A wonderful perspective of the relations between crime and time travel

Rating: 9/10 (10 October 2012)

Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars alongside his future self Bruce Willis in this sci-fi classic to be, Looper.
Joe Simmons (Levitt) is just one of many cohorts affiliated with a criminal organisation running Loopers; assigned hit-men of the present who gain wealthy lifestyles through assassinating criminals who are sent from the future only to be shot an erased in the outskirts of Kansas City. The organisation is altered through the use of time travel, invented in the thirty years ahead, the mob of 2074 sees the machine beneficial in terms of body disposal. Once the target is sent back to the year 2044, it is placed in the hands of Joe and Co to finish the task.
Kansas is home to the strangest of folks with a major decline in poverty as well as a fascinating trend of telekinesis. Abe (Jeff Daniels) who is head of Loopers, feeds off the low class of 2044 Kansas, who took charge of sending himself back through time to run the killing business.
Although the Loopers are nothing short of ordinary, Joe and longtime friend Seth (Paul Dano) feel the need to use a particular eye drop that not only enhances there vision and stamina, it is almost like the party drug of the future. However, to the disgust of Abe, Seth lets his target slip, leaving an outcry for him to be captured. Joe, who hesitates in covering for Seth, finds a portrayal to come as Seth reveals the danger for the current Loopers as a future figure head calls for all Loopers to be closed; meaning their future self appears as the next target, seeking for you to erase yourself from the future.
Hesitant to this belief, Joe faces his worst nightmare when he himself is faced with the nerving task upon killing himself, Bruce Willis. The plot finds Joe suffering a similar consequence to Seth as he too lets his target run loose, resulting in a chase of cat and mouse involving the mob and an older, but much wiser Joe.
Joe; "I work as a specialized assassin, in an outfit called the Loopers. When my organization from the future wants someone to die, they zap them back to me and I eliminate the target from the future. The only rule is: never let your target escape... even if your target is you." With Joe focused on finishing the task at hand, older Joe follows a path of destruction as he sets on seeking the "Rainmaker", a future figure involved in closing all the Loopers. The concept is blended between a general mix of future scenes and future flashbacks if you like, painting a picture of Old Joe's life from crime to love. Destined to make his future current, Old Joe is hell bent on changing any off direction of his younger self, even if it means the introduction of Sarah (Emily Blunt), who finds herself caught up in a convenient piece to a time traveling puzzle.
Looper begins at great pace, offering a classic ingredient of Science fiction, a genre we have recently come to forget. It is obvious to see the comparison of movies such as The Matrix, but it should take pride with enhancing its own premise. Of course, time travel has been done before but not like this. Looper took this concept and kept in focus, without managing to run away with it, keeping any possible exaggeration in tact.
The on screen chemistry between Willis and Levitt is delightful as it is when they both sit across from each other for the first time you realise the hype surrounding Joseph's Die-hard resemblance. However, the interactions between Joe and Sarah shined nicely as it took aim in slowing down the movie, focusing on what is a potential romance that intervenes in what feels like an appropriate time.
The movie offers a thriller of intelligence, creating some what a less confusing direction towards what many people believe time travel to be quite mindless; Example, Inception, Donnie Darko, both fantastic films in their own way, although it still takes me some time to get to grips of the apparent aim of those movies. Inception was known for it's mind boggling asset, leaving Nolan to let the viewer decide. So on that note, Let's just say you can enjoy Looper without any long-term debates.
Is it what the critics say; 2012's Matrix? No, I believe Inception was 2010's Matrix, and you can't have a film every year relating to the same film can we? Director Rian Johnson made this movie his own, like nobody else, just like when Nolan got a hold of Inception. Not many Directors/Writers succeed in creating a time travel concept following the success of previous creations, however Rian has put together something original, with a not-so original cast, and made what could be my film of the year thus far.
Overall; Not only do the performances from Levitt and Willis make this enjoyable, the all round dark and twisted concept rates this as one of the best sci-fi thrillers of the last 10 years! It rocked!
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