Looper

Time travel can be a very tricky proposition. It can be incredibly complex and complicated. Travellers need to be careful or they could wipe themselvesout of existence.

Rian Johnson is a writer/director who I greatly admire. With the films he has made Rain has proven he can be very diverse in the tone and subject matter of the films he makes. It is this talent that makes him more than well qualified to tackle the tricky subject.
When you think about it, this film is about being forced to commit suicide in order to save your life. It is an intriguing premise and one that makes you think about what you would do if placed in that situation. Without revealing too much there is a reason the younger Joe must kill his older self than just saving his own life. Does that sentence make any sense? Time travel can be a complicated but Rain has managed to simplify things with the plot of this film. He also makes a little fun of the whole premise with a meeting of the younger and older self. Much like Christopher Nolan did with 'Inception', Rain has made an intelligent mainstream thriller. It makes you think and you have to pay attention to fully understand it. More than one viewing maybe required as well. I also liked the camera work of DOP Steve Yedlin. I loved the way the camera moves and the camera position for scenes is composed.
The casting of this film has caused a lot of discussion. Rain chose to use two different actors to play Joe rather than the same actor in make up. He chose to use make-up to make Joseph Gordon-Levitt to look like his older self played by Bruce Willis. This means that Joseph looks a little different and that has drawn people out of the movie because all they can think about is how different Joseph looks. I was quite surprised that Joseph not only looks like Bruce but acts like him too and not just inn obvious ways but subtly too. I have long been a fan of Joseph's and he just keeps getting better with each role. I think people do not give Bruce Willis much credit as an actor. He does quite a lot of films and not all of them are that great. But every so often he gets a brilliant role and more than excels in it. This is one of them. His character goes on an emotional rollercoaster in this film and Bruce is more than up for the challenge. Equally as good is Emily Blunt. She usually plays nice sweet girls in most of her previous roles but here she is more tough and determined. I was totally blown away by how good she is. All three leads though pale into insignificance by the performance of Pierce Gagnon who plays Emily's son in the film. This very young boy is simply stunning. He has so many subtleties to his performance I was amazed at how good he was at such a young age.
A clever and smart thriller that does not let the complications of time travel overwhelm the story. It also feature some amazing acting, young and old.