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.
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