Looper Review

Time is of the essence in Rian Johnson's futuristic thriller.

Full spoiler-free review by Isaac Handelman

Let’s make this clear up front -- Looper is not a movie about time travel; it’s a time travel movie. It embraces time travel, it lives and breathes time travel. It almost manages to carve “time-travel” out as a viable genre all its own. Like any prototype, the film has its issues, but they’re entirely forgivable -- Looper is not to be missed.

In the world of Looper, which takes place in 2044, time-travel will be invented in thirty years, but will be used only by criminal organizations. Joseph Gordon-Levitt (who’s finally getting the starring roles he deserves) stars as Joe, who is (surprise!) a Looper. Loopers are specialized hit-men who, in a nutshell, work for the aforementioned criminal syndicates, eliminating targets sent back to the present (2044) so that the future mob’s hands are kept clean. If your head’s spinning, don’t worry -- with a few exceptions, Looper does a good job of presenting its world little by little without overwhelming its audience with a bunch of convoluted paradox-ridden twists like so many similar films do.

Joe’s life is turned upside down when his future self (Bruce Willis) is sent back for him to kill. He fails, and finds himself on the run from his fellow Loopers while simultaneously attempting to track down his future self. Surprisingly, though, Looper isn’t a chase movie -- in fact, it’s so far from breathless that it even borders on slow during its middle portion. This is a film that ponders the implications of time-travel, and questions the morality of using it for personal gain. Shades of grey abound, as our protagonist(s?) bounce(s) between good and evil without ever fully embracing either extreme. Writer/director Rian Johnson has an obviously adoration for playing with his audience, as he continuously bounces forward and backward in time and between locations without ever missing a beat. Despite how it may sound, Looper moves along with a silky smoothness that’s rarely seen in the action/thriller genre -- let alone in time-travel movies.

Looper’s contemplative tone may turn off those looking for a more traditional mind-bender, but it’s a welcome change of pace for a niche rife with a potential for dramatic depth that rarely makes a full appearance. A few slightly over-dramatized moments dot the film’s landscape, but they’re few and far between, and hugely outnumbered by the film’s endearing characters and their meaningful, thoughtfully-constructed relationships.

One of the more remarkable aspects of Looper can be found in its vision of the future. This is 2044. We don’t have laser guns or robots or unbelievably tall skyscrapers. Looper’s world is one that you can see from here. Everything is noticeably more crowded, with fully constructed homeless communities lining the city’s slums, and hunger is an obvious problem for a large portion of the populace. It’s thrilling to see a futuristic cityscape depicted so realistically, and adds another intriguing tidbit for audiences to chew on.

The film’s major mistake is a fairly obvious one. We’re introduced early on to the idea of telekinesis, and told that a small portion of the world’s populace has been born with this “genetic mutation”, allowing them to lift very small objects, like quarters, with their mind. Needless to say, this ends up playing a large part in the central narrative, but the idea is never fleshed out or made believable the way the Looper’s world is. It ends up feeling a bit shoehorned in, which is disappointing given how successful the film is at establishing all the other the rules of its world.

It’s also worth noting that Looper doesn’t take itself too seriously. Its action scenes, though graphic and bloody, often poke noticeable fun at themselves. Instead of keeping its ridiculousness subdued, Looper points out many of the ways it’s unbelievable, just to make you giggle. 

Looper needs to be commended; it tries something new, and its succeeds. It’s not an A+ student, but that’s because no one’s ever tried this before. It forges a bold new path for time-travel films and science-fiction in general. It more than proves the viability of Joseph Gordon-Levitt as a leading man, secures Bruce Willis as a badass (as if we needed more proof of that), crafts a narrative packed with ingenuity and clever dialogue, and, perhaps above all else, it makes its audience think. I’ve got a feeling that, in just a few short years, Rian Johnson’s name will be one with quite the Hollywood pedigree.

Final Score:

8.0/10

“Great”