"You're going to kill this guy, your own self?'

Rating: 6/10 (2 January 2013)

LOOPER did fairly well in the box office in October 2012 and now that it is available on Instant Video and in DVD the popularity grows. Written and directed by Rian Johnson it is another take on the concept of time travel (a topic that never seems to miss with audiences) and while the film is entertaining, it is very bloody and gory and the only salvation is the fact that the cast contains some of filmdom's more popular actors.
The story is best summarized by the lead character in the film, Joe played with skill (despite phony makeup trying to make him resemble Bruce Willis – his looper self) by Joseph Gordon- Levitt: '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.' Or, stated another way, in 2074, when the mob wants to get rid of someone, the target is sent 30 years into the past, where a hired gun awaits. Someone like Joe, who one day learns the mob wants to 'close the loop' by transporting back Joe's future self (Bruce Willis). So the film opens in the year 2044, and Joe is a looper, friends with Seth (Paul Dano in a very brief appearance) and lovers with Suzie (Piper Perabo) and working for head looper Abe (Jeff Daniels). Joe discovers his next assignment is himself (Bruce Willis, Joe from the future). He also encounters Sara (Emily Blunt) who knows the strange coincidences that are about to happen (!) and mothers a child Cid (Pierce Gagnon) who has particularly useful end-of-the - world powers etc etc.
It is a clever idea and if time travel and assassinations fascinate you, then this is a well-made move in that genre.
Grady Harp