Review: Looper (2012)

“This time travel crap, just fries your brain like an egg.”

Director: Rian Johnson

Starring: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis and Emily Blunt

Writer: Rian Johnson

Looper could have been a hard science fiction movie that turns as many people away as endears itself to, it could of also been a stupid action movie that never lives up to it’s potential. Instead we get a movie that at its heart has some simple yet hefty themes that raise it above a lot of movies. Accessible yet different.

Brick was a fantastic film and showed that Rian Johnson was a writer/director to watch. I’ve yet to see the Brothers Bloom, but with Looper it obvious that this man is talented, and is definitely a filmmaker that will be regarded as one of the best in the future. He manages to create an intricate world and yet never get bogged down to the detriment of the character driven story. Rian also has a great eye and always has a good grasp on how to allow the scene to flow.

Of course none of this would have mattered if it wasn’t for the actors, all which hit the right note. Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis as young and old Joe respectively, manage to be both alike and yet different in small enough ways. Both actors had to really walk a morally grey line, and if ether one failed then the movie would have failed. Emily Blunt as Sara also does a fantastic job as a mother who has to be strong for her child Cid and yet is fragile inside.

All the effects in this movie look great, with the cityscape being a wonderful mixture of the current and what could be in our future. Funnily enough what you would think would be the biggest SFX (the time travel portion) is done rather simply, and when you think about it, it makes sense. There are also little visual touches across the board like clothing, vehicles and weapons that just make the world richer.

Honestly Looper is worth the time, it’s a science fiction story that’s a character driven piece and not trying to wow you with pretty visuals that mean nothing. The acting is strong and it’s great to see Bruce Willis using the acting muscle I knew he had. See this movie now, right now.