Movie Review: Looper
This one’s been on my wishlist ever since it released.
Touted to be an intense high-action caper and dubbed “The Matrix” of this
decade, Looper is one hell of a mind-bending ride with suspense, action and
drama all folded in neat little surprise packages throughout the movie. This
definitely is one my top favorites for 2012.
Rian Johnson, the writer/director for Looper proves yet
again that Science Fiction can be super entertaining. In the leagues of Avatar
and yet, a lot more brainier and thought-provoking venture that forces you to
rethink the ethics of time travel. This movie is built on the premise of
time-travel but as Bruce Willis puts it, “I don’t want to talk about the
time-travel shit. If we start, we will be sitting here all day making diagrams with
straws.” If we do dwell on the “what-ifs” and “how-abouts” that comes
pre-loaded with the concept of time travel, we will definitely be dragging
ourselves into a quicksand with no escape. So as the director prompts you to
do, we should pretty much stick to the twists and turns of the movie, of which,
rest assured, the movie has lots.
So Joe (Joseph-Gordon Levitt, now definitely
one of my favorite leading actors – I first saw him in the sleepy hit “Look-out”,
graduating from strength to strength, flush from the success of Dark Knight
Rises) is a “Looper” – these are assassins who do clean up jobs for their mafia
bosses ( who are thirty years in the future, 2074) – the “jobs” are sent back
in time to 2044 landing in abandoned cane fields on a white tarpaulin where Joe
and his brothers finish them off with a wicked-looking “blunderbuss” ( a homage
to the Westerns I imagine). Joe’s got his life pretty good – the cash, the girl
and a “steady” job. The catch to the job is that the assassins have to “close
the loop” by killing a future version of himself, thus cutting off all ties
with the mafia bosses. The future setting is pretty bleak – the streets are
full of garbage, literal and human – something akin to the Blade Runner – life is
cheap, floating motorbikes and shiny sports-cars are rare but available to the
rich ones. Joe’s life takes a U-turn
when his future self (An Angry Looking Bruce Willis) turns the tables on
his younger self and escapes into the night. That is called “Letting the Loop
Run”. With this starts a mad chase and action caper with the younger Joe trying
to “close the loop” while the older one tries to keep the younger one alive.
Confused? Well hang on.
Bruce (Older Joe) has his own hidden agenda. The older
version of Joe has basically come back in time to save his wife from being
killed in the future; by erasing this mysterious super-villain known only as
the Rainman who controls the future. The
younger Joe on the run from the mafia escapes into the country land onto an
abandoned farm where he befriends a tough cowgirl (Emily Blunt looks every inch
the tough farmgirl trying to etch out a single mom’s living strutting around
with a long rifle and mouthing profanities at the drop of a hat) – Strange
little twist of fate where Young Joe falls in love with the mom and vows to
protect her son – who, full points for
guessing – is of course the Rainmaker’s young self. How this neat little puzzle
gets solved is worth watching out for. I loved the movie for having brought all
the loose little ends tied together in a perfect little way that blew my mind
away.
As far as performances go, Levitt proves yet again he is an
understated class actor, still a little under-rated by Hollywood and gives us a
brilliantly layered performance – maturing from the easy-going
blunderbuss-toting, junkie rich wastrel into a young man mature beyond his
years, who connects the dots and takes on the responsibility of protecting a
young mother and her toddler son. He
keeps the dramatic over-the-top action caper grounded. Bruce Willis, riding
high on frustration and angst running against the grain of time out on a
revenge mission, has his moments in the movie and delivers yet another stellar
performance. Especially the fantastic scene in the diner where he confronts his
rookie younger self and teaches him a thing or two on survival, easily one of
the best in the movie. But overall, I definitely liked Levitt more as the hired
gun caught in noman’s land in between vulnerable and badass and carrying off
the role with elan and aplomb. Even Emily Blunt – Looks like she’s become a hot
favorite to play lead heroines of the intelligent Science Fiction movies,
remember Adjustment Bureau? – has a meaty role that she gives full justice to.
Jeff Daniels, as the mafia boss, running the loopers in 2044 kinda lacked teeth
and didn’t cut it enough for me. Peirre Gagnon, who plays Cid, the mystery boy
also caught my attention – definitely one of the better child artiste performances.
Overall, a neat little addition to the Science Fiction DVD
Collection : Even though second half does get a bit weary, it’s a solid work of
A-grade film-making. Engrossing and entertaining, the director never lets the heavy
duty time-warp confusions affect the story telling. It takes diversions into
the lands of love and loss, solitude and sacrifice and still comes out as a thought
provoking science fiction tale with a heart.
Full five stars.
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