Movie Review: Looper

Quick Hit:

This flick's a mind warp, but a smart one. If you haven't already seen it, get yourself over to a theatre. I don't see Looper starting as many conversations as Inception did a couple years back, but it will still manage to be in the spotlight for some time to come.

A Deeper Dig:

If you happen to enjoy nerdy discussions about the possibilities of time travel (I may or may not be guilty of such), I highly recommend you check out Looper. This film manages to pull off the most difficult of story lines in cinema: time travel involving a character who interacts with his future and, at the same time, past self. Yea, it's far out. Seeing the movie will explain how this all comes to be, but the basic gist is as follows: Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is a young kid looking for a quick buck in the year 2044.


He earns his living as a Looper. Loopers are paid by crime rings of the future to kill those they no longer have use for. These crime rings do this because they control the use of time travel when it is discovered in the future, despite it being outlawed. Loopers in the year 2044, like Joe, receive payment in the form of silver bars sent back in time attached to the man that is to be killed. The film gets interesting when Loopers start having to kill their future self, sent back in time by the mob of the future. Completing this last job starts a countdown to their inevitable death, hence 'closing' their own loop. Confusing? It should be. Questions? Just what a good film delivers. The concept of Looper is difficult to describe, I can't count how many times I've told friends to stop asking questions and just to go see it. It's almost doing the film a disservice in attempting a complete explanation to those who are unfamiliar. I'll never have the ability to accomplish such a feat, so just put trust in the man who made it.

Director/Writer Rian Johnson displays his film in a way that is quite remarkable and particularly captivating. He presents us with an America riddled with broken down cities, severe poverty, and ruthless crime. Yet at the heart of the tale is a charming and well dressed Gordon-Levitt. He drives an old school ride and lives between hits of a drug administered by eye drops. He is edgy, but quick witted, reckless, yet somehow maintains control. When he meets his future self (Bruce Willis) after being sent back in time to be killed, the unexpected happens and Joe's life quickly unravels. The hunt is on for young Joe to track down old Joe, his job and life depends on it. If he fails, his employer will not show mercy. Old Joe has a mission of his own however, and he hopes to take advantage of his time back in the past to change a future he has already seen, one which has caused him great pain. The rest of the film is a roller coaster. It will keep you guessing and have you whispering to friends what you predict as the quickly approaching ending.

At its conclusion, you'll likely take a deep breath and try to reevaluate all which has occurred. Piecing together the split pieces of jumbled time, searching to explain that which seems unexplainable. Take your time with Looper, no pun intended. See it twice, discuss it with friends. I was at first disappointed with the film's conclusion, I had expected something a little deeper, something a little less tangible. Christopher Nolan's Inception provided us with the spinning top. I debated for hours if it fell over or continued to spin, two simple outcomes that would change every aspect of the film. Looper failed to provide me with that sensation at first, but eventually the questions came: Could such a thing be possible? What would you say to your future self? Would you even want to know the answers? Would it not change everything? Can anything be changed in the first place? Go see Looper. See it with people who appreciate discussion. It might not sink in immediately, but trust me, give it time.

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