Novel ideas and strong themes delivered with precision; good solid sci-fi

Rating: 10/10 (16 August 2014)

A strong, original plot, superb acting and heavy themes make this action/sci-fi movie an understated classic.
Interlinking motifs like the ticking clocks stitch the film together; the soundtrack is brooding and effective despite its minimalism. Camera shots and angles show little variation, but the clever script and darkened colour palette carry each scene smoothly and quickly. The parallels drawn between Joe and Cid are subtle, but clear on a second watch: the Older Joe's bloodied face, the stroke of hair at Joe's temple, the backstory of an angry child - isolated from his mother - doomed to cause havoc if his path isn't altered by kindness. This contributes powerfully to the idea of karma in the film, as a never- ending circle of events. There are a myriad of references and recurrences, like the arrogant Kid Blue's perpetual injuries and anger within each of the cycles of Joe's life. Joseph Gordon-Levitt seems to represent the arrogance of youth; the cafe scene belays the way he thinks of his life as his own to live as he chooses - despite the evidence of his future self in front of him. Bruce Willis embodies a weary older self, shaken by the death of a woman who cared for him so deeply and driven to change the past in order to save her.
The violence is bloody, but minimal and necessary (disregarding Bruce Willis' final killing spree to tie up the loose plot ends of the Gat Men gang). Excellent performances all round, specifically Emily Blunt (grounded but emotional as Sara), Bruce Willis (a hardened, yet surprisingly tender Older Joe) and Pierce Gagnon (otherworldly and ominous as the mature-beyond-his-years Cid), give the film a depth beyond its action-blockbuster advertising.