an incredibly ambitious, well executed sci-fi thriller that is as smart as it is exciting

Rating: 10/10 (28 September 2012)

In a time in cinema when sci-fi means battling robots, action films need to be rated PG-13, and heroes and villains are black and white, Looper is one of the most refreshing films you will have the luxury of seeing. Even when the film was bogged down by trailers trying to draw crowds looking for a pure action movie, audiences got a film that doesn't just bring the action, but also has more heart and brain than almost any movie this year. This film is extremely ambitious and reminds us (especially when we saw trailers for Paranormal Activity 4 and a Red Dawn remake before hand) that there are filmmakers out there actually trying to do new/great things.
Looper is written and directed by Rian Johnson, the mind behind the indie films Brick and The Brothers Bloom. Johnson's story follows Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), an assassin known as a looper who specializes in the killing of targets sent back from the future, bound and hooded, ready for the killing. As Joe tells us, time travel has not been invented yet in his present 2044, but in 30 years it has. And 30 years from now, a criminal ring sends the targets they need killed back to a time where they can be eliminated and disposed of without any trace. Essentially, it is the perfect crime.
Being a looper has its perks. You are well paid, can live an exciting lifestyle, and have plenty of authority in the world you live. However, there is one major setback: in the future, time does come when the head of this mob decides to "close your loop." This means, your future self is sent back for you to kill. Your future self dies, you get a big payday, and you know you have 30 years left to live. If your future self comes back and you fail to close your loop, then you are in trouble. Both you and your future self are hunted down to eliminate any loose ends.
And this is exactly the problem Joe gets himself into. When his future self lands on his killing block, Joe is outsmarted and overpowered by Old Joe (Bruce Willis), and the hunter becomes the hunted. This is played out brilliantly between Gordon-Levitt and Willis, the former of which wore make-up to look like a young Willis. Add to this the fact that Gordon-Levitt executes many of Willis' facial gestures, squints, and laughs, and we really start to buy that this is the same person.
What is so great about Looper is that Johnson writes out a story that is extremely smart within a world that is extremely plausible. What starts as a sci-fi action film slowly turns into a dark drama/western styled film that keeps you guessing from beginning to end.
To read the rest of the review (IMDb form too short) visit: http://custodianfilmcritic.com/looper/