What’s it about?
In a future where time travel has been invented, mob bosses send their enemies back to the past to be killed by “loopers”. Joe lives the high life eliminating whomever the mob bosses send back, no questions asked. Which works fine, until they send future-Joe back to be disposed of… and he escapes.
What did we think?
Elizabeth says: A taut, well-paced thrill ride, this feels like one of the freshest takes on the whole time travel schtick in a long time. The script sets up the sci-fi premise of the tale, before cleverly a shifting the focus onto the characters, giving Looper an emotional weight I wasn’t expecting. Joseph Gordon-Levitt does a great young Bruce Willis, and Bruce Willis plays a great old Bruce Willis. And who doesn’t love Bruce Willis? Serious acting props also have to go to the creepy kid (Pierce Gagnon).
It doesn’t pay to look too closely at the logic behind this flick; there are holes in the time travel theory and thinking about them may make your brain explode. But really, when a movie is this entertaining, who gives a damn about logic?
Intelligently written and wonderfully crafted, Looper is a delightful exploration of the fluidity of morality and love. It’s not what the trailer suggested: it’s actually far better. Destined to be a cult classic, it actually might mark the maturation of Joseph Gordon-Levitt whose performance was both believable and strong.
The almost inevitable paradox that comes with most time travel movies takes some off the sheen off but the buzz and enjoyment sticks with you long afterwards. Make the time to see it.
I enjoyed it but what a mindfuck!