Looper

Starring;

Bruce Willis

Joseph Gordon-Levitt

Emily Blunt

Jeff Daniels

Paul Dano

 

Director;

Rian Johnson

 

In three words; Stylish – Fun – Cynical

 

 

Plot;

 

In 2074 time travel has been invested and although it is immediately made illegal it is used by criminal organisations to send those they want killed into the past where they are killed by assassins known as ‘Loopers’. Joe (Gordon-Levitt) is faced with his future self but fails to kill him leading to a man hunt of both.

 

 

Review;

 

Joseph Gordon-Levitt playing a young Bruce Willis. This was my first concern, especially after seeing production photographs earlier this year with JGL all Willisafied with a prosthetic nose and half a grin. However, this is easy to get passed as the film starts, although JGL looks odd at first it is soon forgotten about. Attention is diverted towards the future dystopia created by director Rian Johnson. Set in 2044 JGL plays Joe Simmons who is employed to kill and dispose of targets sent back in time by crime bosses.

 

If one was to sit down and think about time travel and what would and wouldn’t be possible it would be very easy to dismiss the completely implausible plot of Looper as with any time travel film. However, as Bruce says in the film, thinking too much about this stuff will make your head hurt. So lets not go there.

 

The future we are presented with is one of financial collapse with poverty and mutation prevalent in society. This is much more of a social and political comment on the state of Hollywood as we find it today. The fiscal issues not mutation. (Although it would explain Gary Busey.) As Brad Pitt has recently stated ‘there are no big paydays anymore’ which is reflected in this film and Pitt’s Killing Them Softly and give us an insight into the pessimistic attitude Hollywood holds the moment.

 

I digress, back to Looper. JGL has clearly been studying Bruce Willis. His mannerisms and swagger are spot on. However, I have to say that I would rather see him trying less to give a Bruce impersonation and concentrate more on his character. Willis has the easy ride on this flick as he just turns up on set and puts in his usual performance but gives little else to the dynamic of his character.

 

In a strong supporting role Emily Blunt plays a protective mother of a young boy would Willis believes will be responsible for the death of his future wife. JGL is forced to protect mother and child from his future self. This is where the film could and should have expanded. There is a future badass known only as the Rainmaker who is killing off fellow mafia shits and this is an interesting avenue to explore yet Director and Writer Rian Johnson doesn’t give us much to go on. This I feel was a mistake, or perhaps this is something he will exploure in a future spin off or sequel.

 

Paul Dano plays a small part as another Looper who is faced with the undesirable but necessary task of killing himself after he older self is sent back to be killed. When he fails in this assignation he is hunted by his boss, played brilliantly by Jeff Daniels. With some rather gruesome and unique torture he is soon disposed of. Dano lets himself down with an over the top performance which needed to be reined in as it came across as rather amateurish.

 

Looper is a fun and interesting story which will no doubt push JGL further into the mainstream where he clearly belongs. It is also a good vehicle for Blunt however it was just another film for Willis. Don’t get me wrong I’m a massive Bruce fan however it has been sometime since he has played another but himself.

 

 

Verdict;

 

3 out of 5.