I saw it last night and thought it was utterly brilliant and can't fault it. You can get in to a tedious argument about whether the timey-wimey-ness of it works however that misses the point - at it's core it's about the impact that choices and actions have on those you are connected to and the butterfly effect of events.|
I thought the cinematography and SFX were top-notch, the script deftly balanced lighter moments with heavier emotionally charged scenes and the cinephilic referecences were knowing, respectful and worn lightly.
However it's the preformances that really stand out and JGL in particular delivers a brilliant take as the younger Joe without every descending into caricature. However Emiliy Blunt impresses hugely, as does support from Jeff Daniels and Paul Dano.
As a mainstream film it dares to do things I've never seen before such as older Joe executing the innocent boy - a moment I found particularly emotionally devasting.
I know a lot of people have issues with the pacing but I loved that the story and relationships were given a chance to breathe and develop - so often in modern cinema directors feel the need to keep a film 'pacy' but end up jettison important things such as character development and emotional engagement.
It's a film full of ideas that skips between genres with an assured swagger - moving between sci-fi, horror, western and drama and back again - and proves that populist doesn't have to mean 'leave your brain at the door' shite.
Edited by Pac-man-ate-my-wife at 12:41:17 08-10-2012
Pac-man-ate-my-wife 7,024 posts
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