History Film / Limitless

* DeusExMachina: The primary villain of the entire movie, [[spoiler: Atwood's henchman]], literally just hands Eddie back his [[spoiler: stolen NZT stash]] at the end because it got stolen ''again'' by someone else and Eddie helps him track that person down. Which also happens ''offscreen'' in less than ''5'' seconds. That's how the primary plotline of the movie gets resolved.

* NoAntagonist: Arguably. There isn't a unified group opposing Eddie throughout the movie; instead, it's Eddie's own stupidity (ironically), ambition and unwitting possession of the extremely-valuable NZT that causes all of the conflicts. The closest thing the movie has to a villain, Mr. Atwood, actively has Eddie chased throughout the movie for the drugs, but he is only doing that as a consequence of Eddie having the only thing that can save him. That and because Eddie actively puts himself on the radar by climbing the corporate ladder instead of laying low once he knows people kill for these pills. Atwood also dies on his own offscreen without Eddie having to do anything, betrayed by his own employee who steals the drugs for himself. The other villain, Gennady the loanshark, who provides the climax for the movie, is just some random crook whom Eddie accidentally expose NZT to and wants more. He has no connection to Atwood and could have been easily avoided had Eddie just ''paid'' the guy on time. The person or group responsible for setting the plot in motion by killing Vernon also doesn't make any onscreen appearance, nor does the group that invents these pills in the first place.

* NoAntagonist: Arguably. There isn't a unified group opposing Eddie throughout the movie; instead, it's Eddie's own stupidity (ironically), ambition and unwitting possession of the extremely-valuable NZT that causes all of the conflicts. The closest thing the movie has to a villain, Mr. Atwood, actively has Eddie chased throughout the movie for the drugs, but he is only doing that as a consequence of Eddie having the only thing that can save him. That and because Eddie actively puts himself on the radar by climbing the corporate ladder instead of laying low once he knows how valuable the drugs are. Atwood also dies on his own offscreen without Eddie having to do anything, betrayed by his own employee who steals the drugs for himself. The other villain, Gennady the loanshark, who provides the climax for the movie, is just some random crook whom Eddie accidentally expose NZT to and wants more. The person or group responsible for setting the plot in motion by killing Vernon also doesn't make any appearance onscreen, and it's not even clear if they are connected to Atwood (logically they shouldn't, given that Atwood would need Vernon alive to keep selling him drugs).

* NoAntagonist: Arguably. There isn't a unified group opposing Eddie throughout the movie; instead, it's Eddie's own stupidity (ironically), ambition and unwitting possession of the extremely-valuable NZT that causes all of the conflicts. The closest thing the movie has to a villain, Mr. Atwood, actively has Eddie chased throughout the movie for the drugs, but he is only doing that as a consequence of Eddie having the only thing that can save him. Atwood also dies on his own offscreen without Eddie having to do anything, betrayed by his own employee who steals the drugs for himself. The other major villain, Gennady the loanshark, who provides the climax for the movie, is just some random crook whom Eddie accidentally expose NZT to and wants more. The person or group responsible for setting the plot in motion by killing Vernon also doesn't make any appearance onscreen, and it's not even clear if they are connected to Atwood (logically they shouldn't, given that Atwood would need Vernon alive to keep selling him drugs).

* NoAntagonist: Arguably. The real villain of the story is the value of NZT and the length people would go to get it. No single group is responsible for hunting Eddie throughout the movie, and instead various parties try to do so for their own reasons. The closest thing the movie has to a villain, Mr. Atwood and his bodyguard, is the most active in chasing Eddie throughout the movie, but they got defeated offscreen after Mr. Atwood dies of withdrawal. The Russian, who provides the climax for the movie, is just some random guy whom Eddie accidentally expose NZT to and spends most of the movie before the end as a minor nuisance. The person responsible for stealing the NZT stash from Eddie and sets the third act in motion isn't even any of the major characters, but a random lawyer who appears in two scenes.

* DrugsAreBad: Played with. The movie shows the consequences of abusing the drug in very icky detail that sometimes enters ''Film/RequiemForADream'' territory. But Eddie's much more capable and hyperintelligent when on said drugs, he's trying to quit them, which makes things worse, [[spoiler:and it finally turns out he can remain super-smart without taking the drug at all ''or'' he used the intelligence boost to figure out how to make it himself while fixing the downsides]]. Could possibly be a BrokenAesop.

* BrokenAesop: NZT makes you superhumanly intelligent (so long as you continue using it.) The film appears to build towards several aesops about this, and then subverts them all. (Apparently drugs are good if you use them wisely.)