Looper

"This time travel crap just fries your brain like an egg." (Abe)

Not since Children of Men (2006) and Source Code (2011) have I been as jazzed up as I am now about Rian Johnson's Looper. Here's sci-fi that will happily fry your brain as you figure out the implications of changing the future by altering the present. Also throw in thoughts about Christopher Nolan's Memento and Inception to get the flavor of Looper.

But as Sinatra sings, "Regrets I've had a few, but then too few to really mention," this film challenges you to think of the implications of reversing those regrets or keeping the future the same because you kind of like the way things went.

Joseph Gordon Levitt's Joe is a "looper," an assassin who goes into the past to murder someone needed to be absent in the future, 2072. The Mob, headed by a very relaxed and dangerous Jeff Daniels as Abe, determines to eliminate all loopers, and Joe is next on the list to kill himself by flashing back. Yes, it's existentially a difficult task, and therein lies the drama of this satisfying sci-fi.

With less CGI and few glitzy machines (in fact most of the vehicles look shabby 2012 and the loopers' weapon is a sawed-off Steampunk shot gun—how's that for past and future?), this thriller relies to an effective degree on the excellent cast to relay the challenges inherent in altering any past.

Because it's an intelligent tale, the overall theme of responsibility for our actions (the existential part) flows quietly from the action, be it as simple as running from the bad guys to the complexity of deciding on the sacrifices willing to be made to alter the future.

A leitmotiv of this film is that no one is immune from the effects of the past, Sinatra notwithstanding in his apparent satisfaction with how things turned out. For Looper, cult status is its future.

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!

i always approach a film especially when it is classified as scifi with liberal suspension of disbelief. because it is only through that that i was able to appreciate such scifi gems as Stargate and Fifth Element and many other that were otherwise written off by these so-called critics.

Looper is one of those films that should be appreciated by its message more than its genre. it uses the science fiction medium, complete with action stunts and wonders, as an apt and well-sculpted vehicle to a very beautiful message of self-sacrifice and positive reinforcement parenthood. the film goes to extra length to make the story plausible and solid and the actors, including the 'rainmaker' child, did a marvelous job of pulling it off.

i've always believed that the soul of any film, even as i appreciate great plot twists and great special fx and great acting and direction (yeah, i said great too many times!), is the message and/or portrait it intends to get across. Looper made a kill for it.

Looper is an exciting and mentally stimulating science fiction movie that goes above and beyond in the realm of creativity. Original and thought provoking in its execution, this is a movie about time travel with a future that is gritty, plausible, and fantastic to absorb.

Taking its cues from hard hitting gangster movies, the story follows Joe, a young man living in 2044 America that is crippled with economic collapse. He works for the mafia as a "looper". This is a job that requires some explanation. You see, 30 years from 2044, time travel will be invented. It is highly illegal, but is used by the mob to dump bodies, because it is impossible to do so in the future-future. Loopers get set times and places where they wait for their victims to appear, bound, gagged, and with a mask over their head. Sometimes a looper ends up killing himself from the future. This begins happening quite often, and rumor has it that a man named the Rain Maker is ordering the killings of all loopers. Joe does not seem to think much of this until his future self arrives, without a mask on. His future self escapes, looking for the child who will one day become the Rain Maker. Young Joe finds a woman and her young, troubled boy who are one of the people on Old Joe's map. He decides to wait there to confront his older self, to try and make things right with the mob.

The movie twists and turns in unexpected ways that create a true feeling of suspense. Rian Johnson takes major influences from the likes of Martin Scorsese to craft a cold and calculating crime film. However, Johnson makes a movie that is so original and eclectic that it is obvious this is the work of a man who knows how to tell a story. There is plenty of action, but it never becomes more important than the story or the characters. Johnson also wrote the script, and he brings humanity to all of the players involved. The introduction of alternate timelines is only the beginning of the insane subplots that pop up, and all fit nicely together. The gritty and subdued style invokes a noir aspect that only serves to enhance the movie.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays young Joe. He is fantastic as the cool, calm, and collected gunman. His face is altered with makeup to make him look more like old Joe, played by Bruce Willis. Levitt even speaks like the action star. Willis is really great in a subdued and complicated performance, although it would have been nice for his character to have had a more expanded role; he seems to fall into the role of the antagonist too quickly. Emily Blunt plays the hardened and self reliant mother of the boy old Joe is hunting. Blunt's character is used well and she gives an excellent performance.

Looper is a bizarre movie, and that is a very good thing. Exciting, thoughtful, and at times disturbing, this film is mesmerizing to watch. It's not often that an action film is even half as good as this one, and rarely are movies so much fun to watch.

thatguythatlikesmovies.blogspot.com

"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.