Looper

Ben's "Looper" Review Could you kill yourself if that you you were killing was you 30 years from now if you were able to live like a king until 30 years from now? This is the simple question that the movie "Looper" asks the audiences. In "Looper" the issue of time travel and all the butterfly effect issues that can result are presented front and center. "Looper" also examines the idea of if I knew then what I know now. However, unlike previous attempts at this issue, there is no Delorian, no Terminator, and no Ashton Kutcher(for those of you who do not remember, he was overlooked for his Oscar worthy performance as a person who can travel through time by reading a sprial notebook). Instead "Looper" assembles rising star Joseph Gordon Levitt, Emily Blunt, and Bruce Willis who has previously tackled this issue in the surreal "Twelve Monkeys." Directing this feature is Rian Johnson who previously worked with Levitt in the 2005 noire cult hit "Brick", btw if you have not seen Brick take Friday night and do so because it is excellent. But does Johnson present a different idea of time travel then what has been done before? Will Bruce Willis run away from an explosion yelling? Will Emily Blunt find a way to work John Krasinski into the movie? "Looper" is set in the not too distant future during the year 2044. At this time criminal bosses have recruited a group of low level assassins known as Loopers. While time travel has not been invented yet, it will be later. In the future, criminal bosses send back victims to the past where they are killed and disposed of by the Loopers. Loopers are well compensated and treated like rock stars, even though the whole endeavor is illegal. The catch is that eventually, typically 20 to 30 years in the future, the Looper is sent back to be killed by his or herself, sealing the loop hence the name Loopers. The Loopers all know of this eventuality but most of them do not care because prior to their eventual death they receive copious amounts of drugs and money. Joseph Gordon Levitt plays one of these Loopers, Joe, who goes about his daily routine of killing for hire and all seems well. However, a disturbing pattern begins to emerge when an unusually large number of Loopers start being sent back for assassination. Paul Dano makes a short appearance as Seth, a Looper who is confronted with the having to kill himself and decides not to. This is a major no no and there are severe consequences for not completing the loop that, in some cases, are probably worse than death. Seth's future self tells him that there is person in the future known as the Rainmaker who is trying to wipe out all of the Loopers. Seth comes to Joe for help but is quickly caught and dealt with by the mob. The next assassination that Joe is required to do is himself. Joe's future self, played by Bruce Willis, is ready for this assassination and when he is sent back, stops his own execution and runs away. Future Joe is able to clean his life up and start over but not before his future wife is killed by the Rainmaker and Willis is sent back to the past for assassination. Future Joe comes back to find the Rainmaker as a child and kill him or her. The rest of "Looper" deals with the trying to unravel who is the Rainmaker and whether the future can be changed for the better. The idea of the effects of time travel and trying to change the past to prevent the future is nothing new. There are two categories of bad time travel movies: 1) Movies that are goofy and nonsensical, hence the Kutcher attempt at this; and 2) Movies with plots that are overly complicated and boring like "The Sound of Thunder" (you did not see this movie which starred Ed Burns and Ben Kingsley who must have been married several times or made some bad property investments because he also was in the "Guru"). "Looper" does not fall into these categories and presents time travel in a way that is new and interesting. The actual process of time travel and how it is done is not specifically addressed and it is not the whole focus of the movie. "Looper" presents the idea of trying to change your past and how complicated this task actually is when dealing with real people who do not know the future. "Looper" also focuses on the actual characters and how empty their lives are until they find a focus beyond the money and drugs of being a "Looper." Levitt provides a performance, along with the aid of prosthetics, that make you truly believe he is a young Bruce Willis. The idea of setting this movie in the near future aids greatly in the believability of the plot. Finally, there is enough sci-fi to keep the geek crowd happy but not too much as to put off everyone else. There are also strong and not overly done acting by all, including Jeff Daniels, Emily Blunt, and the aforementioned Paul Dano to keep the rest of the audience engaged through the movie. Overall, I give "Looper" 3.75 flex capacitators out of 5 and recommend seeing it. Something Extra: In sequel, news Bruce Willis is set to become John McClean again in "A Good Day to Die Hard" and Joseph Gordon Levitt is in talks with Warner Bros about reprising a super hero role in the next four years hmmmmmmm. Elisa's Review of "Looper" If there is a genre of movies wives and girlfriends hate more than comic book movies and westerns, it would be anything science-fiction related. I give a pass to "Star Wars" since Harrison Ford and Muppets are always fun to watch. So, it was with a loud sigh and flashbacks to the suffering I endured while reading "A Wrinkle in Time" in the Fourth grade as I walked into the theater to watch "Looper." Looper stars Joseph Gordon Levitt (young hottie) and Bruce Willis (just hot) as the same character. JGL as the younger, wild, carefree and drug-abuser character to Bruce Willis' sexy brooding future self. The idea behind the movie is not so much that they time travel, but that thugs send guys back in time for their character to "take care of." Things are going great for Joseph Gordon Levitt as he kills a bunch of thugs from the future. He parties, uses drugs and goes to the clubs. Until, his future self (Bruce Willis) arrives as the next guy that he is to take out. His present self, taking out his older, wiser, calmer, mature, future self. With a current self, and his future self, Joseph Gordon Levitt and Bruce Willis are living in a paradox universe. Very similar to "Back to the Future II and III" when there are multiple Marty McFly's in Pine Valley. Except, "Looper" is not as funny as a car full of manure, and is not as exciting. The plot is thin, the "twist" is pretty obvious from the get-go of the reveal, and the ending is a bummer. Ladies, if you must go, Joseph Gordon Levitt is amazing as the younger Bruce Willis. His eyebrows and smug smile are fantastic. Emily Blunt is still cute and British. My claim to fame: One of the members of the Loopers is my high school history's teacher's brother, Garret Dillahunt. And that is pretty cool.