Not "this year's Matrix" and thankfully doesn't fry your brain like an egg

Rating: 8/10 (17 October 2012)

Wow. Just come away from the cinema and my mind is buzzing with this film. Not so much my brain is 'fried like an egg' but my mind has been taken out for a 10K run and told to do fifty press-ups. This film is an exercise in intelligence, clever script, direction and plot. It was billed at "this year's Matrix," but this is not the case. However, I don't see this as a bad thing as to me the Matrix was all about the SFX, shock and awe; remember the first time you saw it? Or Terminator 2? The SFX blew you away. Here it's the plot, the characters, the writing and the direction which is foremost. More on a par with Inception (another Gordon-Levitt film, notice). The Director Rian Johnson pulled all the strings of a great movie together without resorting to the whole film being obviously CGI - SFX were subtle so the movement of the characters, the realism of the action rang truer. The long shots of the futuristic city were clearly CGI but that was fine, most of the "real" action seemed not to be. It was good. Not detracting anything from Johnson (who also wrote the film) but it had Philip K Dick overtones for me, and a bit of Harry Bates.
Jeff Daniels was lovely as ever, Bruce Willis didn't play Bruce Willis so much and I really enjoyed him in this. There was one time I expected him to say Yippee Kay-ay but he didn't. More power to him. He played with a lot of emotion in this and you did root for him. Probably one of the best things I've seen him in. Gordon-Levitt should get props for doing such an amazing impression of Willis - it's like he's channeling him! The prosthesis/make up to make him look more like Willis (or some CGI?) is quite disturbing but effective and incredibly well done. Emily Blunt was feisty, convincing, and jolly good in this rather physical role - really great. But the star of the piece and special mention needs to be made for child-actor (soon to be super star I predict) Pierce Gagnon. Never seen him before but even Dakota Fanning would get a run for her money with this little thespian - and not a precocious, child "actor" sign or fakery in sight; you'd have thought he was doing all this for real. He was superb. Worth seeing the film just for him, and I'll never look at a child having a tantrum quite the same again! Wonderfully, Hollywood didn't get a look in at the end - was there a cliff hanger, wasn't there? Who knows. Brilliant. In short an incredible-watching, engrossing and exciting film. Tender, humorous, nerve-wracking, exciting, shocking and clever in equal parts.
To sum up, Bruce Willis not playing Bruce Willis, Gordon-Levitt playing Bruce Willis and a young kid acting the pants of everybody!