Film Review: Looper – Science Fiction Film

So, went to see this scifi big action movie over the weekend.

Let’s jump to the end first (only befitting for a movie that deals with time travel and it’s consequences) – Was it worth the hype? Yes it was. Cool movie, great rhythm, go and watch!

To the movie itself: It talks about the world in 2044, which is kind of shitty. Things have fallen somewhat into anarchy, and the organized crime is ruling the streets. And time travel is not invented yet. However, jump 30 years into the future, it has been invented by 2074, but naturally deemed highly illegal.

So, what happens is, since in the year 2074 it’s very difficult to kill and get away with it, the crime syndicate send the person they want killed back to the past. And this is where the loopers come into the picture. They are the killers assigned to sit somewhere and wait for the designated target to appear strapping silver bars to their back, shoot them, and take the payment.

Our protagonist, Joe, works in exactly that capacity. But not too far into the movie, he comes to realize that a mysterious crime boss, named “Rainmaker”, from the future, has just made a takeover play, and a part of his move is to “close the loop” on all current loopers. Him included.

However, his older self does not intent to take things lying down. He escapes his destiny, and this cat & mouse chase of the young Joe after the older Joe is what makes this movie so exciting.

Aside from a few bits and ends, like levitating motorcycle, apparently hybrid hydrogene-electric vehicles and some futuristic urban scenery, the movie does not attempt to drown you in future-like imagery. Even the bits from 2074 don’t look too different than our present day. For me it made it easier to relate to the movie and it’s plot.

The acting is pretty great. They used make-up on Joseph Gordon-Levitt (further named JGL for digital conservation purposes) to make him look like a younger version of Bruce Willis. But JGL completed the transformation even better by adapting some of Willis’s own moves and expressions. It’s great to see how well he caught his mannerisms.

The movie is pretty full of action sequences, but there are also some quiet parts, when Joe puts the pieces together, or when older Joe lays low to make his plans. They still fit in into the grand scheme of things.

As with any time travel movie that I know, this one also warns against the obvious dangers of time travel and messing with one’s past. Even though the crime lords of the future think they found a fool-proof way of eliminating witnesses, It kind of comes back to bite them, as people are unpredictable as ever – whether it’s the present, past or future.

One of the things I’m not sure if I like or not is the fact that the “hero” of the movie is a bad guy. He’s a serial murderer, a drug addict, and has no care in the world but to his own skin, and even that – only till his looper expiry date. (that’s how they close the loop, sending the older version of one-self back after 30 years to be killed by the younger self and reward the younger self with his pension in gold bars)

**Spoiler alert**

You start the movie cheering for the older self as he loses his love who cleaned him of his drug addiction and made him care for someone else other than himself, and end up cheering for the younger self as he finds new love and makes the ultimate sacrifice to save her.

** End of Spoiler **

To sum it up: Go and watch it. It makes you think, but not in a bad way, and it’s one of the only movies with a sad ending that truly fits. In my opinion.