Looper 
Starring: Joseph Gordon Levitt, Bruce Willis, Emily Blunt, Piper Perabo, Paul Dano
Directed by Rian Johnson
Rated: R
Run Time: 118 mins
Genre: Action/ Sci-Fi/ Thriller
4.5 frames out of 5
Opens September 28th
By Lisa Minzey
The final film we checked out this week was the Sci-Fi Thriller that was featured at the 2012 Toronto Film Festival. “Looper” stars Joseph Gordon Levitt, Bruce Willis and Emily Blunt, Writer/Director Rian Johnson (Brick, The Brother Bloom, Breaking Bad) takes the viewer on a mind bending journey that leaves you guessing until the very end.
If you think that crime is bad now, just wait until 2072. Good news is that time travel has been invented; bad news is that it is illegal and run by the mob. When they want to “whack” someone off in the future, they send the victim back in time 30 years to be disposed of by a “Looper”, a.k.a assassin. A “Looper” then kills the victim upon arrival, disposes of the body, and it is a clean transaction. Tracking systems in 2072 are so advanced; it makes it difficult to get rid of bodies unnoticed.
Joe (Joseph Gordon Levitt), one of the younger loopers, is very proficient at his job. He has been saving half of the silver bars he finds on his target’s body, to save for the day when his loop is closed. When a loop is closed, that means that your future self is sent back and disposed. The former Looper can go on in the present and live out the rest of their days. When Joe’s best friend Seth's (Paul Dano) loop is about to be closed, he can’t kill his future self and lets him run away. Seth then seeks out Joe for help as this is an extreme risk for his present self. The Future Seth informed him of why so many of the loops are being closed as of late; a new, extremely dangerous crime boss has taken over, called “The Rainmaker”. Before Seth can tell Joe the rest of the information, some of the other loopers show up and take Joe away for questioning.
Things do not end well for Seth, and this haunts Joe. Shortly after the Seth incident Joe’s future self is the next target for present Joe to dispose. Old Joe (Bruce Willis) has a great life in 2072 and wants to protect what he has built for himself, so he decides to change the future. Old Joe has found 3 possible children that could be the Rainmaker in the future. His plan is he will erase each one from the present time, 2044; changing the future and returning him to 2072.
Old Joe takes off after two of the suspects, and Joe runs off to find the last target. The scrap of paper that Joe has leads him to a farmhouse ran by single a mother Sara (Emily Blunt). It takes some convincing, but Joe convinces Sarah that he is there to protect her and her son from Old Joe.
The more time that Joe spends with Sarah and Cid, the closer he gets, clouding Old Joe’s memories and possible future. Will Old Joe find the correct Rainmaker before the Loopers catch up to him? Will Joe end up falling for Sarah, thus changing his future? Or will the Loopers take out both Joes, leaving the Rainmaker to rein terror in the future?
In this mind bending, futuristic thriller, writer/director Rian Johnson blends the futuristic post apocalyptic/ crime-ridden world with the material items associated with current times. For instance, the vehicles, clothing or some of the weapons look like anything you could find today. The pacing of the story was spot on, and the storyline not too complicated that it would be too confusing to follow. The makeup artist did a phenomenal job of making Joseph Gordon Levitt look like a young Bruce Willis; the resemblance was uncanny. Make sure to check this film out when it opens in theaters starting Friday, September 28, 2012.
