“Looper” is a smart, clever and interesting sci-fi thriller that doesn’t insult its audience with ridiculous “’splosions” or overly trite characters.
Well, okay, there are one or two characters that weren’t 100 percent. But it doesn’t hold back the film at all. “Looper” is one of the best movies to come out all year, and sets the bar remarkably high for anything else to unseat it in the sci-fi genre.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars as Joe the hired killer@@http://movies.nytimes.com/2012/09/28/movies/looper-with-bruce-willis-and-joseph-gordon-levitt.html?ref=arts@@, taking out the trash for organized crime in the future’s past (still our future), using time travel as a way of hiding the dead bodies. Then you have Bruce Willis as Old Joe, the same Joe from the future’s future, who in some small personal way redeemed himself and is trying to correct some mistakes in the future by … Okay. The plot is a little thick (this is a good thing). Suffice it to say that the plot has original elements that keep it from being stale right out of the gate.
Levitt’s and Willis’ makeup, as well as Levitt’s performance, were absolutely remarkable. Not only that, but the characters themselves are intriguing. There isn’t a real “good guy” in this one. Just a bunch of bad people trying to get ahead or innocents trying to protect themselves. The anti-heroes may make questionable choices but are possessed of actual understandable (and plausible!) motivations.
Little details make the world seem believable. We don’t get hit over the head with the future. The art direction even did a good job of using “old cars” (our new cars) and making them look run-down. It’s a cinematic rule that little things like this help suspend disbelief. Many people thought this one through from start to finish and it shows.
There’s so much to say about this film, but I must leave it at this: it’s worth it. It really is. I love it when Hollywood comes through. Sometimes, filmmakers with creativity still get a chance. And when it works, we all win.
Grade: A