the type of movie we don’t get from Cooper anymore. It possesses a B-grade quality and stature that Cooper has evolved out of throughout the arc of his career. It’s a fast-paced thriller that isn’t prestige filmmaking. It isn’t a movie designed to spark awards-season talk or be looked back on as a truly artistic choice, so having this time capsule from Cooper acts as a window into a Hollywood that used to be.
It’s a little more than ironic that Cooper’s character is a failed creative by his own doing, who is sent down a glowing black hole of potential success after taking NZT, the drug that allows him to access all segments of his brain. Even 15 years ago, Cooper gave us signs of his career trajectory. Limitless was neither his first nor last role that was kind of just a movie, but he has found himself leaning toward prestige, Oscar-focused filmmaking more and more later in his career. The Oceans prequel has the potential to recapture the special energy that Limitless contains – Cooper choosing something for fun rather than for gold statues – which could re-up his public persona.
Success gripped tightly within his palm now, Morra’s life becomes everything he thought it could. Wit, knowledge, a better haircut, all now his to use as he pleases. Limitless has a highly digital feel, making it feel 15 years old yet allowing it to float in a timeless cinematic space. The film uses jump-cutting, fractal zooming, multiple Coopers in a single frame, and, most importantly, the wildest color-grading you’ve ever seen. Off NZT, Morra’s visual life is drab and grey — sucked of all color. On NZT? A glowing warmth, à la Mexico in “Breaking Bad”. It’s a quirky, rather silly stylistic choice, one of many facets of Limitless that make it a downright cool movie.
The story shifts gears from just being about a guy who started taking a magical drug to an all-out financial crime thriller stuffed to the brim with murders, paranoia, and insanely named characters, like Robert De Niro’s Carl Van Loon. A financial mogul, Van Loon wants to know Morra’s secret. Together, they pursue some extremely lucrative business deals. The entire story, up until the final minutes, hinges upon the relationship between Morra and Van Loon and their constant hunt to one-up each other. As Morra’s grasp on reality starts to shift and he nearly runs out of NZT, conspiracy within his own trusted group of business partners runs rampant.
It’s a lot. Yet, the movie thrives on the complex, balls-to-the-wall storytelling and stylistic choices. Entering a flow state as if on NZT itself, the film asks you to drop every pre-conceived notion of reality and unlock parts of your brain you’ve been too scared to open up, so you can experience what they might offer.
Would you take a drug that gives you access to your entire brain? That’s the question Limitless asks from the first frame and keeps asking after the screen cuts to credits. Morra sees decay, growth, decay again, and growth again. The upper hand changes from Morra to the crippling commentary of the American opioid epidemic so frequently and sporadically that it’s impossible to pry yourself away from the story playing out. De Niro and Cooper, two silver screen stalwarts, sharing a screen in a sci-fi, science-bending thriller is cool shit. Shocking, even by today’s standards, Limitless takes a risk by playing until the very end. It offers a momentum-changing monologue in the final minutes as an amuse-bouche to more of the story that is completely justified. Relativity Media, if you’re reading this, we need Limitless 2: Less 2 Limit.
The way Limitless ends isn’t all rainbows and unicorns either. It’s a little bitter. A little morally questionable. It makes you want to immediately run the movie back and experience the strangely addicting editing choices and weird VFX shots that provide a hit of serotonin when they’re on screen. Maybe that’s why it worked its way to number 16 on Bill Simmons’ list. And maybe that’s why Limitless took hold of the film culture for a brief moment 15 years after its release.
15 years on, Limitless proves the theory of the “3-star 5-star” movie. It’s ridiculous, stupidly entertaining, and super goddamn cool. Most importantly, it’s a movie you want to watch. If you haven’t seen it since its release, I cannot encourage you enough to revisit it. It’s got action, wild VFX choices, De Niro quizzing Bradley Cooper about financial data, and a magnetizing energy that is nearly impossible to pull yourself away from. After all, Limitless is number 16.
Retrospective Courtesy of Ethan Simmie
Feature Image Credit to Relativity Media