Drugs
Often we are told that taking illegal drugs is bad for a person, yet people still take them anyway. In the movie, Eddie begins taking the new drug on the streets, NZT-48, in a bid to improve his life. He realizes that the drug helps him tap into his true potential by making his smarter and his reflexes quicker. Yet, as with all drugs, he suffers from the consequences of the side effects and becomes embroiled in a bigger, more sinister,, situation than he had expected.
Untapped potential
The movie seems to highlight the idea that we have not even tapped into 1% of the potential of the human mind. The drug, NZT-48, makes this possible by enhancing all the features we have, yet when it fades from system, Eddie is once again very normal. It is clear that humans have a lot to go in the discovery of our own biology and perhaps there are areas within ourselves we can discover through the use of drugs.
Greed
When Eddie first takes the drug, he does so in the hopes that it will life his spirits. Instead, he finds that it is the answer to all his problems. It makes him more intelligent and therefore leads to a successful writing career. However, he comes greedy and ends up wanting even more. This involves him into a loan shark agreement with Gennady, which he is later unable to pay off, and makes him a target.
