94% Looper

In the Merchant of Venice, my old friend Bill Shakespeare wrote that, "The sins of the father are to be laid upon the children." While it may seem rather odd that one should start a review of a big budget Sci-fi film starring Bruce Willis with a quote from such a venerable work, Looper somehow makes it fitting.Writer/director Rian Johnson became an indie favorite with his stellar debut Brick. A stylish neo-noir that not only paid homage to the genre, but also added a high-school twist that made the film vibrant and fresh. Leap forward in time to 2012. Armed with even more ambition, deeper pockets, and some high-profile names to boot, Johnson released his third film to rave reviews. Aside from the performances, which are on the whole very good here, Johnson manages to create a plausible futuristic world replete with sci-fi staples such as hovercrafts and evolutionary genetic mutations, but makes it feel like a chamber drama. Much of this can be attributed to the tight script, which allows for the large-scale action one would expect from a major sci-fi film, but also spends much of its time tackling the cyclical nature of parent-child relationships. In the same vein as Brick, the topics he takes on aren't groundbreaking. It's his execution that gives it vitality.The cinematography is absolutely absorbing, often feeling as cutting-edge as the 2044 society we see depicted on screen. There was even one scene that had my entire theater gasping, something I haven't experienced since I saw The Matrix. And while Gordon-Levitt is already having a great year, it was this role that showed me that he has at last found his stride in the major leagues. He deftly blends the character's hard-lined cynicism with the right amount of tenderness, making his arc all the more realized. There were also some welcome noir influences that I couldn't help but pay attention to that seem to have been carried over from his Brick days. Specifically, the comically larger sized guns used in the film kept making me think of the Joseph H. Lewis film Gun Crazy. The older sons in this picture, both lacking in the parental guidance department, compensate by lugging around these gigantic phalluses. Whether this is a nod to some of those great noirs or whether I am just a flat out pervert, it was an interesting touch. While Johnson's ambition pays off for the most part, there were some elements that weren't properly conceived. One in particular is a sub-plot involving a showgirl that felt like a complete red herring to me. Although she sets up Joe's desire for a maternal figure in his life early in the film, she gracelessly reappears in the story much later without any particular rhyme or reason.Also, aside from looking the part, I found Willis to be one of the film's major drawbacks. Impressed with his range I was a tiny bit, but I still found him to be on a different track from the rest of the cast. I believe much of the praise he has been receiving is due to him simply appearing in a film other than the "Cop Out" caliber films he is known for, not because he has earned it through his smart performance. I mean listen, you can put a turd in a pretty box with a bow on it, but in the end it is still a turd. (For those of you who are analogy impaired, Bruce Willis is the turd and the pretty box is the film itself.) Johnson takes a lot of chances and for the most part it pays off well. It is a high-minded sci-fi action film that in less capable hands would have crumbled under the weight of it's own ambition.

October 3, 2012

Source: http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/looper/

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