Rian Johnson and Joseph Gordon-Levitt team up once again to create a highly original, highly stylized and highly action-packed sci-fi film
If time travel were actually possible, I would not hesitate for a second and send myself back into the past to watch this absolute gem of a film again. Rian Johnson's Looper has just a tinge of "The Terminator," but that's where all the similarities to other movies end in what proves to be an incredibly original, inventive and mind-blowing story.
In a futuristic world where time travel has been illegally developed for criminal activities, Young Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) finds himself in the middle of it as a Looper; an assasin hired by the mob to kill threats, sent back from the future. In a strange twist of fate, Joe's past - or should I say, future - catches up to him when the mob sends him his future-self to kill. An extremely stylized and violent film, Looper really hits on all cylinders with amazing visual cinematography and a completely original sci-fi-action story.
The highlight of this film is 100% its story. Instead of relying heavily on SFX and design like many other modern sci-fi flicks, writer/director, Rian Johnson created a story so thought-provoking and so smart that fancy CGI visuals didn't need to dominate the movie. Now, with that being said, visually, Looper looks fantastic. Johnson stapled his third feature film with so much style, it almost stood out as the shining star of the film. The violence, the gore and the beautifully trippy cinematography, coupled with the impressive lighting - both natural and "a la lens flare" - really pack a huge punch of entertaining style to the movie. Oh, and there are a few scenes with awesome SFX.
One major aspect to the film that had many people on edge was the intense reinvention of Joseph Gordon-Levitt's face, but makeup artist, Kazu Tsuji did an incredible job at making JGL look like a young Bruce Willis. Basically wearing a mask, Joseph Gordon-Levitt shows the world his acting isn't solely based on the pretty-boy charm that emits from his face, but rather on his talents. JGL ripped audio of Bruce Willis' dialogue from Sin City and put it onto his iPod in preparation for this role, and it proved to be a great tactic. Everything from his mannerisms to his throaty voice screamed Bruce Willis, so for that I completely commend his performance. Bruce Willis was entertaining and played his trademark, gun-slinging action star, Jeff Daniels was hilarious as a certain mobster, and Emily Blunt was super sexy in her role as a protective mother (you'll see how that comes into play).
At times, the explanation and the rules of time travel may be a little difficult to follow, but it all makes sense in the end, comes to an incredibly tense and nail-biting climax and wraps up into what looks like one of the best films of the fall/winter. The clock is ticking, go check this film before time runs out.
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Looper - Official Trailer [HD]
