Throwback Thursday Review: 'Looper'

Sorry for the delay, but welcome to my first Throwback Thursday Review of 2018! These next few months are going to be a little slow in regards to major releases, so I had some difficulty stringing together a slate of films to review each Thursday. However, there were quite a few Throwback Thursday Reviews from 2017 that never materialized (Looper included). Therefore, I'm incorporating them into my lineup. For those curious, I was originally going to review Looper the same week that Star Wars: The Last Jedi was released because both films were written and directed by Rian Johnson. I never really had a chance to sit down and rewatch the film though, so I decided to put off the review for later. As for upcoming January reviews, look forward to seeing Throwback Thursday Reviews of Paddington, The World's End, and The Shining, reviews of new releases Paddington 2, The Commuter, Proud Mary, 12 Strong, and Maze Runner: The Death Cure, and I'll be reviewing any films from 2017 that I missed out on as I watch them. 

'Looper' Review

Looper transports audiences to the bleak, distant future of 2044. Thirty years later, time travel will be invented, but is only available for those willing to pay on the black market. When the mob needs to eliminate someone, they send the target back in time thirty years to be assassinated by hitmen known as "loopers." In order to fulfill the terms of their contract, loopers must kill all their targets (including a future version of themselves). Once their future self is dead, their loop (contract) is closed and they've earned thirty years of luxurious retirement. A young looper named Joe is one of the most skilled in his profession. He does his job well, gets paid, and doesn't ask questions. That is, until he recognizes his future self on the job and hesitates... giving his older self just enough time to fight back and escape. Now that his loop's unclosed and his employers are quick in pursuit, Joe must find and eliminate his older self by any means necessary if he's going to safeguard the future and live out the rest of his life. 

Looper was written and directed by Rian Johnson as his third feature length film preceding Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and Johnson's endless imagination and knack for creativity triumphantly shines through his stylistic storytelling. Johnson's ingenuity for taking an established idea, such as time travel, and uniquely incorporating it into his story is probably what landed him the Star Wars gig to begin with (on-top of being a talented director with a unique voice). Time travel is something that can go horribly wrong when handled incorrectly because of all the caveats and logistics of time paradoxes, but Johnson manages to minimize those issues and tell a story full of intellect and emotion.

Johnson put a great deal of care into imbuing understandable motivations for Joe and his older self, so audiences could grasp what each incarnation of Joe is fighting for, and even asks questions about identity and purpose one would expect in a story pitting a man against himself. It's all rather high concept, but deeply rooted in relatable terms. Joe and Old Joe each want to survive in order to accomplish a mission that's meaningful to them. What's so fascinating about all that is how each version of Joe is essentially fighting for the same thing (survival), but their desires drastically differ from one another. The older Joe thinks his life experience adds more credence to his quest while the younger Joe's inclination evolves from being simplistic to more complex the further involved he finds himself in the struggle. 

Johnson's narrative never loses sight of character, so the emotional beats resonate and it's easy to quickly latch onto the characters and the concept. Otherwise, the film might have gotten lost in the shuffle of weighty sci-fi elements. In regards to its technical prowess, Looper features accomplished cinematography, exceptional editing, great grungy production design, and an enriching original score from Nathan Johnson. The action's appropriately intense and the prosthetics used to help Joseph Gordon-Levitt better resemble Bruce Willis aren't half bad. 

Leading Looper, Joseph Gordon-Levitt exemplifies suave charisma to spare as Joe. Gordon-Levitt is simply an extraordinary actor capable of imbuing enough nuance to astound audiences as well as he charms them, and his role here is no exception to his slick streak. Thanks to a proficient prosthesis, muted mannerisms, and a strengthened resolve, you totally buy into the fact that Gordon-Levitt is playing a younger version of Bruce Willis.

On the other end of the spectrum, Bruce Willis seeps similar qualities into his portrayal of Old Joe. Willis' take on Joe is shaped by emotional trauma though, which allows Willis to demonstrate his skill in the realm of dramatic acting (something rarely seen from Willis these days). Willis finds a bold determination for the character amidst Joe's anger, pain, and strife that's subtly communicated to tremendous effect. 

Sprinkled among the ensemble are superb showings from supporting players Emily Blunt, Jeff Daniels, and Pierce Gagnon in the roles of Sara, Abe, and Cid. Blunt, in particular, shines as she exhibits a believable balance between being a strong, protective mother and an emotionally compromised one. Daniels steals nearly every scene he's in, while Gagnon adds his name to the mile long list of adept young actors I've watched recently. 

Looper is essentially a spiritual sibling to Inception because both films are intellectual, emotional, and pioneered by innovative minds. If there's one thing to be said about Rian Johnson, it's that he sure knows how to throw me for a loop!

Film Assessment: A

'The Martian' Review

Nominated For: Best Picture, Best Actor; Matt Damon, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Production Design, Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Visual Effects.

The Martian is a phenomenal film and honestly one of the best movies I have seen all year! The Martian has an incredible cast, great visuals, production design, writing, directing and a compelling story. If I were to compare The Martian to the more recent space films Gravity and Interstellar, I would say I preferred it better than both. I wasn't really a fan of Gravity but I really did enjoy Interstellar and I think one of the things I loved about The Martian was the light tone and the humor in what should be a dark, desperate situation. It was a great contrast and something that was definitely missing from Gravity and Interstellar as both of those were darker films. However despite the light tone, the film was aware of when it needed to be serious and when Mark Watney, the astronaut stranded on Mars, was in a grave situation the film went to that dark place when necessary.  I really liked watching Watney adapt to all of the challenges that can happen in space and see him work to do what can be considered by many to be impossible. the way the story was crafted kept the film interesting and I was never bored despite the somewhat long runtime. Also there are a few fun references to Lord of the Rings and one to Iron Man that caught me by surprise as I didn't really expect the references but I did enjoy them. Ridley Scott did a great job bringing all of the elements of this film came together to make it quite enjoyable. The visuals were very beautiful yet felt real and at times I forgot the film wasn't actually filmed on Mars, which goes to show how great the production design, cinematography, and visual effects came together to create a realistic immersive film experience. The cast were all incredible and worked quite well together on screen but the standout was definitely Matt Damon. It was incredible to see him act alone and really convey what it would be like to wake up stuck on a planet far away from home. Damon did a great job channeling the attitude of the everyman astronaut that the audience can root for. I was very impressed with his performance but he had an incredible supporting cast that all worked well together and never overshadowed Damon. The supporting characters never felt like they were invading the story or felt unnecessary each really adding to the compelling story about trying to bring a man home. The all star cast composed of Jessica Chastain, Kate Mara, Sebastian Stan, Jeff Daniels, Donald Glover, Sean Bean, Michael Peña, and Chiwetal Ejiofor really all added to the experience and created interesting supporting characters that felt necessary to the story. Overall, The Martian is an incredible must see film. If you feel that it looks too similar to either Gravity or Interstellar I can tell you that it is a completely different film with a different story, set of circumstances that I prefer to the latter.

Film Assessment: A-