Looper (2012) - Rian Johnson

Set in the near future, time travel has been invented though it has been made illegal, only being used on the black market by criminal organizations.  When the mob wants to get rid of someone, they send the target back 30 years, where a "Looper" is waiting to exterminate the target.  Joe, one of the best loopers, is becoming filthy rich, living the good life until one day the mob decides to "close his loop" sending Joe's future self back to him for assassination.  Rian Johnson's Looper is the rare type of Hollywood film that is original, and while not nearly as smart as some may think, it delivers on a creative and interesting take on the time-travel genre.  The setting of Looper is not a bright and shiny future but rather a dirty world, and the film does a great job a establishing this future dystopia, showing how the world around Joe's rich lifestyle is crumbling.  Looper is exciting and always interesting, using a highly stylistic visual design to create this unique experience.   After the world is set up, the film gets particularly interesting once Joe's future self escapes his potential assassination by his present self.   You got that?  My favorite aspect of the film is how these two individuals, who happen to be the same man just 30 years apart, interact.  The younger Joe and older Joe are similar yet very different and Looper makes sure to give both of them their fair share of understanding.  The film never tries to demonize either Joseph Gorden-Levitt's present day Joe or more importantly the future Joe, played by Bruce Willis, a man who is simply trying to save the woman he loves.   I found both men to be compelling characters, which is a real testament to Rian Johnson's screenplay, making the question of who the viewer should be routing for even more vague (which is a good thing).   Yes, Looper does have elements that are extremely similar to 'The Fury' and while I did find the ending to be a little predictable, Looper's overall originality and technical prowess elevate it above most things coming out of Hollywood.  Not as good as Rian Johnson's Brick, duh, but a clear step in the right direction after his incredibly disappointing The Brothers Bloom.

8.25/10

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