Looper (2012) - Film Review

Director: Rian Johnson

Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, Emily Blunt, Jeff Daniels, Paul Dano

MPAA Rating: Rated R for Strong Violence, Language, Some Sexuality/Nudity and Drug Use

 

In 2072, when the mob wants to get rid of someone, the target is sent 30 years into the past, where a hired gun awaits. Someone like Joe, who one day learns the mob wants to 'close the loop' by transporting back Joe's future self.

 

                         If there is one film I have been anticipating for a long time its “Looper”, from the early trailers, the premise, to everyone involved in this film I just believed that this film would be a breath of fresh air to a world of cinema that mainly consists of remakes/reboots, sequels/prequels, and adaptations. The film is the brain child of director Rian Johnson, who directed the indie cult classic “Brick” back in the early 2000’s that also starred Joseph Gordon Levitt, another recommendation if you haven’t seen. The premise of the film explained a little more in depth is that Joseph Gordon Levitt’s character is a hit-man in 2044 who kills targets sent back in time by crime syndicates in 2074 to be eradicated with no trace. Once the syndicate decides they are done with your loop, they send your future self from 2074 for you to kill to clean up any trace of you alongside a large sum of money so you can live 30 years of the high life before your impending doom. Things kicked into high gear when Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s character fails to kill his future self in Bruce Willis.

                              Just from the sound of the premise this just sounds like a breath of fresh air alongside the usually stuff we are handed week by week and the added element of Sci-Fi, which is my favorite genre, makes it that much better. Now I can’t go too far into the plot without giving too much away, but one thing I want to praise from this film is the explanation of time travel. Too many times a time travel film bogs itself down trying to explain how time travel works and most time leaves the audience more confused. They left their explanation pretty simplistic and any time a character tried to get a further explanation of it, the other characters would tell them it’s too much to get into. There was also a lot of repercussions that were shown with time-travel that I never really thought of that were really interesting, not going into spoilers because this is definitely a movie you don't want spoiled.
                               Rian Johnson did an incredible job with this film like I said earlier he created such an intriguing premise and you could just tell from this film that he really cared and that this was more than a cash-grab. The way he portrayed the effects of time-travel and the way of telling flashback's through time-travel were really incredible and did a good job at not making me confused throughout the film. One thing people really aren't talking about that I was really impressed with was his portrayal of the year 2044 it takes place in. He doesn't go for the Total Recall over-the-top future and plays it off more as a retro vibe and I found it as an interesting take on the future and was actually a lot more realistic. Also was the make-up in this film, without sounding to girlie, the way they made Joseph Gordon-Levitt look like Bruce Willis was basically spot on. Levitt looked like a young Bruce Willis and he nailed like every impression of Willis to him smoking a cigarette to a grunt he nailed the character that is Bruce Willis. I appreciate the effort they put into making sure Levitt was a young Bruce Willis as in most time-travel films they tell you basically just buy into it without any real effort put in.  

                               Alongside Joseph Gordon-Levitt, the entire cast across the board did a good job. Bruce Willis while basically playing his character in every film did a good job and was a good foil for Levitt, while Jeff Daniels, who plays one of the main villains, was really good in only the limited amount of screen-time he has. Emily Blunt, whose role I didn't know about going into the film was quite interesting and she was an unexpected joy to watch in the film. One actor that blew me away was Pierce Gagnon. Gagnon played Emily Blunt's little boy, Sid and while I usually do not like kid actors because I find them whiny and an unneeded element in some films, this kid played this character with such emotion and darkness that it felt more real then most adult actors acting and you really bought everything his character experiences in the film.

                      While this film was really good, there were a few problems I noted but didn't hinder the film overall. The first one is the pace; the film first starts it moves into a real quick pace, time really flies when your watching the first part of the film but honestly as soon as the film switches locations it becomes very slow. It doesn't get worse its just a weird change in pace in the film. The other thing that was weird in off-putting in the film is an element they add to the future that feels quite out of place. The device offers some cool moments in the film but that element didn't fit in with the world the director created. This is more of a problem that's in all time-travel movies but there are plot holes that if you think too deep into you're gonna notice them, I believe if the film is good enough and the plot holes don't hinder the film then its not that big of a deal but they are there. These were two things I noticed in the film but like I said it didn't hinder the film I just wanted to make sure you know with all the praise I was giving it, that it was not perfect.
                           Basically Looper is a really good movie, with basically nothing new and original coming out these days to see this film is an awesome change of pace to the norm. The film features incredible performances, a great story, and great directing ontop of it. The film is hit with a few very minor details but I feel they are not big deals. Overall, Looper is a good movie and you should definitely go out as soon as possible and see this movie.

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Final Grade: A-