Looper

Rian Johnson (The Brothers Bloom, Brick) is the writer and director of this sci-fi film. Like his other projects, this has original if slightly off-kilter thinking in its story. It is not a regular sci-fi movie. There are some crazy ideas going on here. Time travel is not enough. There is also telekinesis, post collapse apocalypse, mob killings, and pre-planned suicide for hire (yeah figure that one out). Does it all make logical sense? I can't tell. But it sure was fun trying to follow it. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is great as the young Bruce Willis. Emily Blunt is refreshingly new. Also staring is Paul Dano and Piper Perabo.

Sci-fi films often strive for originality. Contrary to what many spiteful internet fan boys claim, Hollywood is not afraid of new ideas, It just doesn't come up with them that frequently. But every so often amidst the failed attempts at being the next matrix or blade runner, there's an inception or a district 9 that makes you believe in the movie industry's commitment to quality once more. With Looper Rian Johnson manages to do something very few films ever do. It makes us think, feel and sit on the edge of our seat often all at once. The premise is not that mind boggling. Whereas other intelligent sci-fi's have convoluted plots that we try to decipher amongst the spectacle Looper sets us up with a basic idea, but an idea that deepens and grows more dimensions than the trailers suggest. To give away too much would be a crime, so its best to go in knowing the basics. Joseph Gordon Levitt plays Joe, a specialised assassin known as a Looper. These Loopers are hired for the not too taxing job of assassinating people sent from the future all tied up with a bag over their heads. They then receive payment in the form of "silver" attached to the targets back. The looper then disposes of a body that technically doesn't exist and so wont be looked for. However with the job comes a specific requirement. A looper will also have to retire himself by assassinating their future selves this is called "closing the loop". And this is where the core of our story begins, but crucially it is not the real focus of the story as it moves on. As you'll know from the trailers Joe is tasked with killing his future self (Bruce Willis) and when he fails to do so is on the run from the criminals who hired him to do so in the first place. Where the story goes from there is unexpected and in places rather dark. There are many smart little details in Johnsons phenomenal script, that really flesh out the world he has created for his film. The characters use their own lexicon and slang, they have their own type of future drugs (taken through eye drops), and some of the details regarding the time travel are inspired. Again to say too much would do the film a great disservice but its clear Johnson has an eye for both ideas and spectacle. The camera moves in such an organic involving way, each frame is so precisely positioned you know if you got the chance you wouldn't change a thing. Techinically the film cannot be faulted. The look is warm and believable, stylistically there are moments that will stay with you long after you've left the cinema (a moving and thrilling ride through 30 years in particular is very cleverly interwoven into the story structure) and the soundtrack fits exquisitely. The characters are all sympathetic and deep with multiple dimensions. Even when one character goes to do something unspeakable mid way through the film, its believable through the brilliant direction of Johnson. The cast are all superb, especially Gordon Levitt who plays a complicated character and evolves him masterfully with the aid of a screenplay that puts character in the foreground and lets the action merely be the cherry on top. Thats not to say that the action is anything less than outstanding. Looper proves that action can still be thrilling with just a few men and some guns but at the same time provides us with some fantastical comic book fantasy spectacle with a dash of surprisingly brutal violence. As the film powers towards an awe inspiring and heartbreaking conclusion we begin to realise just how involved we've become. It actually matters to us what becomes of Joe and how this stylish, smart tale will end. Perhaps its down to a great cast giving it there all. Perhaps its down to great technical wizardry, but most likely its down to the vision of Rian Johnson, who does that rare thing of proving, Hollywood can take risks.

"Looper" by Rian Johnson is an impressive film with an original story. Centers in the future where assassins known as "Loopers" kill targets who are transported from the past by the mob. Joe, a skilled assassin discovers he has to kill his older self sent from the past and unveils a plot that will effect his life of both his and his older self. The movie is great and relies on the term of "cat and mouse" game between all characters. Joseph Gordon Leavitt is a great actor and portrays perfectly every role of his. As the main character he does a good job. Bruce Willis is amazing yet again, his performance reminded me of his role in "12 Monkeys": a traveler from time who is a skilled assassin and needs to stop a plot from happening. Emily Blunt is as always, Emily Blunt. I mean there's nothing wrong with her performance but her character is annoying and reminded me of her role in "Sicario". The film in general is good and has it's moments but I wouldn't watch it again or recommend it immediately after seeing the movie.

When one deals with time travel as the process has not been discovered everything written or filmed about is always speculative. For instance the Jean-Claude Van Damme film Time Cop shows something quite different when we meet our future and past selves as Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis do here in Looper.

Instead of the forces of law and latent fascism getting control of time travel in Time Cop, Looper has organized crime doing it and eliminating problems that Robert DeNiro in Casino remarked are usually swallowed up by the Nevada desert. Levitt is a Looper one who travels ahead to the future, specifically trained as an assassin and then goes back to his present origin and as targets come through a time portal, they get eliminated. Then at some point, the future selves are eliminated and the present selves just go on with normal lives as we define normal.

Bruce Willis is Levitt's future self only he doesn't like the idea of elimination. And the big boss Jeff Daniels doesn't like how Levitt screwed up the elimination of Willis. The chase is on.

Another question answered by Laurence Olivier in The Boys From Brazil said that we should not eliminate a cloned Hitler. Here a telekinesis gene has entered our gene pool and someone in the distant future has been harnessing its full potential to battle organized crime. That's an even bigger mission that the Levitt/Willis problem.

Looper is a nice and original take on time travel with an outstanding cast giving some standout performances. Note particularly Emily Blunt as the mother of young Pierce Gagnon who has powers and abilities far beyond those of other mortal beings. And young Gagnon is something to see as well.

Looper is definitely worth the price of admission.

No Spoilers will be shown, the story is basically the public knowledge shown on the trailers.

The story is about this man named Joe who is played by both Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis. Basically his job is a looper. In the Year 2074 civilization has created time travel however it is highly illegal to use it. It is then controlled by the highest criminal mafia in the world. In the future they cannot kill a person, so instead they send them back 30 years and the looper will kill them. When the young Joe saw the Old Joe standing there, he hesitated and the plot clashed.

The story was very confusing at first, but the movie does a good job to explain to us as it goes along. To be honest at first I thought this was going to be bad, the story took some time to build up, and the plot just didn't seem to have any structure. Once the movie did pick up, boy did it pick up. It became intense as the hunter became the hunted.

The story had emotion, action, we laughed and cried. Many places where things appeared to be stupid ended actually be part of the story and working out. There are though, a lot of silly moments in the story that to my opinion could have been left out and the story would have been just as good. The acting was very good. Also kinda shows how much Bruce Willis is getting old, but can still pack a punch. I give this movie an 8.5/10!