Going Around In Loops

A bit slow on this one, and for that I can only apologise. A film hailed as a modern masterpiece with five star reviews from almost everyone, but is it all it is cracked up to be? A film that, from the simplest description, sounds like the coolest thing around. Just look at the key aspects: time travel, assassins, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, telekinesis. Everything seems to scream 'cool.' But it is? this is Looper.

In the year 2074, it is extremely difficult to dispose of a body. Because of this, criminal organisations use an advantage they have in the future, time travel, to zap anyone they need to get rid of back 30 years to be killed by a special type of assassin known as a Looper. One of these Loopers is a man called Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), the youngest Looper that the Boss, Abe (Jeff Daniels), ever hired. But every loop has to be closed. This means that eventually,  a Looper has to assassinate the future version of themselves. When this happens to Joe, he hesitates, leaving his future self to run. Old Joe (Bruce Willis), fixated on the idea of changing his own past and future ('Oh no I've gone cross-eyed') tries to find the man known in future as the 'Rainmaker'; a man who closes loops for no reasons. A man who is only a child in 2044. Trying to fix his error by terminating his future self, Young Joe stumbles across Sara (Emily Blunt) and her son Cid (Pierce Gagnon) who he bonds with but nothing is safe.

Now Joe, what would Freud say?

If Joseph Gordon-Levitt's name hadn't been splashed all over the posters and promos for this film, it would be hard to tell that it was him. With plenty of face make up (we'll get back to that) he was not playing his own character. He had a far more difficult challenge: to play Bruce Willis' character but young. The good news is he does this perfectly. For the most part of the film, it is like watching a young Bruce Willis as Gordon-Levitt completely nails Willis' facial expressions and way of talking, which is not an easy task. Emily Blunt was excellent as Sara, the most touching character in the film and the character who really provided the film with heart. Her performance showed the deep pain that an under-appreciated mother feels as well as the outer strength a single mother has to portray, even when scared or weak. Incredible child acting from Pierce Gognon as Cid, a clearly troubled child but a very smart one. And, of course, Bruce Willis is constantly awesome. He's really understanding that he is not the young action star that he once was but he knows that doesn't mean he is no longer a badass. His roles and the way he performs them are more reflective of his age and because of this, they're a lot better than his other recent films (See Surrogates.)

In the future, most people have the force too.

The make up artist on this film deserves a medal. That's the first technical aspect that needs to be mentioned. Alongside Gordon-Levitt's brilliant acting is the make up that made him look ridiculously like a young Bruce Willis. For that, we should all applaud. Next, the cinematography was subtly outstanding. It captured the world of the future without needing to explicitly point it out at any point. Sure there was no incredible and revolutionary camera work (see The Tree of Life) but it is that implicitness that made the futuristic world more absorbing. What helped with this was the fresh and original writing. While time assassins are nothing new, the idea of the actual assassin not being the time traveller is a whole new perspective on the concept. Admittedly, there are paradoxes galore - focus on them too much and you'll get a good ol' headache - but overall, the writing was incredible. Rian Johnson, who also directed, has done a smashing job.

A fresh and original film, something that we long for in this world of remakes and adaptations. A must see. the sort of film that could become you're new favourite. Unlike a lot of modern science fiction, Looper strives to appeal to action fans, sci-fi fans, and essentially everyone. A really well written, developed, and produced film. And hey, it has funny bits too!

Best Bit? The ending was simply incredible. The last half an hour was moved the movie from extremely good to a modern marvel. Simply fantastic.

Sci-Fi. Aliens or Time Travel... Or Both?

Trilogy is a word that causes film nerds to hide in fear. They grab their copies of Lord Of The Rings, the original Star Wars trilogy, Back to the Future, and all three Toy Stories. For the kids of course (Ed: Lying bastard. Everyone loves Toy Story.) So how did this trilogy excite people? How did it manage to convince people that it may be different? Two words: Will Smith.

When Boris the Animal (Jemaine Clement) escapes from his high security prison on the moon, he swears revenge on the Agent who shot his arm off and arrested him in 1969. However, instead of finding revenge in the present day, he decides to go back to where it began. The past: 1969. The Agent he want's revenge on? Agent K (Tommy Lee Jones). Back in the present, Agent J (Will Smith) realises that something's different. No one has any recollection of Agent K. J does the only sensible thing, goes back in time to stop Boris the Animal. (Ed: It's just Boris) Back in 1969, he meets the younger Agent K (Josh Brolin), and together they team up to save... well... Agent K. Of course, in 1969, there are now two Boris the Animals, only one Agent K, Agent J, and a strange man called Griffin (Michael Stuhlbarg) who can see all outcomes of any time space combination. Time travel is hard.

Time to strap in... to the love train

All brain numbing paradoxes aside, (don't get me started!) there are plenty of good performances to keep the movie going. While this is, as the other tow movies were, completely Will Smith's movie - normally playing next to Tommy Lee Jones' straight man, Agent K - Josh Brolin is the one who really comes out in this film. One of the most perfect pieces of casting ever known. Brolin channels his inner Tommy Lee Jones perfectly and it is hard to tell that he is not an actual younger version of him. The big difference is, the younger Agent K is more charismatic and this encourages a really nice partnership between him and J. Of course, Will Smith is still brilliant. It's nice to see him going back to his Men in Black character and that he still remembers it, despite the long gap between movies. Tommy Lee Jones, as well, is fantastic and one can't help but wonder if working with Josh Brolin in the past helped the pair learn more about one another which greatly helped their performances.

Despite his might, Boris needed a hand to escape.

As mentioned earlier, there are serious paradoxical issues with the script writing. Of course, Men In Black is an alien franchise primarily but I will forever have issues with people who go back in time to stop something which will lead to them to not wanting to go back in time at all causing a ripple in the time-space cont... oh no I've gone cross-eyed. There are little faults in terms of technical elements; the CGI is perferctly fine (and should be with such a high budget.) The biggest issues come with the script, not just in terms of time travel, but also in terms of heart. There is little heart in the movie until one point that just seems to be thrown in with little thought. Once the audience get past the 'aww' factor, they will question the purpose of it entirely.

Overall though, it is a fun film and one that will present a good laugh, despite jokes falling flat or just not developing completely far too often. Serious Sci-Fi fans beware, but if you're after a simple laugh with a friend, this may suffice for you.

Best Bit? There is a really nice moment when K, J, and Griffin are all gathered at a ball park, in the past, watching a baseball game from the future. It is a part of the movie that actually is touching. That and the very last joke of the movie (The best joke in the movie) are the best parts for me.