If you don't think too hard, it's okay, otherwise . . .

Rating: 5/10 (10 October 2012)

I gave this movie a 5 because I was entertained. But I was trying really, really hard to be entertained, and I wanted to be entertained. Had I been in a more dour mood, I would have dislike this movie.
SPOILERS BELOW
The main problem I have with this movie is that the story takes too many liberties with common sense. If you are going to watch a time travel movie, you are going to have to shelve some questions, no doubt. But this movie asks you to leave too many basic questions unanswered.
Such as:
Why is it so hard for the future mob to get rid of bodies? If it's hard for the future mob to get rid of bodies, why did they shoot Old Joe's wife? Particularly given that she was simply walking around and was not a threat? And further given that they had a future stun-gun device in their hands that could have immobilized her? Why not kill the victims before sending them back? You'd hope by 2074 they'd have a lethal method of killing people that didn't shed blood. I mean, they have flying motorcycles in 2044, and a time machine in 2074, so surely they would have a quick way of zapping people. In 2012 we can't even make an affordable EV, but we have flying motorcycles just 32 years later? If the future mob has the precision to send people back to the exact spot in a cornfield, why not send them back to the middle of the Atlantic Ocean? Or the North Pole? Or a volcano? Or 1 mile under the Pacific? Or New Jersey? Why, exactly, is it a problem for "loopers" to be alive in the future? If loopers know that they are going to be captured and returned in 30 years, why are they sleeping in bed with their wives? You've had 30 years to prep. Why does young Joe have attached ear lobes (cat's ears) but old Joe has ear lobes? ;) Gold is preposterously heavy. How does old Joe move around so easily with what amounts to several hundred pounds of gold on his back? Why not send the older loopers back to be killed by loopers who aren't them? They clearly have no issue shooting strangers. How does a major crime boss from the future leave himself open to having old Joe shoot and blow up everybody and every thing in 5 minutes? There are many others - those are just the obvious ones.
This movie was not clever. It was anything but clever, in fact. But, if you don't ask too many questions, as the movie implores, you might be able to eek a bit of enjoyment out of it.
By the way - the movie was more gruesome than it needed to be. I felt a bit guilty watching the violence.