"Looper" Review

This isn't quite your daddy's Blade Runner.

Looper is the latest sci-fi extravaganza from writer/director Rian Johnson (Brick). It's about a new brand of execution and how one character deals with a twist in his life. In the future when the mafia wants a target taken out, they send those targets thirty years back in time to be executed on the spot by hired guns like Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt). But one day, Joe learns that his employer wants to "close his loop" by sending back a very special target for Joe to kill: his future self (Bruce Willis).

This is the most original sci-fi tale in years. Looper isn't bogged down with an overload of special effects and really isn't all that corny for science fiction. I like the idea of time travel being instantly outlawed and used discreetly by the criminal underworld. It lends a different type of mystery to the idea of time travel that makes it seem like more of a "tool of the trade" rather than a bombastic, flamboyant, far-fetched plot point like in Back to the Future or H.G. Wells's The Time Machine. Looper reigns that old diatribe in, which is refreshing. Kudos to Rian Johnson for scaling this down and focusing on an intriguing story rather than overblown genre cliches and unnecessary visual effects.

The first forty-five minutes or so are a blast. We learn exactly what a looper is and what he does, we learn about what loopers do for fun, and we learn that our protagonist is confronted with an intense decision when his loop is sent back to him. SPOILER: Joe's loop escapes, prompting a manhunt by Joe's brutal employer (Jeff Daniels) to find both the young and old Joes so that the former can be punished and the latter executed. Things really slow down for about a half hour when young Joe takes refuge at the home of Sara (Emily Blunt). Just about the most intense thing that happens is seeing Joe on the opposite end of a gun for once. It's a bit of a crack in the vibe of the film, but it's not short on fascinating character development before picking back up for a taut climax that will knock your socks off.

As far as acting performances, Joseph Gordon-Levitt is given a bit of a makeover to look and sound like a young Bruce Willis, but he fits the bill excellently. Willis is riveting as old Joe and is exciting to watch as he goes on the run in search of "The Rainmaker", only a child in the year that the story is set, but a man who will eventually be responsible for lots of pain, suffering, and death in the future. Emily Blunt's accent is also spot-on as farm girl Sara. You'd hardly be able to tell she's from Britain.

After seeing Brick, I admit to being a fan of writer/director Rian Johnson, and this fan wasn't disappointed with Looper. Like Brick, Looper is very original for its genre and earns points for either scaling down or avoiding cliches altogether. It's a fresh approach that might be one of the first to make you believe in movies again. There are still wonderful original stories to be told, and Rian Johnson is one of the foremost filmmakers on that front. I'm very excited to see what he has in store for us next.

3.5 of 4 STARS