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| Art by Glen Matthews (Midnight Marauder) |
A very solid and enjoyable film. A smart sci-fi movie that I'd put up there with the likes of Inception and Moon and that's something I welcome!
Set in the near future of 2044, where a small percentage of people have 'TK', a form of telekinesis that's no powerful than floating coins in the palm of your hand, and where 'Loopers', a sort of hired gun, kill those who are sent back in time by the mob thirty years in the future (where time travel has been invented and instantly outlawed), until the loop is closed and they themselves get sent back in time and they essentially kill their future selves.
Written and directed by Rian Johnson, this is well crafted. Mature and grounded yet futuristic and sci-fi. It felt a bit like Terminator crossed with a flavour of perhaps Children Of The Corn/Omen but it completely works. Some of the cinematography on the set pieces work really well, with hints of Inception (especially Levitt's iconic scene funnily enough). The time travel element is used to good effect, but doesn't over complicate things either. The cast play their parts really well too. Joseph Gordon-Levitt definitely IS Bruce Willis. He certainly has his mannerisms down to a tee.
All in all, I wish there were more genre films like this as it's very refreshing as opposed to some of the guff that usually gets released. Rian Johnson is on par with the likes of Christopher Nolan and Duncan Jones in my book, and a director I will look out for now. I will be tracking down his earlier movie 'Brick' as a result.
Totally recommended!
****1/2 out of 5
Good review Andy. The plot makes perfect sense even if it may seem a bit confusing at first, and the suspense draws you in but something just did not mix so well in the end. I didn’t really care all that much for the characters and that’s sort of why the pay-off didn’t do much for me.
ReplyDeleteCheers. You do have a good point there too. The two Joes were played in a way that you didn't really root for them. But the end was the logical conclusion to save the day though.
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