Film Club does the Timewarp
Last week FTRC Film Club checked out the highly-anticipated sci-fier Looper. But did it live up to the hype?
(SPOILER ALERT GOES HERE)
EVERTON ‘Pure class. A Top 3 time travel film, easily – I love the way they used it intelligently. The torture scene was an instant classic.’
‘JGL had to carry the film and it hinged on him being convincing not only a Joe, but as Joe played by Bruce Willis. He pulled it off flawlessly. He’s definitely become somebody who makes me more inclined to pay for a film now – he’s shown that he can do action, comedy, drama and Bruce Willis. Good for him.’
‘It was great to see a film that took its sci-fi “seriously” also managed to be a good action film. Look at Terminator, taking the 80s action film and putting some meat on it, some conflict and morality etc. Looper is the same and better for it.’
PETER ‘Great, intelligent science fiction but not as good as the time travel films I grew up with despite a fantastic performance from JGL!
‘The makeover took a bit of getting used to but JGL did a great copy of Willis – from the voice to the jaw to the squint! Amazing!
‘It wasn’t quite action-y enough for me. I thought there was going to be more and found the final confrontation a bit underwhelming – maybe Rian Johnson wasn’t too comfortable with the action scenes. The effects on the hover bike thing were a bit dodgy too.’
‘There is a hell of a lot to enjoy in this film and some clever touches and twists to the time travel theme, but the ending lacks the punch or thrills of many other great time travel films. Manage your expectations and you will likely be very pleased with it.’
ED ‘It immediately struck me as a rip off of Terminator 2, made worse by having Emily Blunt’s (a fantastic performance) character called Sarah.’
‘As good as JGL was, Bruce could have mo-capped his younger self in a ‘Tron-Legacy-Jeff-Bridges way…now that would have been all kinds of awesome!’
CHRIS ‘Looper is a slick, stylish and very smart sci-fi movie! The whole concept and premise is executed perfectly and JGL is sublime in the leading role.’
‘Hopefully there won’t be a sequel, this should remain a standalone movie.’
‘Looper is definitely one of the best movies of 2012 and I’d highly recommend it. I can’t wait to watch it again!’
ALISON ‘I enjoyed it. It’s a film that stuck with me long after it finished.’
‘JGL looked a lot like a younger version of Bruce! Which is obviously what they wanted, so it worked. I didn’t find it distracting at all, I was very impressed. What exactly did they do to his lip though? Was it make up or camera trickery?’
‘Emily Blunt was impressive and played a good part. I liked that they gave her character some deeper aspects, like the fact she knew about Loopers and had TK.’
‘As long as Joe Gordon-Levitt keeps making the right film choices, then he could be the huge star that he’s on his way to being. I don’t think he has made any bad film choices as of yet, plus he has amazing on-screen charisma.’
BILL ‘The best time travel film since Donnie Darko, brilliant.’
‘I was amazed by JGL. If you’d asked me who from 3rd Rock from the Sun would go on to be a big star I’d have said French Stewart and laughed if you suggested otherwise – boy was I wrong.’
‘I think writer/director Rian Johnson deserves credit too though, Brick was also excellent.’
MEGAN ‘JGL was great although I did think the prosthetics were a bit distracting. His performance was awesome though.’
‘He has always been a great actor but I think this firmly pushes him into the spotlight. It’s hard not to love an actor who has such a range of performances under his belt and genuinely seems like a nice guy. If he keeps on like this he’ll be unstoppable.’
‘I think it’s refreshing to see this genre doing more interesting things with plot and characters so that they have a greater depth, rather than just shoot-em-up action. It was a very well-rounded film and a joy to watch and contemplate.’
MAXWELL ‘I absolutely loved this film. A great sci-fi adventure that is not only a believable concept but also one that makes you want to know more about the world. Great cast too.’
‘JGL is the MAN.’
‘Some elements of the plot have been used before but there were also some new bits that I loved. I don’t think it matters how original it is as because it was so well executed, the whole concept just became more believable and enjoyable to watch.’
‘Looper has been one of the standout films of the year so far. It’s maybe not completely original, but it’s fresh and engaging throughout. I loved the whole concept of the future world created in Looper and can’t recommend it enough.’
But just what is this Film Club malarkey all about? It’s simples, really. Each week we send a pair of cinema tix (ODEON or Cineworld, whichever is best) to 10 of our most active Facebook/Twitter followers. We put the film we’re going to see to the vote, and the winning film is the one we all go to see. Then we all sit around on Facebook on the Sunday night (6.30) and chat about it. Magic. Sound like something you want to get involved with? Drop us a line at twitter.com/f_t_r_c or on Facebook at on.fb.me/d4dMv8
Lordy Lordy Lord, this is a good movie.
We went into this fully expecting to be put off by Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s Brucified face, but in actual fact the prosthetic work is stupendous. His performance is note-perfect, too; is there anything this guy can’t do?
Bruce himself also does well – all the cast do, in fact. We’ve not seen Emily Blunt do something this dramatic in a while, and she pulls it off in style.
Like a few of our Film Clubbers discussed, it’s great to see an intelligent sci-fi flick that manages to blend action and smarts almost seamlessly. The time-travel plot is logical and almost suspiciously sans holes, and while it’s no Expendables 2 there’s enough CRASH BANG WALLOP in there for people who went in expecting Terminator 5.
Superb, absolutely superb. See it.
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I’m definitely in the minority on this one. Still would give it 4 stars though. Just wish I’d loved it more! Thanks again for letting me take part!