No Twelve Monkeys, but not far off

Rating: 7/10 (4 January 2014)

Version I saw: In-flight movie (KLM)
Actors: 7/10
Plot/script: 7/10
Photography/visual style: 6/10
Music/score: 5/10
Overall: 7/10
When you cast Bruce Willis in a time travel movie, you are placing yourself in a very significant shadow: that of Twelve Monkeys. Terry Gilliam's 1995 film is considered by many to be the epitome of what a time-travel film should be.
Fortunately, Looper not only acknowledges this, but actively embraces it with several notable parallels. The way "time travel fries your brain like an egg" has some interesting plot implications which are explored nicely.
Willis and Joseph Gordon-Levitt play the same character at different periods in his life. While Willis' film-star mannerisms are too well-known for him too convincingly take on another's, JG-L is younger, and more than willing to subsume his own personality, in the service of the narrative. If there is any doubt of this logic, there is one trump-card: in this film, it works.
Some have criticized the ending, claiming it makes a wrenching shift to a different type of film, but I think the change was set up well early on, as long as you make the effort to pay attention to the details.
Speaking of details, I saw this film on a plane, and I think I lost out a bit from the cramped visuals and tinny sound. I would advise you to seek it out on a proper TV with a decent-sized screen.
For my full review, see my independent film blog on Blogspot, Cinema Inferno: http://cinemainferno-blog.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/looper-2012.html