Looper

Director: Rian Johnson
Writer: Rian Johnson
Released: September 2012
Featuring: Joseph Gordan-Levitt, Bruce Willis, Paul Dano and Emily Blunt
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I love time travelling films! I was in love with this film the moment it began as it explained the world of Looping, the jargon used and the dangers of it. It was so awesome!

But after the first 40 minutes it began to become a tad… Lame? I don’t know. It was just a really unexpected storyline.

So, Looper is set in the year 2044, where 30 years into the future (2074), time-travel has been invented. Badass rich people send back the people that need ‘taking care of’, meaning the body will never be discovered in the year 2074.

This is the Loopers’ job. They kill the people of 2074 in return for silver – giving them the life of drugs, sex and rock ‘n’ roll. It’s a business where Loopers ‘take out the trash’ for the criminals of the future.

So that’s a pretty awesome setting, I’m sure you’ll agree. And the first 40 minutes or so where they explain the Loopers’ occupation and what happens if they fail to do their job which was AWESOME!!

But the plot kind of sucked…

Now, I had to use the Wikipedia‘s plot description as a strong guide here because I couldn’t explain it in my own words without confusing myself:
So, it’s about how Joe (Joseph Gordan-Levitt) hesitates when he recognizes the target is his future self (Bruce Willis) which is a common industry practice called “closing the loop”, allowing him to escape. Old Joe tells Joe that the Rainmaker (the boss) sent him back to be killed. Old Joe now plans to kill the Rainmaker as a child. Joe attempts to kill Old Joe and fulfil his contract, but both of them flee… If that makes sense… Basically a dude trying to kill children in the past.

Anyway, it’s not as great as it may or may not sound.I wasn’t sure who I was supposed to root for until Old Joe said he was going to try kill a kid… That was the main hint that made me think Old Joe probably wasn’t such a great guy…

So up to the point where Joe is about to “end his loop”, it’s the best time travel film I’ve seen in a while!

Pretty fantastic facials! I thought that making Joseph Gordan-Levitt look like a young Bruce Willis would be unconvicing. I was proved wrong!

There were some holes in the time travel storyline if you want to have a sci-fi rage at the writers, but it’s easier just to Google them rather than me including spoilers.

Oh! And, just like in Total Recall, they threw in a hovering vehicle to remind the audience that they are in the future. Thanks, Hollywood.

Worth a look-see if you love time travel, gun fights or a simplified, PG version of Inception. But it is a very random kind of film…

Jodie’s rating: 6/10 (Could have been so much more!!)

PS: Paul Dano from Little Miss Sunshine is in Looper! He plays Seth… His storyline is so intense!!

Joseph Gordan-Levitt is amazing!! :D

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