Text/Levin
"Loop Messenger" came to the Toronto Film Festival’s premiere with rave reviews, but after the simultaneous release in China and the United States, I believe many Chinese audiences’ first impression is why Would the American film critics give a five-star praise to such a film? In fact, as long as you sink your heart and think about it, you will find that this is actually not unexpected, because American film critics have long been no longer easily captured by big scenes like Chinese people, but pay more attention to the creativity and concept of science fiction films. The setting is complete, so only the old beauty who knows the goods can see the unique charm of the film, and ignore the defects and shortcomings that the Chinese audience may feel! In addition to the setting of the science fiction worldview, "Loop Messenger" is very rare, it also has the oriental charm of the causal cycle and the expression of strong emotions. The plot is wonderfully transitioned between cool and conventional. On the whole, although Far from perfect, but there are enough merits to be praised.
The main sci-fi concept of "Loop Messenger" is currently the most popular "crossing" in the Chinese film and television circles. In fact, this is also a sci-fi routine that has long been common in the American film and television circles. The "Back to the Future" series, the "Terminator" series and last year's "Yuan" "Code" is like this, but like "Terminator" and "Back to the Future", simply go back to kill individuals and change or contribute to something. Now it seems to be very small pediatrics, so there is "Source Code". This kind of playful consciousness travels through, and then makes a pattern of parallel worlds. The sci-fi concept and setting of "Loop Messenger" are not as fancy as "Source Code", but more simple and true, with a stronger sense of logic and rationality, and many details that echo before and after are very good. So-called
The "ring messenger" refers to a group of special gang killers in the near future, who are specifically responsible for shooting and killing people sent by the gangsters in the more distant future world through the space-time shuttle. In the "further future" world, the time shuttle is strictly forbidden, but it has become a special tool for lawless gangs to kill and invisible. When you hear this, you may have to ask, why in the future the gangsters have to kill individuals so hard, they have to teleport back to the past and find someone to kill, so they can't kill them in the future? The film makes a reasonable explanation for this, because the future government’s tracking technology is very superb, and the gang cannot dispose of the corpse after killing people, so they can only send the person to be killed back to the past and let the "ring messenger" kill. In this way, the future person was killed in the past, so the future world will not be able to trace this person's trace, which can be called the most perfect murder. As an insider of the gang conspiracy, every "ring messenger" has to complete a "ring seal" task when the golden basin quits, and that is to kill the "future self" sent by the gang. In this way, in the future of the time and space shuttle, the possibility of the retired "ring messenger" leaking secrets is eliminated. The film's handling of the relationship between crossing and murder can be described as seamless. This fresh and meticulous sci-fi setting undoubtedly appears very creative!
When the "ring killer" played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt unexpectedly discovered that the "man of the future" played by Bruce Willis he was going to kill was actually the "future self", so the past and the future The same person gets along in the same time and space. The film also made a lot of interesting sci-fi settings in constructing the relationship between the two influencing each other. First of all, "the past determines the future"-what Joseph does to his body can directly affect Willis. For example, if he wants to meet Willis in a small restaurant in the suburbs, he carves the location on his arm, so Willie Scars of these words appeared on Si's arm. At the end Joseph committed suicide with a gun, and Willis disappeared instantly. Secondly, "the future predicts the past"-although Willis's return to the past is equivalent to changing history to a certain extent, causing Joseph to walk out of a different life trajectory from his past, but these "changed life trajectories" will still be He was sensed by Willis with a slight delay, so he knew where he was and what he was doing, so he could finally trace to Joseph's farm. These are all emphasizing that the past and the future are always on the same timeline. Whether it is Joseph or Willis, there can only be one destiny ending, and there is absolutely no possibility that parallel worlds will not affect each other.
The film also mentions the future dark organization led by the mysterious and powerful "rainmaker". It is precisely because he will forcibly "close the ring" in the future and send thugs to arrest Willis, which led to the death of his lover and Xu Qing. After that, Willis took the initiative to travel back to the past just to save his lover, trying to kill the "rainmaker" to change the future. As the plot progresses, we can gradually guess that the youngest son of the female farmer is a "rainmaker" with powerful special abilities. When Joseph helped the mother and son escape, he also had a premonition. Perhaps it was because Willis killed the mother who protected his son, that the little "rainmaker" would grow up in a dark and lonely state of mind, and become a big villain crazy in the future. Take revenge on the "ring messenger" and eventually lead to the instantaneous destruction of Willis and Xu Qing's happy life! What is particularly ironic is that Willis clearly wants to change the future to save himself, and his killing actions are precisely the root of his future tragedy. This is what the Chinese often call "the cycle of cause and effect, retribution is unhappy." Since it is tragedy anyway, Joseph had to commit suicide and let the "future self" Willis disappear, and at the same time ensure the safety of the mother and the son, so that the kid would not become the villain "rainmaker" when he grows up. There will be no future social turmoil, which will break the cycle of cause and effect and make your own sacrifices extraordinarily meaningful!
Another distinctive feature of "Loop Messenger" is that it pays great attention to the rendering of emotions. The film uses a lot of purely lyrical pictures to show the tender affection between Willis and Xu Qing. Willis travels back to the past for a word of "love". The love life between him and Xu Qing is the only bright spot in his gloomy life, and it is the meaning of the rest of his life. Therefore, he will go back to the past regardless of danger and try to reverse the future. To this end, he must cruelly kill three young boys who may be "rainmakers", and indiscriminately kill innocents for his own sake. The film also repeatedly shows the inner torture that Willis has suffered, and even once wanted to Throw the gun away and stop there! And the long-lasting love and shared emotions between Joseph and the mother and son on the farm, the film also spent a lot of space to show it, it was the wonderful intimacy that he had with the lonely and introverted little boy, and he finally had enough to sacrifice himself for it. The persuasive power of the film also makes the film present a strong and touching emotional atmosphere that is rare in science fiction films.
To talk about the dissatisfaction with this film, first of all, due to the limitation of independent production funds, the scene is not very exciting enough. The biggest scene at the end is the special effects shot of the child "lion roar" in the wheat field, which obviously cannot be shocked. audience! And Willis swept the gang’s nest alone, and it seemed too "death squad". I am a god with a gun in my hand. I am a god in the rain of guns and bullets. Everyone is invincible. This kind of gunfight scene is too lacking in technical content. Bar! Secondly, no matter how the film suggests that Joseph Gordon-Levitt is very similar to Bruce Willis through off-screen promotion and in the play, as an audience, I really feel that the two of them are not alike at all. Actually it feels like a person!
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