Twisted

Rating: 10/10 (5 October 2012)

Looper is a smart, intelligent, mind bending conceptual movie from a fairly unknown director Rian Johnson. This fact alone should inspire many unpublished wannabes to never give up hope. Even though I too had problems navigating the parallel dimensions in this film, 2 viewings did eventually help.
30 years. That marks the end of a loop for a looper. 30 years. However even early on we learn that can go wrong. OK, that was a spoiler I admit, but nothing bends correctly until the end.
Things I had trouble with: Joseph Gordon-Levitt I'm sorry even with tons of make up does not really look like Bruce Willis. The transition between old and new Joe are not so apparent so it confuses the audience. Timelines get confused between what Joe wants to believe and what actually happens. If you have to analyze a film too hard it is frustrating. You really don't want to pay to see it multiple times to figure things out.
Things I really liked: No matter what later time you are living, it is all dependent on the past. If you loose an arm... it is gone in the future. Current time is not forgiving. If you screw up, you are always susceptible of a reprimand that might not be so attractive. Reality verses what you want can be altered in any given moment. Try as much as you can to make the right choice in the present doesn't always work out in the future.
For some reason this felt more akin to BladeRunner for me in tone and execution than many of it's wannabes. No kid will understand it, so don't bother taking them. This is purely an intellectual film that is meant for scifi addicts. I should know. I'm not a true scifi addict. I didn't understand it first time around either. -B