Dick-ish (P.K., that is)

Rating: 8/10 (12 October 2012)

LOOPER is a fun movie that is very reminiscent of the stories that Philip K. Dick wrote in the 60s and 70s. I can't explain the similarities in too much detail without spoiling anything (see below, if you'd like), but anyone familiar with Dick's oeuvre shouldn't be too put off by my comparison.
This film does something unusual in this day and age, which is to make its theme the primary motivation for the story to exist. Plot elements and character motivations all go to support the ultimate conclusion, which is a fulfillment of the thematic premise (which, again, can't be disclosed without spoiling said ending).
If you are a fan of films that transcend the modern concept of screen writing, which holds genre and "high-concept" (doublespeak if I've ever heard it) above all else, then you may find LOOPER a refreshing investigation of meaning and purpose in life.
No, you will not find instructions on building a time machine, nor evidence that time travel may actually exist without paradox. Turn off your science brain, and go in for a good and well told story, with interesting characters, intriguing twists, and a purposeful ending, and I'd bet on you having a good time.
If you enjoyed THE MATRIX, you should be able to enjoy this movie. If, in THE MATRIX, you found yourself concerned about the reality of a person's mind being able to somehow break the operational code of a computerized world while within that world, through sheer force of will (note, that there are no scenes in THE MATRIX in which Neo is being taught to use real computers or their source code properly), then you will probably hate this movie.
**SPOILERS** **SPOILERS** **SPOILERS**
Similarities:
1. Primarily the introduction of a seemingly pointless (and magical) fact of the future that becomes a main point of the plot. The TK abilities in the film were very reminiscent of Dick's use of synthetic animals, aliens, changeling suits, etc. (that last example always having bothered me as too much of a necessity for the telling of that story).
2. A near future that's really not very different from our own, but has contact with a race of people (those 30 years in the future of the time the main action takes place) that are nearly alien (if not completely alien).
3. Primary concern is with thematic exploration. See THE MAN IN THE HIGH CASTLE.
Not a lot to hang my hat on, but since they were such hallmarks of Dick's novels, when used in an s.f. trope, it's difficult to escape comparison.