In The Loop

Rating: 7/10 (6 September 2013)

Enjoyable SF effort from emerging auteur Rian Johnson, writer and director of the excellent 'Brick' and the very good (but not excellent) 'Brothers Bloom', 'Looper' is a challenging time-travel yarn, which finds Joseph Gordon-Levitt trying to unpick the tangled plot strands that run through what is a stylish future thriller. The make-up work to alter JGL and make him more Willis-like is remarkably good, and there's a functional matter-of-factness about the technology of the future that makes it easy to accept, a believable near(ish)-future, and the whole thing looks wonderful thanks to DP Steve Yedlin. But 'Looper' is not without issues. Being told more than once not to think about the implications of time travel felt patronising, even when it is the very excellent Jeff Daniels doing the telling - and Mr. J. could have done a lot worse than take a leaf out of the book of the superlative 'Primer' (find it, watch it) and Shane Carruth in that regard. It all goes a bit 'Witness' in the third act, but there is sufficient chemistry between Emily Blunt and JGL that the tension is maintained, and the climax is impactful and highly satisfying. What higher recommendation can there be for Mr. Johnson's abilities than the fact that he has delivered three episodes of the seminal 'Breaking Bad'? We should be awaiting his next project with bated breath.