Roger Ebert gave it two and a half stars, calling it not terrifically good but with an intriguing premise, and saying it uses only 15, maybe 20% of its brain, which is still more than a lot of movies do.
Ebert did not anticipate the film's impact on streamers and cable; it is called one of the most rewatchable movies of the last 15 years, one you keep watching once he takes the drug.

Casting What-Ifs

Shia LaBeouf

In the discussion (4)

Approx. transcript time · 00:57:15Read transcript

Asked which actor signed on in 2008 and dropped out, the guess is Will Smith, who would have been so good. — Shea Serrano
The guess is rejected: it is not Will Smith, though a good guess.
The answer, as transcribed, is Shia LeBuff. — Chris Ryan
LaBeouf was getting good parts around Disturbia and Eagle Eye, but the movie doesn't work with him because his face is too kiddish, like a child in a suit after Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps.

Recasting Couch

No recasts; Brie Larson in the Abbie Cornish part

In the discussion (2)

Approx. transcript time · 01:01:47Read transcript

Improving on De Niro was considered, but having him is still liked, along with Cornish and basically everybody; no part would be recast.
Brie Larson could slide into the Cornish part and bring a better run.

Half-Assed Internet Research

Visual effects for the drug

In the discussion (1)

Approx. transcript time · 01:02:27Read transcript

The film's wonder-drug effects use fractal zooming, jump cuts, out-of-body scenes and motion-control photography, including the multiple Eddies cleaning his apartment.

Picking Nits

Unfrisked at the murder scene; New York Post profile; fast Van Loon hire; Van Loon recognized in restaurants; unpaid loan shark; loan math; helpful running bad guy; three dead men before his campaign

In the discussion (7)

Approx. transcript time · 01:08:48Read transcript

The biggest nit is that the police don't frisk Eddie at the murder scene despite his cash and off-market chemicals, and calling the police beside a dead body would bring follow-up questions.
The New York Post profiles him after only about four days of trading success.
Carl Van Loon hires him after one meeting, and restaurant patrons announce who Van Loon is and his fortune.
If Eddie were so smart, he would have paid off the Russian loan shark on time; he makes mistake after mistake.
The loan math fails: starting from $800 and quintupling it five times in a row is already like $500,000, so why borrow $100,000; he is using maybe 78% of his brain.
The running bad guy freely takes Eddie to his dead boss's place out of spite toward the lawyer, after also working for Atwood as driver and assassin.
Three dead men in Eddie's apartment are tied to an arms dealer who used to live there, yet a year later he runs for office with no scrutiny despite being a person of interest in another murder.

Probably Unanswerable Questions

Best actor ever for Limitless; oven as the NZT hiding spot

In the discussion (9)

Approx. transcript time · 01:15:34Read transcript

Asked for the all-time best person to star in Limitless, Will Smith is the first pick for his charm and emotional attachment. — Shea Serrano
Given 2002 Will Smith or Firm-era Tom Cruise, the choice is Cruise, with early Michael J. Fox as an interesting alternative after Alex Keaton's diet pills. — Chris Ryan
Another vote goes to Cruise, who would have learned skills like flying a helicopter or winning at race-car driving; no one loses.
An amendment requires putting Cooper into the swapped star's movie: take 2004 Will Smith after Bad Boys 2 and swap out I, Robot for Cooper.
Cooper as Mike Lowrey in Bad Boys with Martin Lawrence is offered as the obvious swap; Cooper in The Firm is another, and Cruise didn't make enough Limitless-type movies, unlike Keanu.
With cops coming, the oven is questioned as the best hiding place and called underrated for money, drugs or guns.
A childhood memory recalls an aunt who hid drugs in the microwave; anything oven-related is endorsed.
An old-fashioned air-conditioner vent, as in No Country, is always great.
The alternative is to take all the NZT and make yourself police commissioner.