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So, I am very glad that before watching this I was warned that is totally about white dudes: apart from that one black waitress, there are basically no POC with lines and the few female characters all defined solely as one or more of wife/stripper/mother. Because seriously, it felt like it was based on a short story from like the 50s, especially all the loopers being white guys in suits. There was overall a bunch of subtext that's kind of gross if you think about it.
But OTHER THAN THAT I really enjoyed it as a time travel movie, and a scifi movie that didn't feel like it was mindlessly ticking off the "scifi blockbuster" checkboxes. Apparently, as much as I care about representation, I love time travel more. If this is not true of you, you may not enjoy the movie.
In some ways it's a very simple film, and the science is glossed over completely, we're not talking Primer here. I guess what appealed to me was all the loops and symmetry, like in Homestuck. (Also: the angst and violence!) It assumes that you've watched and understood "Back to the Future", and nobody bothers explaining why the world of the "present" (the 2040s) is the way it is.
At heart it's about meeting an older/younger version of yourself, and the relationship between the older generation and the young, exploring the way we are shaped by our choices and experiences. The characters from the future are all so wonderfully smug, with that "Oh you adorable ignorant children" arrogance humans always have about the past.
Joseph Gordon Levitt and Bruce Willis definitely felt like the same character at two (possible) points in his life, though the makeup they used on JGL was a bit over the top. I understand the need for contacts(*), but his eyebrows and nose were jarringly odd looking to me, and Cam had issues with his chin. I would have preferred if they'd let them look a bit different and relied on the acting to sell it.
(*)As much as I find JGL's eyes MUCH more attractive as brown, Bruce Willis's eyes are more distinctive looking, and they did need to match. I GUESS.
But OTHER THAN THAT I really enjoyed it as a time travel movie, and a scifi movie that didn't feel like it was mindlessly ticking off the "scifi blockbuster" checkboxes. Apparently, as much as I care about representation, I love time travel more. If this is not true of you, you may not enjoy the movie.
In some ways it's a very simple film, and the science is glossed over completely, we're not talking Primer here. I guess what appealed to me was all the loops and symmetry, like in Homestuck. (Also: the angst and violence!) It assumes that you've watched and understood "Back to the Future", and nobody bothers explaining why the world of the "present" (the 2040s) is the way it is.
At heart it's about meeting an older/younger version of yourself, and the relationship between the older generation and the young, exploring the way we are shaped by our choices and experiences. The characters from the future are all so wonderfully smug, with that "Oh you adorable ignorant children" arrogance humans always have about the past.
Joseph Gordon Levitt and Bruce Willis definitely felt like the same character at two (possible) points in his life, though the makeup they used on JGL was a bit over the top. I understand the need for contacts(*), but his eyebrows and nose were jarringly odd looking to me, and Cam had issues with his chin. I would have preferred if they'd let them look a bit different and relied on the acting to sell it.
(*)As much as I find JGL's eyes MUCH more attractive as brown, Bruce Willis's eyes are more distinctive looking, and they did need to match. I GUESS.
