Loopy great fun!

Rating: 8/10 (28 March 2013)

I just had to buy Looper when I heard all the hype surrounding it. I thought I was in luck when a friend lent me his "friend's" pirate copy, which is something I've never actually done before and will probably never do again in the future because the quality was what I like to call, "floppy". Bad sound, pixelated picture, I couldn't watch such a visual treat like Looper on that kind of quality! So I hunted Ebay and found a dangerously cheap copy, and I'm very glad that I did. Whilst Looper isn't the greatest sci-fi film ever made, like some people keep proclaiming, it certainly is a solid, entertaining and gripping adventure with a very original idea. Now, the first 45 minutes or so did lose me slightly in certain areas with its mind-bending premise of time-travel (which still doesn't entirely make sense), but if you just go with it then you'll probably enjoy it as much as I did.
Now, I don't completely understand how killing your own future self would not effectively kill you, but like I said, just go with it. It's a clever idea and one I haven't seen the likes of. Of course the film is set in the future so we get all the futuristic clichés of hover-bikes and weird tall buildings (we'll have to wait until 2044 arrives, to see just how accurate everything is) but at its core, the world isn't much different to how it is now. We're introduced to our hero, a drug-addicted murderer that some how remains likable throughout. The first hour of Looper acts like a rollicking sci-fi actioner as we're introduced to the idea of loopers and get to see what happens when things get out of hand.
We all know that Bruce Willis comes back as Joseph's future self and silly old Joe lets him go! What I really liked here was that a certain sort of human element was introduced, which proved that Looper has heart as well as brain (almost like a Christopher Nolan film). We see Joseph age up into Bruce and he falls in love with a Chinese woman young enough to be his daughter (but we'll look over that) and I won't spoil the rest of it, but it certainly helps us feel some emotion for Bruce's character as we know what he's been through. There's also a great scene where Joseph and Bruce talk in a diner (reminded me of Heat) and Joseph is quite keen to shoot him. It's suspenseful stuff!
For me, the film hit its stride when Joseph meets Emily Blunt at a nice farmhouse and we hear of Bruce's heart-breaking master plan. The film completely changes pace from rollicking sci-fi action to a more gentle, yet no less thrilling, pace. Now, this will probably upset/anger sci-fi action fans, but it adds a lot of emotion to the film and a strong human element. These parts were gripping, touching and very clever. There were some brilliantly tense scenes as well as some rather wonderful special effects which I won't spoil for you. The finale was compelling and very exciting with a clever and almost inspiring ending.
Looper isn't as good as Inception. In fact, it isn't even a patch on Inception's mind-blowing brilliance, but it is a fun and entertaining ride with a lot of heart and brain. Needless to say that I really enjoyed every minute of it and I'm not into the sci-fi genre. The action was also really well shot, with no annoying shake or constant cutaways which made it all the more intense. The directing was often very impressive. I especially liked the crabbing camera motion! In the end, Looper is really worth seeing and also has good replay value. Don't go expecting Inception though!