A sci fi masterpiece that combines heart, brains and excitement to make possibly the best film of the year

Rating: 8/10 (1 October 2012)

Sci-fi films often strive for originality. Contrary to what many spiteful internet fan boys claim, Hollywood is not afraid of new ideas, It just doesn't come up with them that frequently. But every so often amidst the failed attempts at being the next matrix or blade runner, there's an inception or a district 9 that makes you believe in the movie industry's commitment to quality once more. With Looper Rian Johnson manages to do something very few films ever do. It makes us think, feel and sit on the edge of our seat often all at once. The premise is not that mind boggling. Whereas other intelligent sci-fi's have convoluted plots that we try to decipher amongst the spectacle Looper sets us up with a basic idea, but an idea that deepens and grows more dimensions than the trailers suggest. To give away too much would be a crime, so its best to go in knowing the basics. Joseph Gordon Levitt plays Joe, a specialised assassin known as a Looper. These Loopers are hired for the not too taxing job of assassinating people sent from the future all tied up with a bag over their heads. They then receive payment in the form of "silver" attached to the targets back. The looper then disposes of a body that technically doesn't exist and so wont be looked for. However with the job comes a specific requirement. A looper will also have to retire himself by assassinating their future selves this is called "closing the loop". And this is where the core of our story begins, but crucially it is not the real focus of the story as it moves on. As you'll know from the trailers Joe is tasked with killing his future self (Bruce Willis) and when he fails to do so is on the run from the criminals who hired him to do so in the first place. Where the story goes from there is unexpected and in places rather dark. There are many smart little details in Johnsons phenomenal script, that really flesh out the world he has created for his film. The characters use their own lexicon and slang, they have their own type of future drugs (taken through eye drops), and some of the details regarding the time travel are inspired. Again to say too much would do the film a great disservice but its clear Johnson has an eye for both ideas and spectacle. The camera moves in such an organic involving way, each frame is so precisely positioned you know if you got the chance you wouldn't change a thing. Techinically the film cannot be faulted. The look is warm and believable, stylistically there are moments that will stay with you long after you've left the cinema (a moving and thrilling ride through 30 years in particular is very cleverly interwoven into the story structure) and the soundtrack fits exquisitely. The characters are all sympathetic and deep with multiple dimensions. Even when one character goes to do something unspeakable mid way through the film, its believable through the brilliant direction of Johnson. The cast are all superb, especially Gordon Levitt who plays a complicated character and evolves him masterfully with the aid of a screenplay that puts character in the foreground and lets the action merely be the cherry on top. Thats not to say that the action is anything less than outstanding. Looper proves that action can still be thrilling with just a few men and some guns but at the same time provides us with some fantastical comic book fantasy spectacle with a dash of surprisingly brutal violence. As the film powers towards an awe inspiring and heartbreaking conclusion we begin to realise just how involved we've become. It actually matters to us what becomes of Joe and how this stylish, smart tale will end. Perhaps its down to a great cast giving it there all. Perhaps its down to great technical wizardry, but most likely its down to the vision of Rian Johnson, who does that rare thing of proving, Hollywood can take risks.