Takes an old idea and moves in an unexpected direction with it.

Rating: 9/10 (3 January 2013)

Time travel. It has fascinated people for years. What if we were able to control the future through the past. Lots of movies, books, TV shows, etc. have been made about it. And here's the thing.
It doesn't exist.
And because it doesn't exist, we don't actually fully understand how it works. We all have our theories, but nobody could actually tell you the exact outcome of going back in time and killing baby Hitler. This is important, because I've heard a lot of people saying that their are plot holes because "Time travel doesn't work that way." Sure it doesn't. We have no idea how time travel works. And so, movies like this are made, presenting ideas in an artistic format. The characters themselves fully acknowledge that they, people who are living in a time when time travel exists, don't fully understand it.
Any movie that dares to tackle time travel will run into a few plot holes. The real sign of how good a movie is is how much the plot holes detract from the viewing experience. In this case.... I'd say none.
Now that I've tackled a problem, to the review:
A futuristic assassin (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), Joe, who kills people sent back in time from when time travel exists one day encounters his future self. As one of his targets. His future self (Bruce Willis) manages to escape and the man hunt begins. What's more, in the future, a powerful person called "the Rainmaker" is in total control and actually killed future Joe's wife. Because of this, future Joe sets off to kill the Rainmaker, who is still only a child at this point. Younger Joe gets a hold of one of the possible addresses and stakes out a farm house, occupied by a tough young woman, Sara (Emily Blunt), and her son, Cid (Pierce Gagnon), one of the potential Rainmakers.
Obviously, this film takes on some of the Terminator films' vibes. But even though parts of the plot seem familiar, (killing someone who in the future will become evil, future and past meeting, etc.) the movie takes a very different route. Instead of being predictable, the characters and set-up create a maze of possible plot-lines, follows one, and leaves the audience to guess at different outcomes.
The absolute best part of this film is the characters. The effort put into writing them, making them all plausible and sympathetic, is wonderful. All of the main characters are fleshed out and feel very real. They follow arcs and grow and change. The acting, which of course is what brings the characters to life, is flawless, even from the young Pierce Gagnon. Child actors can be tricky, but he manages to play a character who is innocent, yet dangerous (a difficult part for anyone) with full believability and intensity. Emily Blunt gives a particularly interesting performance, playing both a tough, strong care-giver and a frightened and alone person. And Bruce Willis (an old favourite) and Joseph Gordon-Levitt (younger, but with a similarly impressive career both in front and behind him) play off each other as the same person with two very different mind-sets in a truly delightful way.
I've heard some complaints that the movie isn't the one the trailers showed. I, for one, liked this. Trailers have a bit of a blind spot of giving away everything. They tell the whole story within a few moments and make seeing the movie boring. If all the plot twists are in the trailer, then why bother seeing the film? Trailers are there to entice you. And Looper's trailer did.
This film is original, interesting, and dynamic. But don't take my word for it.