© 2013 Ray Wong
As science fiction thrillers go, Gravity is a rare treat. It is big in scale and spectacles, but also intimate in terms of human drama.
Dr. Ryan Stone (Sandra Bullock) is a medical engineer enlisted by NASA to install an instrument on the Hubble telescope. Accompanying her on the space shuttle Explore is veteran astronaut Matt Kowalski (George Clooney), who is doing his final mission before retiring. During one of the procedures, while they're spacewalking, Mission Control (Ed Harris) notifies them that the Russians have demolished one of the Russian satellites, and it has created a chain reaction where debris are heading their way at the speed of bullets.
With little time to change course, the space shuttle and the crew are being bombarded by the debris. Stone gets separated and is spinning out of control into space. With only six month in space training, Stone has no experience in disaster like this. Eventually, Kowalski finds and rescues her. They realize that the Explorer has been destroyed and everyone onboard is dead, and communication with Mission Control is gone. Their only option is to find their way to the Russian space station. As their oxygen is quickly depleting and a new wave of debris is fast approaching, it's a race between life an death.
Sandra Bullock (The Heat) gives one of the strongest performances of her career as Ryan Stone. The story is told almost entirely from her point of view and she carries the film on her shoulders. Bullock's portrayal of the scientist with deep personal regrets combines both brain and heart to make the character believable. Her emotions range from condescension to utter fear and confusion, and she is convincing with her silent resolve and inner strength in the direst situations, when her character is all alone.
George Clooney (The Descendants) also nails it as astronaut Matt Kowalski. He portrays the character as the badass space cowboy with a great sense of humor and humanity. Compared to Bullock, his screen time is relatively limited in this largely supporting and pivotal role. There is one scene where he gives Dr. Stone a lifesaving tip that showcases Clooney's charm, sex appeal and acting versatility.
Written by director Alfonso Cuarón (Children of Men) and son Jonás, the screenplay is actually rather bare-bone. The plot is straightforward -- it's simply a story of survival. There are not a whole lot of twists and surprises, and the dialogue may edge on the cliche side. Yet the Cuaróns have crafted a suspenseful thriller nonetheless by stringing a chain of events that never leaves Dr. Stone. The events are larger than life with the vast backdrop of space and Earth, and yet the story is surprisingly intimate as we delve into Stone's mind and heart as she tries to survive the unimaginable with little time to mourn.
While the screenplay may be the weakest link, the rest is purely spectacular. Cuarón's attention to details and how he stages the actions and events and space are jaw-dropping. The special effects are stunning, and the action sequences actually pull the audience in, rarely letting go. With the deft use of close ups, reflections, and long shots, he has created a poetic rendering of disasters in space, and that is unlike anything I've seen since, perhaps, yet another disaster movie, Titanic. Cuarón's intense direction, paired with Bullock's and Clooney's impeccable performances, has created an all-immersive experience that is both spectacular and intimate. He has pushed the cinematic envelope further by using all the dazzling technologies and special effects to tell a very human story. Such gravity for a "popcorn" sci-fi thriller!
Stars: Sandra Bullock, George Clooney, Ed Harris
Director: Alfonso Cuarón
Writers: Alfonso Cuarón, Jonás Cuarón
Distributor: Warner Bros.
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for intense perilous sequences, disturbing images and language
Running Time: 90 minutes
Ratings:
Script - 8
Performance - 8
Direction - 9
Cinematography - 10
Music/Sound - 9
Editing - 8
Production - 10
Total - 8.3 out of 10.0
© 2013 Ray Wong
Kick-Ass was revolutionary as the first R-rated teen superhero flick starring potty-mouthed teens kicking asses. Kick-Ass 2 follows the same footprints; no wonder it feels less fresh and more predictable.
Soon after the events of Kick-Ass, Dave (Aaron Taylor-Johnson) wants Mindy/Hit Girl (Chloe Grace Moretz) to train him to be a real kick-ass. But Mindy has promised her dead father and her new caretaker Det. Marcus (Morris Chestnut) that she will not doing her crime-fighting bit anymore. Instead, Mindy tries to fit in high school.
So Dave joins an underground crime-fighting league called Justice Force headed by ex military Col. Stars and Stripes (Jim Carrey). The group of rogue superheroes are thrilled to have the original superhero Kick-Ass join them, but what Dave really wants is for Mindy to be there.
Meanwhile, after his father was killed by Kick-Ass, Chris (Christopher Mintz-Plasse) vows to avenge his dad's death. He decides to become the world's first and most bad-assed super villain Motherfucker, and recruits a group of criminals to be his minions. Together, they seek out the Justice Force to destroy them.
Aaron Taylor-Johnson (Anna Karenina) reprises his role as Dave/Kick-Ass with a new ease as the actor matures. Taylor-Johnson has an effectively naive, nerdy look and demeanor that work well for his character, but we also know that he can be hunky -- as evident in roles in films such as Anna Karenina -- as Kick-Ass, the original superhero. He and Chloe Grace Moretz (Hugo) form a great brother-sister pair that has a weird, but not entirely uncomfortable, romantic tension as Mindy is coming into her own.
The supporting cast includes Jim Carrey as the Colonel. Carrey brings his usual eccentricity to a relatively straight role that definitely draws our empathy. Morris Chestnut (Identity Theft) is dutiful as Mindy's legal guardian. John Leguizamo (Ice Age) has a brief but affecting role as Motherfucker's mentor and loyal butler. And as Motherfucker, Christopher Mintz-Plasse (This Is the End) tends to overact. I understand this is a comedic comic book movie, but I think Mintz-Plasse is the weakest link. Olga Kurkunina stands out as Mother Russia -- you will have to see her to know what I'm talking about.
Jeff Wadlow (Kick-Ass) continues his stride with this sequel. As a comedy, it is pretty dark in places, and not as funny as the first one. There are some tiresome jokes (e.g. "My mother had nice guns!" - "Don't talk about your mom's tits like that!") and ridiculous situations (e.g. Chris knows exactly who Kick-Ass is, so how difficult is it for a billionaire to find Dave?). The Mean Girls subplot about Mindy and high school is also out of place, as funny as parts of it are.
While this is not as good as the first Kick-Ass, the action is still top-notch, and the general humor is there (who wouldn't love the nasty Mother Russia?) And the chemistry between Mindy and Dave is what holds the entire story up.
If you loved the first Kick-Ass, you'd love or at least like the sequel. For casual fans, be aware that the movie is extremely violent with teenagers saying filthy things. If you can handle it, you may have a kick-ass time at the theater.
Stars: Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Chloe Grace Moretz, Jim Carrey, Morris Chestnut, Lindy Booth, John Leguizamo, Christopher Mintz-Plasse
Director: Jeff Wadlow
Writers: Jeff Wadlow (based on Mark Miller's comic books)
Distributor: Universal
MPAA Rating: R for extreme violence, pervasive language, crude and sexual content, brief nudity
Running Time: 103 minutes
Ratings:
Script - 7
Performance - 7
Direction - 7
Cinematography - 7
Music/Sound - 7
Editing - 7
Production - 7
Total - 7.0 out of 10.0
© 2013 Ray Wong
Like Shaun of the Dead, and Hot Fuzz, The World's End has similar set up that makes fun of the Brits and horror/sci-fi genres. And like those films, the filmmakers are having a great time trying to give the audience a great time.
Gary (Simon Pegg) is a recovering alcoholic and his big idea is to gather four of his best friends from their young days, head back to their hometown and finish the bar crawl they started 20 years ago but didn't finish. The chums, all respectable "adults" now, agree for old time's sake, but Gary is on a mission. He's determined the hit the last bar, The World's End, of the golden mile.
When they get there, everything seems normal except nobody in town recognize them. Also, the guys are concerned about Gary, who seems to be stuck in the past and can't move on. When an old flame Sam (Rosamund Pike) shows up, things get even more heated between the boys as Steven (Paddy Considine) is also in love with Sam.
As the evening progresses, things take a strange turn that results in a "out of this world" brawl in the bathroom of one of the pubs. The five friends discover a dark secret about their hometown, and they need to pull themselves together, escape and survive. However, Gary insists that they should stay and finish the bar crawl. Obviously, Gary has an ulterior motive, and he has no idea that the fate of mankind rests on his and his friends' hands.
Simon Pegg (Star Trek) and Nick Frost (Snow White and the Huntsman) are the premium British comedic duo. They could almost -- almost -- do no wrong when they join forces in a comedy. And there's a reason. Individually Pegg and Frost are both well trained comedic actors with perfect timing and delivery. Together, they are a dynamic, funny duo with chemistry to spare.
Martin Freeman (The Hobbit) is effectively droll as businessman and Sam's brother Oliver. Paddy Considine (The Bourne Ultimatum) is understated as the group's lovesick stud muffin. Eddie Marson (Jack the Giant Slayer) is wonderfully timid and agreeable as Peter. Rosamund Pike (Jack Reacher) is beautiful as Sam, but she is also resourceful when the situation calls for it. Pierce Brosnan (The Ghost Writer) has a small but pivotal role.
Written by Pegg and director Edgar Wright (Hot Fuzz), the screenplay actually follows a pretty typical set up with ultra fast-paced dialogue, plot movement, and snappy scenes that are decidedly British. It has elements of Shaun of the Dead, especially where the end of the world scenarios are concerned. But the tone and actions reminded me more of Hot Fuzz, as doe the broad, crude humor. There are a few dull spots in the beginning and the movie leads us down a mundane path. At times it gets a bit irritating as Gary continues to act like an idiot and the boys indulge him. But once the twist comes and the story takes off unexpectedly, the plot clips along, hilarity abound.
Wright's direction is spot on. Again, the movie reminds me of Hot Fuzz and Shaun of the Dead, also directed by Wright. In a way, The World's End feels like the third film of a trilogy, even though the three movies do not share a common plot or character thread.
While The World's End is not perfect, it is a roaring good time to be had for anyone who enjoys silly, broad British comedies and parodies of the sci-fi horror genre. See it before the world ends.
Stars: Simon Pegg, Nick Frost, Martin Freeman, Paddy Considine, Eddie Marsan, Rosamund Pike, Pierce Brosnan
Director: Edgar Wright
Writers: Simon Pegg, Edgar Wright
Distributor: Universal
MPAA Rating: R for pervasive language, sexual references
Running Time: 109 minutes
Ratings:
Script - 7
Performance - 8
Direction - 7
Cinematography - 7
Music/Sound - 7
Editing - 8
Production - 7
Total - 7.5 out of 10.0
© 2013 Ray Wong
Neill Blomkamp burst into Hollywood with his groundbreaking South African sci-fi drama District 9. This is his big budget Hollywood follow-up and the result is not as impressive as I hoped.
In the year 2154, Earth has become polluted and overpopulated. The rich and privileged have built a paradise on a space station called Elysium, where advanced technology helps keep them healthy and safe. Back on Earth, ex-convict Max (Matt Damon) has been working nonstop to save up for his trip to Elysium. That has been his dream since childhood, and he is determined to go there. An incident at work exposes Max to a high dosage of radiation, and he has only about five days to live.
Max needs to go to Elysium now so he can get healed, but he doesn't have enough to buy a black market ticket. So he volunteers to do a job for an underground op Spider (Wagner Moura), who wants to kidnap an Elysium citizen (William Fitchner) and download secrets from his brain. Spider outfits Max with a body army and a team to carry out the mission, but something goes wrong with Elysium Security Officer Delacourt (Jodie Foster) sends a mercenary named Kruger (Sharlto Copley) to hunt Max down.
When Max gets seriously injured, he seeks help from his childhood sweetheart Frey (Alice Braga) who is now a nurse. Alice needs to take her daughter to Elysium, too, as she has late stage Leukemia. Max promises Frey to take them there. Once they get there, Max realizes his mission is bigger than he thought, and he must decide what to do.
Matt Damon (Behind the Candelabra) is no stranger to playing down-and-out action heroes, as he did in the Bourne series. Here, Damon achieves a new level of grunge and toughness, further establishing him as one of the most versatile actors in Hollywood. Granted, this is not one of the best-developed characters that Damon has played, but he's done his best bringing the humanity to the role. Jodie Foster (Carnage) has surprisingly limited screen time playing a corporate snake as Delacourt, but her role is two one-dimensional to make any real impression. Her arc also doesn't seem fully developed, and that leaves me wanting more.
Sharlto Copley (District 9) teams up with Blomkamp again and plays a very different character this time: a mad man who is out for blood. Copley has the movie's most flamboyant and outrageous character and he gives it his all. Alice Braga (On the Road) is beautiful and sweet as Frey but she, too, has very limited scope to play her character.
The supporting cast includes Wagner Moura (Father's Chair) with an over-the-top performance as Spider; William Fitchner (The Lone Ranger) doing his best as a dispassionate Elysium billionaire, and Diego Luna (Contraband) in a gentle turn as Max's friend Julio.
Blomkamp's screenplay has some neat new concepts and builds on his usual social commentary about the rich vs. the poor. The high concept ideas sound great on paper, but seem to get lost in the execution as it is more complicated than what the story requires. The plot turns out to be a more standard "man saves the world" one with a lot of Hollywood action and violence, but not enough suspense and mystery. Also, I feel that the character development and arc are not up to par with what Blomkamp has done before. What made District 9 so good was not only the structure, social commentary and the wicked ending, but also how the character develops throughout the story. I feel that is what is significantly lacking in this one.
The direction is adequate. It has all the standard Hollywood action adventure, sci-fi trimmings. Special effects are great. The world that Blomkamp has built is similar to that in District 9 and it works. The design and rendering of Elysium is also astounding. Production value is pretty good. The action violence can be over the top at times, with lots of exploding body parts and gore. I think they are necessary, to have a point, if only the story is stronger.
I think Elysium is a decent attempt as a follow-up for Blomkamp, but can't help but feel rather disappointed by the writing and execution. I don't mean that he has sold out to Hollywood, but it seems that he's more interested in the entertainment value here than what he has to say.
Stars: Matt Damon, Jodie Foster, Sharlto Copley, Alice Braga, William Fitchner, Wagner Moura. Diego Luna
Director: Neill Blomkamp
Writer: Neill Blomkamp
Distributor: Sony
MPAA Rating: R for strong violence and language
Running Time: 109 minutes
Ratings:
Script - 7
Performance - 7
Direction - 7
Cinematography - 8
Music/Sound - 7
Editing - 8
Production - 8
Total - 7.5 out of 10.0
© 2013 Ray Wong
Do we need another Superman movie? Apparently DC Comics and Hollywood think so, but this time producer Chris Nolan and director Zack Snyder (both no strangers to superheroes) want to take a different approach than in the past.
Clark Kent (Henry Cavill) has always feel different from the time he was a child. After growing being ridiculed and for learning to control his super powers, Clark sets out on a long self-discover journey to find himself and, most important, who he really is and where he came from. His search leads him to Alaska where spaceship has been hidden under the ice for millennia. There he finds out the truth about himself, that he is Kal-El, the son of Jor-El (Russell Crowe), chief scientist of Krypton. The planet, due to its unstable core, was destroyed years ago with the rest of its citizens including Kal-El's parents. They tried their best to save their people but after they failed, they found a way to send Kal-El to Earth, one of Krypton's old outposts.
What Clark/Kal-El does know is that Jor-El's nemesis General Zod and his minions were exiled from Krypton because of treason. But the planet's destruction set them free, and they are tracking Jor-El's son to Earth. They also discovered that Jor-El has injected the genetic imprints of the entire Kryptonite population into Kal-El, and through him, Zod will be able to revive their race and take over Earth as their new home.
Feeling ostracized by people of Earth, Clark has to make a decision which side he is on. Should he continue to hide his superpower as his adoptive father Jonathan (Kevin Costner) once told him that humans are not ready for him? Or should he embrace his power to protect Earth and humans against his own kind? Where does he loyalty lie? And is Earth ready for him as one of its own?
Lots of existential questions for a summer popcorn superhero movie as universal and well-known as Superman. What writer David S. Goyer did was giving Superman a darker, more complex personality and backstory. Clark's struggle as a child and young man ring true as an outcast. Gone is the cockeyed optimism of yesteryear's Superman universe, where Superman is revered and worshipped. Instead, Superman is feared, misunderstood, ridiculed, and marginalized as nothing more than a threat to mankind.
In Goyer's version, Clark Kent's life purpose is more murky, and the character himself is more ambivalent and confused. Even though Kal-El is all Kryptonite, Clark Kent remains very human after all. He struggles with his conflicting feelings about himself, his purpose, his place in a world he's called home since he was a child. He struggles between his true identity and his new identity as a human. He struggles between his feelings for Lois Lane (Amy Adams), and his duty as the world's ultimate protector against things and people like General Zod.
On many levels, this darkened version of Superman works, even though some may feel uncomfortable with the amount of changes the filmmakers have made to the original characters and cannon. Let's face it, Superman is not the Dark Knight. By making Clark more brooding and complex, Goyer has deepened the characterization and given the story and characters more layers, and yet he's somehow stripped out some of the defining characteristic of Superman. The truth is Superman is NOT the Dark Knight. Superman has always been the light and God-figure, the super boy scout of the universe. So this change fundamentally changes how we see Clark Kent/Superman, which can be good or bad depending on how attached you are to the Superman you know.
Henry Cavill (Immortals) has done a good job portraying this new Superman. He is incredibly good-looking and chiseled, definitely super fit for the role. What's impressive is that he also brings sensitivity and complexity that we really haven't seen since Christophe Reeves, and Cavill's portrayal is more in line with Christian Bale than Reeves.
Amy Adams (Trouble with the Curve) is amiable as the iconic Lois Lane, but I feel that she is somewhat miscast. That's not to say her performance is bad; it's just that I don't see her as Lois Lane and after seeing the movie, I still don't see it. There's just something off. Michael Shannon (Premium Rush) plays General Zod with all the villainy he can muster but to me, he lacks the subtlety and sublime layers of Terence Stamp, who remains the definitive General Zod for many fans.
Diane Lane (Secretariat) and Kevin Costner (The Company Man) are both excellent as the Kents, given the over-the-top production some needed down-to-earth quality. And Russell Crowe (Les Miserables) brings great dignity to the role of Jor-El, which surprisingly has a much bigger role in this version.
Zack Synder is no stranger to big budget superhero extravaganzas, and by and large he delivers. Maybe a bit too well. The movie's quieter moments (the flashbacks, the introspection, Clark's solitude, etc.) are very well handled. The action sequences, however, are topnotch Hollywood stuff. Unfortunately, eventually the actions feel drawn out and overlong. One battle after another, we can't help but feel exhausted. The movie is at least 30 minutes too long, and much of the subplots could have been cut. The problem is that Synder and Goyer tried to put both the origin story and a revamped Superman II plot into one movie, and that's just too much. It simply feels like two separate movies being stitched together into one and the over the top actions, and there are many, become distractions instead.
Granted, Man of Steel is still superbly watchable, entertaining, and popcorn worthy. With the added layers of characterizations and the darker aspects, this could have been outstanding like the Dark Knight trilogy. Unfortunately, Goyer and Snyder have bitten more than they could chew and the result is an overlong, over-complicated mash-up of two different movies. It would have been better if they had made this a two-part series instead.
Stars: Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Diane Lane, Russell Crowe, Kevin Costner, Christopher Meloni, Laurence Fishburne
Director: Zack Snyder
Writers: David S. Goyer
Distributor: Warner Bros.
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi violence, action and some language
Running Time: 143 minutes
Ratings:
Script - 7
Performance - 7
Direction - 7
Cinematography - 9
Music/Sound - 8
Editing - 8
Production - 9
Total - 7.8 out of 10.0
© 2013 Ray Wong
Clearly influenced by Japanese anime of giant combat robots and monsters (Kaiju in Japanese), del Toro's Pacific Rim is unabashedly bombastic, loud, larger than life, and fun.
After the first Kaiju's (big monsters) destroyed some of the world's biggest cities, the world reacted by creating the Jaeger project: Jaegers are giant robots that can fight and defeat the Kaiju's. But the way that Jaeger works require two pilots who are "drift compatible" to operate; the Jaeger proves to be too dangerous for one person to handle. Raleigh (Charlie Hunnam) is one of the Jaeger pilots. But after his brother/co-pilot was killed in one of the battles, Raleigh quits the program and retreats into obscurity.
Five years later, the Jaeger project is being shut down as the world's government determines that the Jaegers are insufficient to stop the Kaiju's, which are coming at increasing frequency, through an inter- dimensional rift deep under the Pacific Ocean. Director Pentecost (Idris Elba) decides to run the operation as a rote project, and he recruits Raleigh again as he is one of the remaining pilots. At the base, Raleigh meets science officer Mako (Rinko Kikuchi) who happens to be a pilot-in-training and more important, drift compatible with him.
At Raleigh's insistence, Pentecost agrees to let Mako become Raleigh's co-pilot, but Mako's emotional instability threatens everyone's safety and the effectiveness of the Jaegers. Because Raleigh is connected to Mako, he discovers from her memories a deep secret. When the Kaiju's threaten to put a final nail in the coffin for mankind, the remaining four Jaegers must rise to the occasion and defend Earth, maybe for the last time.
Charlie Hunnam (Sons of Anarchy) successfully channels a young Heath Ledger or Garrett Hedlund as the would-be hero. The character Raleigh is handsome, charming, and sensitive. He is also an alpha male. Hunnam has done a good job, in a broad action-adventure way. Idris Elba (Prometheus) once again plays the military type as Director Pentecost, and he does it really well with great resolve, authority, and heart.
Rinko Kikuchi (Shanghai) impresses as the unlikely heroine of the story. As Mako, Kikuchi is smart, typically Asian (meaning quiet and respectful), but also resourceful and resilient as the strong, silent type. She and Hunnam have good chemistry together to portray the would-be lovers.
The supporting cast comprises of good actors doing typical, cliched comic-book characters. Charlie Day (Monsters University) is particularly annoying as Dr. Newton Geiszler who is more of a buffoon than a scientist (and why do filmmakers always depict scientists as these buffoons?). Burn Gorman (Johnny English Reborn) is Day's counterpart and is just as foolish. Max Martini (Colombiana) reminds me of Sean Bean in The Lord of the Rings even though he's playing a futuristic Jaeger pilot. Robert Kazinsky (Red Tails) is all cocky as Raleigh's rivalry. Clifton Collins Jr. (Parker) is a bit lost in a minor role, and Ron Perlman (Bad Ass) has a flashy role as a "Chinese" smuggler.
The screenplay by Travis Beacham (Clash of the Titans) and Guillermo del Toro (Don't be Afraid of the Dark) follows a pretty simple, standard framework of a sci-fi action adventure. The premise and story remind us of yet another giant robot-alien franchise: The Transformers. The comparison is inevitable. Fortunately, Beacham and del Toro have done a better job developing the characters and plot between the big fights and set pieces. Their characters are at least believable and likable, and there are actually scenes that move the characters forward instead of just letting them be chess pieces.
Still, this is a giant robot vs. giant monster movie, so don't expect Shakespearean writing and character development. What we've come to see are, you guess it, giant robots fighting giant monsters. And we get what we deserve. Under del Toro's unapologetic direction, the actions are bombastic with full-on energy. Everything is done on a grand scale, including the mass destructions. It brings us back to the pure joy and awe of watching old Godzilla movies in which the giant monster destroys the entire city. Here, we get to see the Jaegers and the Kaiju's destroy San Francisco, Tokyo, and Hong Kong with style. That's got to be satisfying.
Still, del Toro has a few missteps. He gives away the plot too quickly in a rushed prologue that leaves not much to the imagination. There are not enough scenes where we can witness the awesomeness of the Kaiju's (or the Jaegers, for that matter). There are way too many scenes shot at night or in dark situations, and too many close ups that it's difficult to discern what is going on. At times the action sequences become so repetitive that I start to worry: "Is this yet another Michael Bay's Transformers?"
Well, del Toro is no Michael Bay. He's much better. Granted, Pacific Rim is nothing as profound and beautiful as Pan's Labyrinth. But as genre sci-fi action/adventure, it does a good job entertaining us with bombastic larger-than-life action sequences and out of the world special effects. With its international cast and exotic locations -- and did I mention giant robots and monsters? -- this should do very well at the home box-office and around the Pacific Rim.
Stars: Charlie Hunnam, Idris Elba, Rinko Kikuchi, Charlie Day, Burn Gorman, Max Martini, Robert Kazinsky, Clifton Collins Jr., Ron Perlman
Director: Guillermo del Toro
Writers: Travis Beacham, Gullermo del Toro
Distributor: Warner Bros.
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for sequences of intense sci-fi action and violence, brief language
Running Time: 132 minutes
Ratings:
Script - 7
Performance - 7
Direction - 8
Cinematography - 8
Music/Sound - 7
Editing - 7
Production - 8
Total - 7.5 out of 10.0
© 2013 Ray Wong
Does the world needs another apocalyptic zombie movie, aka Dawn of the Dead, 28 Days Later, The Walking Dead… (and the list goes on). Apparently, Hollywood thinks so. Granted, World War Z is based on Max (son of Mel) Brooks's phenomenal bestseller that installed many fresh ideas into the genre.
Gerry (Brad Pitt) is an ex-UN special operator who is now a stay-at-home dad with wife Karin (Mireille Enos) and two young daughters. On their way to school and work in Philadelphia, all Hell breaks loose when people start to go crazy with rabies-like symptoms and attack and kill others. Gerry also observes that it takes only 12 seconds for the dead to "turn."
Surviving the disaster is only the beginning. After Gerry and his family are rescued, he is ordered to help an investigating team to try to find out the origin of the outbreak, in hopes of finding a vaccine. Thus starts Gerry's globe-trotting while trying to be one step ahead of the "affected." His journey takes him to North Korea, Jerusalem, and India, but nothing turns up.
Instead Gerry continues to find himself in dangerous situations where human nature is in direct conflict with mother nature, and more and more people are being turned. What Gerry discovers is that the zombies are dormant by nature unless provoked by stimuli such as sound and movement. And one clue after another, Gerry finally realizes the virus's weakness; and with an act of self-sacrifice, Gerry needs to prove himself right once and for all so he can save mankind.
Brad Pitt (The Moneyball) is in fine form. The lines and weathered face of this superstar somehow add charisma and wisdom to the characters he plays, and Pitt's portrayal of Gerry is multi-dimensional and deeply affecting. Mireille Enos (Gangster Squad) is solid as Gerry's determined and resourceful wife. They make a good on-screen team and we believe that they're two loving parents whose top priority is to keep their family safe.
French actress Daniella Kertesz (Loving Anna) impresses as Segen, a soldier whose job is to protect Gerry, and who ends up being part of Gerry's superb companion. The supporting team does great work here all around, including James Badge Dale (Iron Man 3) in an heroic turn as Captain Speke, Matthew Fox (Speed Racer) as a parajumper, and David Morse (The Odd Life of Timothy Green) as a bizarre ex-CIA agent.
Based on Max Brooks's best-selling novel, the script of this new zombie romp is written by Matthew Michael Carnahan, Drew Goodard, and Lost's Damon Lindelof. The story itself isn't really all that original -- what the writers have brought to the genre is a new twist and a slew of believable characters that focus on one man and his family. Most zombie movies focus on one or two set pieces and a specific location, but World War Z takes us on trip to let us witness the horror on a global scale. The plot opens with the usual mayhem and doom, but quickly turns into one man's quest to find an answer.
Still, one cannot argue that the genre is showing its age and fatigue. Everything does begin to look derivative, no matter how "fresh" the writers want to make it. The idea that zombies move in lightening fast pace and swarm like locusts is interesting and, quite honestly, breathtaking to watch. But everything else does seem to have that "been there, done that" feel.
So it all comes down to the execution. The cast has a done a great job, for sure. Marc Forster's (Quantum of Solace) track record has been spotty. Somehow the idea that Finding Neverland's director is doing a zombie movie is an odd one, but I think Forster rose to the occasion and delivered one hell of a nail-biter. The opening sequence is chaotic, frightening, suspenseful, and powerful. There are some duller moments, of course, but over all the pacing is good. Some of the set pieces are phenomenal to watch, such as one of the most exhilarating plane crashes on screen. Some may argue that the camerawork could be better, but I had no problem with his choices. It adds to the immediacy and urgency of the sequences. It's an exciting movie to watch.
Despite its derivative story and the limitation of the genre itself, World War Z offers something new and fresh, and with its effective cast headed by a strong Brad Pitt, and the capable direction of Marc Forster, it is a movie that is worth watching, even if it doesn't solve any world problems, per se.
Stars: Brad Pitt, Mireille Enos, Daniella Kertesz, James Badge Dale, David Morse, Matthew Fox, Ludi Boeken
Director: Marc Forster
Writers: Matthew Michael Carnahan, Drew Goodard, Damon Lindelof (based on novel by Max Brooks)
Distributor: Paramount
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for intense frightening sequences, violence and disturbing images
Running Time: 116 minutes
Ratings:
Script - 7
Performance - 8
Direction - 7
Cinematography - 9
Music/Sound - 8
Editing - 7
Production - 9
Total - 7.5 out of 10.0
© 2013 Ray Wong
Since J. J. Abrams rebooted the waning Star Trek franchise and literally altered its universe, our universe has been waiting for his follow-up. Into Darkness is much darker episode that taps into much of today's fears: terrorism, military abuse, genocide, etc.
After a successful but "unauthorized" mission, James T. Kirk (Chris Pine) is demoted by Star Fleet. Worse, it creates a rift between the hot-headed, go-by-the-gut Kirk and the logical-to-a-fault Mr. Spock (Zachary Quinto). After a deadly domestic terrorist attack in London and another attack at the Star Fleet headquarters in San Francisco, Kirk is reinstated as Captain to lead the Enterprise on a secret mission to hunt down the mastermind behind the attacks: John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch).
The mission takes them to an abandoned Klingon outposts where Harrison is hiding. Their mission is to destroy Harrison with the torpedoes outfitted on the Enterprise. But Kirk changes his mind and decides to do the right and logical thing -- as Spock would have it -- by trying to capture Harrison and bring him back to Earth for justice without starting a full-on war with the Klingons.
This change of plans angers Admiral Marcus (Peter Weller), who follows the Enterprise into the Klingon territory. Marcus's motivation becomes highly suspect when Kirk and the crew discover the true identity of Harrison. As Marucs vows to destroy Harrison and everyone onboard of the Enterprise, Kirk, Spock and their team must outsmart the Admiral in order to survive.
Chris Pine (People Like Us) continues to mature as a rising star, and he has definitely made the iconic role his own, displaying his own brand of earnestness and charisma while channeling Shatner's swagger and cockiness. He and Zachary Quinto (Margin Call) make a great team together, successfully recreating the dynamics and bond between Shatner and Nimoy in the original. Quinto's Spock also has a sensitive side that sets him apart -- he can be at once infuriatingly logic and unemotional, and then becomes a full-functional human being (well, half-human anyway).
Zoe Saldana (The Words) has some key scenes as Uhura, and her romantic dynamics with Quinto (one of the true "What the heck?" moments in the first Star Trek reboot). Karl Urban (Dredd) reprises his role as the cantankerous but loyal "Bones" McCoy. Simon Pegg (Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol) is again hilarious as Scotty, and John Cho (Identity Theft) is resourceful and stoic as Sulu. Anton Yelchin (Fright Night) daftly plays the young Chekov, and Bruce Greenwood (Flight) is solid as Admiral Pike.
Three new actors join the impressive cast. Benedict Cumberbatch, best-known as Sherlock Holmes, plays the mysterious villain Harrison with gusto, cool, and a deadly stare. Cumberbatch successfully makes us fear, loath and also admire and even root for the character, despite all the bad things he's doing. Peter Weller (Dragon Eyes) is superbly smarmy as Admiral Marcus -- it's really good to see him in another sci-fi blockbuster again. And Alice Eve (Men in Black 3) is beautiful and sexy as usual, good enough to be Kirk's would-be love interest (those who are familiar with the original Star Trek would know what I am talking about), but also convincing as a brainy science officer.
The story and screenplay by Robert Orci (Star Trek) and Alex Kurtzman (Star Trek) weave a nice yarn of intrigue, excitement and superb conflicts while still maintain the tongue-in-cheek humor and character dynamics that made the original Star Trek such a classic. They also pay tribute to the original -- even the casual fan would notice the references. The story itself pays homage to one of the best movies in the original Star Trek series. I wouldn't tell you which one for it would spoil one of the big reveals in this one, but you don't really need to try too hard to guess it. There are certainly enough parallels to the original to walk a fine line between homage and borrowing, and I think the writers did a great job. There are enough deviation in this version that makes you truly understand this is a true alternate reality. That realization is made even more apparent with the brief cameo of Nimoy as Spock Prime.
J. J. Abrams could do no wrong with this series -- and yes, he has toned down his infamous lens flares (there are still plenty to go around, but not as annoyingly distracting). The pacing is superb, the plot twists are well placed, and the character interactions, especially between Kirk and Spock, are wonderfully rendered. The set pieces are fantastic, the special effects excellent and, despite some logistic flaws, the story is strong. If there is one problem, I would be that the superb cast is rather underutilized. The cast had so much more to do and to show off their different personalities in the first movie. Here, they are truly a team and thus, they all kind of blend into one, leaving room for Spock and Kirk to play out their major bromance. That is fine for the story, as the focus is on Kirk and Spock, but I can't help but feel a bit cheated because I like this cast so much.
Still, Into Darkness is a wonderful addition to the series and a worthy second installment. It is pretty awesome. I can't wait to see what J. J. Abrams and his team will bring us next.
Stars: Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, Zoe Saldana, Karl Urban, Simon Pegg, John Cho, Benedict Cumberbatch, Anton Yelchin, Bruce Greenwood, Peter Weller, Alice Eve
Director: J. J. Abrams
Writers: Robert Orci, Alex Kurtzman
Distributor: Paramount
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for intense sequences of sci-fi action and violence, brief strong language
Running Time: 132 minutes
Ratings:
Script - 7
Performance - 8
Direction - 8
Cinematography - 9
Music/Sound - 8
Editing - 8
Production - 9
Total - 8.0 out of 10.0
© 2013 Ray Wong
Usually when a franchise gets to the third installment, it either shows signs of fatigue (think The Terminator) or sparks of reinvention (think Star Trek). The first film of the Iron Man series was so good and the second so unexceptional that Iron Man 3 could go either way.
After saving the world from alien invasion (in The Avengers), Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) is suffering from a serious case of insomnia. While he can't sleep, he tinkers with his inventions, which have also become part of the military lineup called the "Iron Patriots" -- much of his chagrin but Col. Rhodes' (Don Cheadle) amusement. What keeps Stark awake at night is his imminent sense of dread, that something bad is going to happen to the love of his life Ms. Pepper Potts (Gwyneth Paltrow).
That imminent dread appears in the form of a terrorist leader named The Mandarin (Ben Kingsley), who wracks havoc in the world with his random bombings and assassination of powerful men, including an attempt to kidnap the President of the Unite States. At one of the bombings, Stark's trusted friend Happy (Jon Favreau) is seriously hurt. Seething with anger and frustration, Stark wages a personal war with The Mandarin.
Big mistake. The Mandarin attacks Stark and Potts at their Malibu home. Believed to have died, Stark goes on a detour to try to figure out how to defeat the Mandarin. His investigation leads him to Tennessee, and the trail of information leads him to an old flame Maya (Rebecca Hall) and her boss Aldrich Killian (Guy Pearce), who may be working with the Mandarin in developing some kind of secret biochemical weapons.
Robert Downey Jr. (The Avengers) reprises his role of Tony Stark with more maturity and thoughtfulness this time. The whole idea is that Stark is not the same person as he was when the series began. RDJ embodies that change rather nicely while still displaying his trademarked cockiness and arrogance. Still, RDJ has been playing similar characters since he resurrected his career with Iron Man (in some ways, Sherlock Holmes is just another version Tony Stark); I'd like to see him tackle something completely different because he is a very good actor.
Gwyneth Paltrow (The Avengers) has always been the lovely flower in this franchise, but here she has a bit more to do, to show off some of her fighting skills. Still, this is Tony Stark's show, and Paltrow would just have to be happy in the role of the love interest and damsel in distress much of the time. Don Cheadle (Flight) also reprises his role as Col. Rhodes. He and RDJ play off each other beautifully. One only wishes that Cheadle has more screen time instead of being a big sidekick.
Guy Pearce (Prometheus) plays an interesting villain who has a sympathetic past. Pearce does it with a lot of charm and flair, but his character is sorely underwritten that I just can't relate to him. "Obsession" and "ambition" are great, but simply not enough to be character motivation. Rebecca Hall (The Town) enjoys her role in one of her biggest movies yet, but her character is also significantly underwritten to make any true impact. The true surprise here is Ben Kingsley (Hugo) -- his performance during one of the movie's funniest twists is well worth the price of admission.
Supporting cast also includes Jon Favreau (Identity Theft) as Happy -- it must have been a relief for Favreau not to direct IM3, as he seems to have a lot more fun, here -- and James Badge Dale, best known as a cancer patient in Flight, who follows up as The Mandarin's menacing minion, Savin.
Written by director Shane Black (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang) with Drew Pearce (Pacific Rim), the script is a huge mess of too many plot threads and characters, and non-sensible motivations and consequences. I'm not a stupid person, and I have watched a lot of movies (including the first two Iron Man films), but I can't for the life of me figure out what is going on. The plot threads move in different directions but they never really come together in cohesion. It is fragmented. The plot and character misdirection also feels pompous and self-indulgent: "Hey look how clever we are." The threats are never urgent or real, and Stark's internal struggle is only touched on without a lot of depth.
This is by far the most cartoonish, comic book-like production of the series. Given that this is, in fact, a Marvel comic, I can understand the direction the writers and producers want to go, and I appreciate that. But the execution is something else. It is a big hot mess. I'm surprised because I thoroughly enjoyed Black's Kiss Kiss Bang Bang which had a great mix of humor, action, plot and character development. So far, the only thing I really like about Iron Man 3 is the humor. That, they did it right. Unfortunately, under Black's direction, the action is chaotic and murky, with too many close-ups and messy choreography. For a while I thought I was watching Transformers 4, and that is not a compliment by any stretch.
Stars: Robert Downey Jr., Gwyneth Paltrow, Don Cheadle, Guy Pearce, Rebecca Hall, Jon Favreau, Ben Kingsley, James Badge Dale, Stephanie Szostak
Director: Shane Black
Writers: Drew Pearce, Shane Black
Distributor: Walt Disney
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for intense sci-fi action and violence, brief suggestive content
Running Time: 130 minutes
Ratings:
Script - 6
Performance - 7
Direction - 7
Cinematography - 9
Music/Sound - 7
Editing - 7
Production - 9
Total - 7.1 out of 10.0
© 2013 Ray Wong
As science fiction, Tom Cruise's new movie Oblivion follows a familiar story arc that is part mystery and part psychological drama, set against a fantastical post-apocalyptic planet Earth.
Almost 50 years after the alien invasion that almost destroyed the world, maintenance technician Jack Harper (Tom Cruise) and control officer Victoria (Andrea Riseborough) have the thankless job of fixing droids and keeping the "Scavs" -- surviving aliens who still inhabit Earth -- from destroying the hydro-plants that are turning Earth's seawater into reusable resources. For security reasons, their memories have been wiped to protect the integrity of their mission.
With two more weeks to go before they complete their tasks and join the rest of humanity, which has relocated to Titan, Victoria is looking forward to leaving this God forsaken world. But Jack feels differently -- somehow he wants to stay and call the deserted world "home."
After a beacon brings down an old spacecraft that has been orbiting Earth for over 50 years, Jack rescues a mysterious survivor, Julia (Olga Kurylenko), who has recently appeared in Jack's recurring dreams even though he doesn't know her. Having come out of her delta-sleep, Julia immediately recognizes Jack but refuses to tell him how until Jack retrieves her flight recorder. Meanwhile, the Scavs are trying to capture Jack, for reasons that are beyond his comprehension.
What Jack discovers will completely change his perception of who he is and what he is doing on Earth. Suddenly his plans change, and he is determined to do what he can to save Julia and the planet he wishes to call home.
As Jack Harper, Tom Cruise (Jack Reacher) is recycling his arsenal of reluctant hero characters ranging from Ethan Hunt of Mission Impossible to Claus von Stauffenberg in Valkyrie. Even though Cruise's brought nothing new to the character, his performance is affable and believable, especially during most of the movie when Jack is confused and frightened.
The three female leads bring different sensibilities to their roles and the story. Olga Kurylenko (Seven Psychopaths) is gorgeous -- one can believe why Jack can fall for her -- but her performance is rather thin and one-dimensional. Andrea Riseborough (Disconnect) fares better with the complicated role of Victoria -- we certainly feel sorry for her and her dilemmas. Melissa Leo (Olympus Has Fallen) has a limited but pivotal role as Sally, the commander that Jack and Vicky report to. As usual, Leo does a good job.
Morgan Freeman (Olympus Has Fallen) plays Beech, a militant character that is a composite of different archetypes: the mentor, the wise man, etc. He, too, is simply recycling one of the characters he's been playing all along. Nikolaj Coster-Waldau (Mama) makes an impression as Sykes.
The screenplay by director-writer Joseph Kosinski (TRON: Legacy) and Karl Gajdusek (Trepass) is a step better than the mess that was TRON: Legacy. Working off an existential question of "Who am I?" the story touches more many familiar sci-fi themes and tropes. The story is derivative for sure; I am not going to list the movies because then I will be giving out the plot twists.
Speaking of plot twists, there are a few and they are significant. However, they are not entirely new and unpredictable. Even the title of the movie foretells what some of the twists could be, and any sci-fi fans who pay attention would have seen the twists coming from a mile away. That said, the twists are well executed and timed and the effects are just as draw-dropping if we allow ourselves to be immersed in this production.
And it is a top-notch production under the direction of Kosinski. One of the most impressive elements of the movie is the production design. They have created a post-apocalyptic world that is as much an eye-candy as it is a series of haunting images that remind me of how much we are taking our planet for granted. The technologies devised in the movie also spark certain imagination of possibilities.
While Oblivion is full of sci-fi tropes and derivative characters and storytelling, it does a good job in entertaining the audience for a bit over two hours. He has engaging, though cliched, characters that we can root for. While the plot twists do defy logic at times, they are not severe enough to jar us out of the story. I find myself totally engaged. While Cruise's new adventure may not be a masterpiece by any stretch, I doubt it will disappear into the oblivion any time soon.
Stars: Tom Cruise, Morgan Freeman, Olga Kurylenko, Andrea Riseborough, Melissa Leo, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Zoe Bell
Director: Joseph Kosinski
Writers: Joseph Kosinski, Karl Gajdusek
Distributor: Universal
MPAA Rating: PG-13 for sci-fi action violence, brief strong language, and some sexuality
Running Time: 126 minutes
Ratings:
Script - 7
Performance - 7
Direction - 8
Cinematography - 9
Music/Sound - 7
Editing - 7
Production - 9
Total - 7.6 out of 10.0
© 2012 Ray Wong
David Mitchell's Cloud Atlas is one of those critically acclaimed novels that are deemed to be unfilmable. Somehow, Andy and Lana Wachowski (the Matrix series), together with Tom Tykwer (The International) manages to make a mostly-coherent epic out of it.
I won't even detail the plot, as the movie contains not one, not two, but six different stories with totally different characters. However, these stories and characters are linked not only by a clever story construct, but also by themes. In late 19th century, a trader named Adam Ewing (Jim Sturgess) is about to get into slave trade when he is poisoned by the ship doctor (Tom Hanks). In 1936, a young gay composer Robert Frobisher (Ben Whishaw) becomes the protege of a famed composer, and it's at the older composer's house that Robert comes across the journals of Ewing.
In 1973, a young reporter (Halle Berry) gets a tip from a nuclear scientist Rufus Sixsmith (James D'Arcy) that something is wrong with the nuclear power plant owned by oilman Lloyd Hooks (Hugh Grant). When Sixsmith was murdered, the reporter finds letters to Sixsmith left by Frobisher as well as a classical piece called Cloud Atlas composed by Frobisher. in 2012, publisher Timothy Cavendish (Jim Broadbent) is forced into a nursing home where he plans an elaborate escape. Before then, he was about to publish a novel that details the nuclear plant incident.
In early 22nd century, a fabricant named Sonmi-451 (Doona Bae) is rescued from her imminent fate by Agent Hae-Joo Chang (Jim Sturgess). In hiding, Sonmi-451 watches an old movie about Cavendish's adventures. In late 24th century and after "The Fall," Zachry (Tom Hanks) and his family are living in tribes when a visitor Meronym (Halle Berry) arrives. Zachry is inflicted with an inner demon that wants him to harm Meronym. When he takes Maronym to the abandoned city, they discover a message left by Sonmi-451…
The main ensemble cast portray many different characters in these six connected stories. Tom Hanks (Larry Crowne) gets to play Zachry, a scientist named Isaac Sachs, a hotel manager, among other characters. While Hanks is a good actor, the fact that his highly recognizable face is portraying these different characters -- some understated and some over the top -- is very distracting. The same is true with Halle Berry (New Year's Eve) whose two main roles are the reporter Louisa Rey and Meronym. As other characters, she too is very distracting.
Jim Broadbent (The Iron Lady) has a better job juggling between his different roles as he somehow manages to disappear in the characters. The same can be said for Hugh Grant (Music and Lyrics) who, with the help of make-up, does a good job portraying the many different characters. Jim Sturgess (One Day) should also be commended especially for playing Adam Ewing and -- with a race change -- Hae-Joo Chang. Doona Bae, in her English-speaking debut, is fantastic as Sonmi-451. She also gets to play some minor characters -- a Mexican woman comes to mind. Hugo Weaving (Happy Feet Two) is awesome as the devil, and a great comic relief as Nurse Noakes. However, he sticks out like a sore thumb with other minor characters, especially when he's playing Asians (the makeup simply doesn't work).
Tykwer and the Wachowskis have done a tremendous job deconstructing the novel and piecing everything together and give us an epic spanning over 400 years. At times, the intercutting stories seem disjointed and disorienting, and some of them seem irrelevant or too humorous to fit with the rest. Over all, however, they have done a good job maintaining a consistent tone, weaving the stories together with visual cues and thematic links. Through the use of a birthmark, the audience comes to realize that the characters that bear the same birthmark is the same soul that comes back again and again, to learn and to grow. Sometimes it fails (as in the case of Robert Frobisher), but sometimes it triumphs (such is the case with Adam Ewing or Sonmi-451).
They abandon the novel's challenging storytelling structure. Instead, they rely on a linear storytelling technique that weaves the six different stories together through artifacts from the previous story: Ewing's journal, Frobisher's Cloud Atlas and letters to Sixsmith, Cavendish's novel, a movie about Cavendish, and Sonmi's message to the world. Through these links, the filmmakers are able to help the audience understand the themes and the relations between these characters and stories.
I also understand their decision to use the same actors to make the various different roles. It is a challenge that doesn't always pay off. The fact is that these actors are not playing the same "soul" and that can be very disorienting. While it must have been fun for the actors to play, for the audience, it becomes very distracting. We start to wonder, for example, whether Tom Hanks is playing the same soul throughout the film, and then we find out that he's not. So we now question, why the heck is he playing these characters then, other than "it's fun for Tom Hanks"?
That said, Cloud Atlas is a cinematic achievement and I must give kudos for the filmmakers to at least attempt to adapt this impossible book into an epic movie that is wonderful to look at. The editing is fantastic, especially when we consider how challenging it must have been to piece all six stories and multiple characters together. That alone is a tremendous achievement, and technically Cloud Atlas is a marvel in many ways.
Stars: Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, Hugo Weaving, Hugh Grant, Jim Sturgess, Doona Bae, Ben Whishaw, James D'Arcy, Susan Sarandon
Directors: Tom Tykwer, Andy Wachowski, Lana Wachowski
Writers: Lana Wachowski, Tom Tykwer, Andy Wachowski (based on novel by David Mitchell)
Distributor: Warner Bros.
MPAA Rating: R for violence, language, sexuality, nudity, and drug use
Running Time: 172 minutes
Ratings:
Script - 7
Performance - 7
Direction - 8
Cinematography - 9
Music/Sound - 7
Editing - 9
Production - 9
Total - 7.9 out of 10.0
© 2012 Ray Wong
Time travel stories are difficult to pull off -- either it is too implausible, or it's too predictable. Granted, nobody has ever time traveled before (as far as we know) so everything is up for speculation. Still, some logic and rules must be followed. In that regard, Looper does a good job setting up those rules to present us with a story that is more about moral choices than time travel itself.
Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is part of a group of professional assassins called Loopers because they only kill people who are sent back from the future. As he explains, time travel hasn't been invented yet, but in 30 years it will be, and it will be immediately outlawed. Only that a small group of criminals will get hold of that technology and profit from it, by sending their victims to the present to be killed and destroyed (so no traces will be found since the body does not technically exist in the present). His boss Abe (Jeff Daniels) is sent from the future to run the operation.
There is only one catch, however. When the Looper's contract is up, they have to "close the loop" so they won't create a time-space paradox. What happens is that the older Looper will be sent to the present, so the younger Looper will kill him off in exchange of four bars of silver. Basically it's a 30-year retirement, and then you're dead. Joe knows his time will come soon, and he's been saving half his earnings so he can retire comfortably for the next 30 years, preferably somewhere in France.
When his friend and fellow Looper Seth (Paul Dano) fails to kill his older self, Seth (and his older self) is hunted down like a dog. From Seth, Joe knows that someone in the future has taken control and killing off all the Loopers. Sure enough, old Joe (Bruce Willis) is being sent back to be terminated -- but because the younger Joe has the knowledge of "plan," (don't worry, it's all explained in the movie), old Joe manages to escape. It turns out that old Joe knows the possible identity of the future mastermind and is determined to kill him in the present, so to change his own future. Young Joe must track down old Joe and finish him off, before the other Loopers find them both.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Premium Rush) goes through a daily 3-hour makeup that makes him look like a younger version of Bruce Willis. Other than the physical resemblance, he also successfully impersonates Willis' mannerism and personality while making the character his own. Meanwhile, Willis (The Expendables) is playing a different version of his downtrodden tough guy persona. Still, there is certain synergy and collaboration between the two actors that we can believe they are the same person. By and large, they have succeeded.
Emily Blunt (Salmon Fishing in the Yeman) plays a farm owner and young mother, Sara. She shows a rougher side of her that has so far not been present in her recent roles. Pierce Gagnon does a good job as her precocious son. Paul Dano (Ruby Sparks) has a very small role but he makes the best of it. Noah Segan (All About Evil) tends to overact in his one-dimensional role as a Looper, but Jeff Daniels (Quad) compensates with his solid portrayal as the ringleader.
Written and directed by Ryan Johnson (The Brothers Bloom), the screenplay is intriguing in terms of premise and also execution. The story has a gritty feel to it, depicting a near-future dystopia that is both disturbing and fascinating. The tone reminds me of various movies ranging from Bladerunner to Time Cop to Memento. There is a great central mystery, and the plot keeps us guessing until the end, only revealing information and clues as they are relevant. I particularly like the characterization of Joe (both young and old, and how the character has changed in 30 years) and Sara. There is certain depth that is atypical in action-thrillers. The sci-fi aspect of the story is somewhat trippy and requires a good dose of suspension of disbelief. Like I said, time traveling is a tricky subject, but I think Johnson has successful set up the parameters and rules early on so the rest of the story can make sense.
Johnson's direction is precise and effective. While it's sci-fi, the production is reality-based and the special effects are not very sophisticated. But that's the point: it may be a sci-fi thriller, but it's also a morality and personal drama that is based very much in reality. Knowing what we know about the future, which path will be choose? Would we accept our fate, or would we try to change it at the expense of others? That's the central moral question, and the ending answers it perfectly.
Looper is a thought-provoking, gritty sci-fi thriller with a nice dose of drama. It's not without its flaws and could have been better. But with solid performances from the actors and an intriguing premise that ends unexpectedly, it will certainly throw an enthusiastic viewer for a loop.
Stars: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, Emily Blunt, Paul Dano, Noah Segan, Jeff Daniels, Pierce Gagnon, Summer Qing
Director: Ryan Johnson
Writer: Ryan Johnson
Distributor: FilmDistrict
MPAA Rating: R for strong violence, language, some sexuality/nudity and drugs
Running Time: 118 minutes
Ratings:
Script - 7
Performance - 8
Direction - 8
Cinematography - 7
Music/Sound - 7
Editing - 8
Production - 8
Total - 7.7 out of 10.0
