Looper (2012) Review

  Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Inception, The Dark Knight Rises) in the lead along with Hollywood A-star Bruce Willis, and Emily Blunt. The film is based in 2044 where if the mob wants anybody dead they send him back 30 years into the present for execution. The killers are known as Loopers and things get topsy-turvy when Joe Simmons (Levitt) encounters his future self.

  By the trailer the movie looks too cliched or kind of like this year's Total Recall. But this sci-fi venture packs more than a bunch of futuristic guns. The plot is original and the follow-through is unpredictable. The timing of events is notably brilliant, owing to the top-class direction. Although Blunt (pictured below) gained much acclaim to her acting I reckon Willis was more of a perfectionist. Maybe it was the swearing in almost all of his dialogues that didn't make the cut with critics. Levitt was also fine and this is his shot into the limelight for good having previous side roles in big productions. It was also amazing how the make-up artist got Levitt's facial features to resemble that of Willis'. No one could've thought of creating that pairing.

    

Action is guaranteed but less than promised in the teasers to put more emphasis on story. The settings are bleak but uncanny enough. On a lower budget it can't exactly become Inception.

However, there are noticeable flaws. The running time is too high. This could've easily been a 90 minutes picture so people wouldn't be hesitant of buying the ticket. Plus, pacing is too slow for a sci-fi action or even thriller. If these negative points were dismissed then Looper would've been perfect.

  In conclusion, Looper made $132m worldwide off $32m at the end of its theatrical run, and I expect DVD and BR sales to be sky high. Written and directed by Rian Johnson being his third film and the first in this genre, he did a fancy job and hope he doesn't plunge into the depth of H-wood nonsense later on.

IMDB: 8.0/10.

Roger Ebert: 3.5/4.

BO101: 3/4.