Looper
2012
***½
Director: Rian Johnson
Cast: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, Emily Blunt, Paul Dano, Noah Segan, Piper Perabo, Jeff Daniels, Pierce Gagnon, Qing Xu
In 2044, time travel has been invented and used by future crime bosses to send people back in time to be killed by loopers such as Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt). Things become complicated when Joe needs to close the loop. That is, eliminate his older self (Bruce Willis), who comes back from 2074. Writer/director Rian Johnson doesn't delve too deep into his futuristic dystopia; it's merely a cool backdrop for a gimmicky science fiction premise. The narrative initially moves at a relentless pace, then slows down to a crawl in the midsection, before the action picks up again towards the end. The story goes to surprisingly dark places and the climax is powerful. Overall, the film is entertaining but derivative. Almost every scene seems to nod at an earlier film (12 Monkeys, Terminator, Witness and The Omen are only few of the obvious influences).
