LOOPER, (Rian Johnson, TriStar Pictures, 2012)

In LOOPER (Rian Johnson, TriStar Pictures, 2012), assassins from the present patiently wait in empty cornfields for men to be sent to them through time to be assassinated. These men sent through time are other assassins or 'loopers' and eventually the present day assassin ends up killing their future self. At this point the present day assassin is retired and gets to live out the remainder of their lives knowing that exactly forty years later they will be sent back through time to be killed, closing their loop. The idea strikes me that this is a marvelous concept particularly if it could be applied to either watching a film or even simply reading about, hearing of or seeing a films trailer. I would immediately loop back to the point where I had never heard a word about LOOPER and therefore be able to enjoy the film for what it is, a decent thriller; not a smart and inventive new style of film which is what I wished I hadn't read prior to seeing the film. Which is not to say the film isn't damn good, the film just doesn't evoke memories of classics such as BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID (George Roy Hill, 20th Century Fox, 1969) or even THE MATRIX (Larry and Andy Wachowski, Warner Bros., 1999) for that matter. LOOPER provides a unique and innovative narrative. It is well developed, not overly hard to follow and if anything maybe a little too tidy in its conclusion. What it is not is a film that blows your mind. I remember after watching THE MATRIX for the first time instantly wanting to watch it again, speaking softly to myself "what the hell has just happened to the way I look at things"? That's a mind blowing film, one that changes they way you look at things. And LOOPER is not the that nor is it the type of film where I can see myself re-watching it time and again, gaining nuance and appreciation with each viewing like I do with BUTCH AND SUNDANCE. In the end I think what ultimately derailed LOOPER for me is the mistake I made of buying into the comments I had heard about just how 'great' it was. As always, never believe the hype. One thing I can believe is that cinematographers and directors are constantly coming up with brilliant things to do with the camera and cinematography to their films. I really liked the visual style created here by Johnson and cinematographer Steve Yedlin. They used different camera set-ups and placement to give us a unique glimpse into the world of the film. They allowed the camera and by extension our sight to linger, to gaze at its inhabitants, to soak in all that they had created. The film just exists with a different look and feel. Also looking different is the star of the film Joseph Gordon Levitt. A great makeup job gives him the Bruce Willis nose and lends credence to the narrative. The performances of both Willis and Levitt are both rather good and what can I say about Emily Blunt? I mean already she is absolutely stunning and here in the film she looks great but her British accent is not only gone it is replaced with an American south one. There is nothing I don't love about her. There were a few things I didn't love in the film. Time travel does not exist and the capabilities more than likely will never be within our reach. Yet Hollywood insists on using time travel in its narratives. When a film does this I immediately think the film is using a narrative crutch and this weakens the narrative for me. I cannot take a film seriously if it so outrageously looks past universal laws of physics. Finally, the little boy in this film was scary as hell. But that's the problem, he belongs in a horror film not this one. Sure hope the poor guy isn't typecast. LOOPER is a pretty decent flick, just not what I would consider amazing.