Ok, so Joseph Gordon Levitt plays a hired assassin who kills other hired assassins sent back from the future when they are no longer useful to the criminal overlords of thirty years hence. Then Bruce Willis appears - Joseph Gordon Levitt's future self and part of his job as a looper is to kill his future self and what? WHAT? How does that even work?
As with any plot that involves time travel, a more than healthy dose of suspension of disbelief is required to fully enjoy the ride. Nonetheless, it is a highly enjoyable one that initially takes us on a tour of the dystopic, morally bankrupt Kansas City of 2044.
During this tour, we are presented with a rather depressing summary of the fractured, lonely existence of the average 'looper'. Joe (Levitt) is a drug addled wreck of a man blocking out the emptiness of his past with fast cars and call girls. He drifts between assignments, staying sober only long enough to perform his next execution.
His closest friend and colleague Seth (Paul Dano) shares these values until he is unfortunate enough to have to face up to 'closing his loop' - i.e. killing his future self. Upon arrival in the present, Seth's future self tells him of an even darker world in 2074 in which a criminal known as 'The Rainmaker' is bending humanity to his will and as a consequence Seth refuses to kill him. Unfortunately for Seth, letting his future self escape into the present carries a rather harsh penalty.
The following day, Bruce Willis' arrival signals that it is time for Joe to also 'close his loop'. Joe arrives prepared to deliver the fatal blow but his older self has made other plans and escapes. His reason for doing so quickly becomes apparent as he sets out to kill 'The Rainmaker' before he has a chance to grow up.
The older Joe's motives are not purely altruistic - he is also looking to preserve a future for Levitt that involves meeting the woman who will lift him out of his seedy existence. A chase ensues as the older Joe sets out to kill the three possible children who may be 'The Rainmaker', a consequence of which is that the younger Joe finds himself on a farm protecting one of these children.
This child is under the care of Sara (Emily Blunt), another victim of the supreme hedonistic culture of the city who has retreated from it to bring up her son. It soon becomes apparent that there is something different about this boy. Cid, played with tremendous energy by Pierce Gagnon, has an exceptional intellect and a precocious nature. He challenges many of Joe's long held beliefs about the world he lives in.
Sara and Cid are the only characters in the film who share any form of loving human relationship and it is interesting to note that this seems to separate them from the madness that abounds. The only other exception to this rule is the older Joe, whose selfish desire to return to his wife leads him to madness.
So, despite its brain fryingly complex subject matter, Looper has managed an interesting take on the importance of human relationships in an increasingly status driven society. It is not only a well constructed action film but a dystopic science fiction that ranks alongside the best in the genre.
Sunday 30 September 2012
Sunday 16 September 2012
'The Sweeney' dir. Nick Love
'Hold up, I haven't been an 'ard man in a gritty British action film in a couple of years,' I can imagine Ray Winstone saying on the set of his latest betting advert.
A few well placed calls later and here we have it. Let's face it, if they were ever going to remake 'The Sweeney' - a vaguely chauvenistic 70's TV police series with John Thaw and Dennis Waterman then Ray was always going to be the likeliest man to play the guv'na Jack Regan.
And the opening scenes are promising as Regan and his flying squad take out various armed gangs in a series of absurdly violent operations. Add to that a hard pressed commander Frank Haskins (Damian Lewis) being pushed by straight laced internal investigator Ivan Lewis (played with relish by Steven Mackintosh) and we have a recipe for a very respectable evening of entertainment.
Unfortunately, there are some elements of the plot that seem a little beyond belief such as the ongoing affair between Regan and Nancy (Hayley Attwell). Perhaps this is just a nagging doubt but it does seem that she could do a bit better than an alcoholic used up old cop in his late fifties.
Nor does it seem likely that she would be married to the aforementioned Ivan Lewis - surely the dullest police character ever created and strongly reminiscent of Dwayne T. Robinson from the original Die Hard film.
The rest of the flying squad are given little screen time with the exception of George Carter (Ben Drew) who is a converted teenage miscreant with a ridiculously expensive flat. Beyond the occasional meditation on how his new life is not so very different to his old one he is really not given that much to do.
That is, until the final act, when the plot slightly goes AWOL and Regan is put in a nasty situation by the straight laced internal investigator Ivan. At this point the usual message of these films kicks in 'he may not play by the rules but, by God, he gets results' and it plays out accordingly.
So, this ending was comforting in its familiarity but slightly frustrating for all that. If it had gone for something a little different - perhaps playing a little more strongly on the police corruption angle then it may have made a greater impact. Nonetheless, it was a solid Saturday night of entertainment and I am almost certain that I will be reviewing the sequel at some point in the not too distant future.
A few well placed calls later and here we have it. Let's face it, if they were ever going to remake 'The Sweeney' - a vaguely chauvenistic 70's TV police series with John Thaw and Dennis Waterman then Ray was always going to be the likeliest man to play the guv'na Jack Regan.
And the opening scenes are promising as Regan and his flying squad take out various armed gangs in a series of absurdly violent operations. Add to that a hard pressed commander Frank Haskins (Damian Lewis) being pushed by straight laced internal investigator Ivan Lewis (played with relish by Steven Mackintosh) and we have a recipe for a very respectable evening of entertainment.
Unfortunately, there are some elements of the plot that seem a little beyond belief such as the ongoing affair between Regan and Nancy (Hayley Attwell). Perhaps this is just a nagging doubt but it does seem that she could do a bit better than an alcoholic used up old cop in his late fifties.
Nor does it seem likely that she would be married to the aforementioned Ivan Lewis - surely the dullest police character ever created and strongly reminiscent of Dwayne T. Robinson from the original Die Hard film.
The rest of the flying squad are given little screen time with the exception of George Carter (Ben Drew) who is a converted teenage miscreant with a ridiculously expensive flat. Beyond the occasional meditation on how his new life is not so very different to his old one he is really not given that much to do.
That is, until the final act, when the plot slightly goes AWOL and Regan is put in a nasty situation by the straight laced internal investigator Ivan. At this point the usual message of these films kicks in 'he may not play by the rules but, by God, he gets results' and it plays out accordingly.
So, this ending was comforting in its familiarity but slightly frustrating for all that. If it had gone for something a little different - perhaps playing a little more strongly on the police corruption angle then it may have made a greater impact. Nonetheless, it was a solid Saturday night of entertainment and I am almost certain that I will be reviewing the sequel at some point in the not too distant future.
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