By Richard
Let's keep the plot synopsis basic, because reading this part is tedious and Looper is the type of movie where small discoveries rise up around every corner.
In the year 2074 time travel will be invented - but it will be illegal and only available on the black market. When the mob wants to get rid of someone, they will send their target 30 years into the past, where a "looper" - a hired gun, like Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) - is waiting to mop up. Joe is getting rich and life is good... until the day the mob decides to "close the loop," sending back Joe's future self (Bruce Willis) for assassination.
Looper is not a breath of fresh air, it is not innovative or even that authentic. The concept is an upgrade of various plot strands in Timecop and it pays homage to films such as The Terminator, The Omen, 12 Monkeys and even a hint of Blade Runner with it's nihilistic, moody scenery in its opening half an hour.
But what Looper does have is a beating heart at it's centre. And a brain that takes all these aforementioned films main ingredients, and some, and creates an amalgamation that isn't just speculative fiction. Time travel movies have mostly dealt with the science of the piece but Looper does not bog you down with hampered inspirations or needless exposition bar a rundown of all you need to know at the start, instead it concentrates on telling a story of lost, meandering souls that are searching for a better time, a balance of honor that they think is the way forward while always struggling with the constant despondency shown, even down to the cheery but mundane life Emily Blunt's character lives out on the farm. There are strong themes of abandonment and loss that turns the film quite deep and dark but the contrast between affecting human drama and gripping actioner is always maintained.
This is an unashamed mainstream film, that like Inception before it, isn't afraid to be a bit more than just 'what the common man expects' but never gets too self important to lose sight of the fun element. Seeing Willis firing two machine guns is fantastic, but it is his subtle, translucent performance that is his finest in some time going back probably to Unbreakable.
Gordon Levitt is also sublime and his romance with Blunt never feels tacky. He nails the mimicking of how Willis acts superbly. Some really sly acting from both actors. you are never really sure who to root for out of the loopers - Old Joe or Young Joe? but this is part of its charm and appeal with a string of surprising themes coming to a sorrowful and poignant finale in this riveting and sophisticated time travel thriller. a word on the score too from the directors brother which is suitably atmospheric and experimental..like a relative to Orbital's Insides album of the 90s.
Looper could very well capture the same level of cultural fascination as Christopher Nolan's Inception did back in 2010. There's something so breathtakingly intelligent and in tune about the film's grasp of its premise that even if its beyond you you can not help but give it a standing ovation. After careful consideration Looper is my film of 2012
By McGinn
The chemistry by Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon-Levitt was brilliant. These two worked great together mimicking each other well. Bruce is primarily known for being an action star, but the man can act. He's shown it in Twelve Monkeys, Sin City, Unbreakable and other films and Joseph is really becoming one of the best actors of this age. He's proved that in the films I've seen him in which include The Lookout, Inception and the Dark Knight Rises. I haven't seen Jeff Daniels in a lot of films recently, but he worked with Joseph in The Lookout and he was in the fun spider film Arachnophobia and the good civil war film Gettysburg. He is a capable actor and shows it here in Abe mob boss from the future who isn't truly a bad guy. There really isn't a bad guy in the film, but if there were Abe would be the closest thing to it. Then there is Emily Blunt as Sara. She has a limited role in the film only being it from about the half-way point, but what she does with it is heart breaking. I've only seen her in two films but she is brilliant. I loved her in The Adjustment Bureau and she again does a great job. All the characters are flawed looking for redemption and a better life. From saving wife's life to trying to get to Paris, France, or save their child these characters are striving to make a live for themselves even if it is futile.
Does Joseph Gordon-Levitt look like Bruce Willis? Yes, but not perfectly. The makeup people did a brilliant job trying to make Joseph look like a younger Bruce and they partially get there. I'd say they are around 75 percent of the way there. If with the slight flaws the actors acting covers it up easily. The effects weren't anything special, because like Dredd 3D this film had a tiny budget. I believe it has a budget between 30 to 40 million which again tiny compared to modern Hollywood. Still the effects people did a good keeping the future possible. What I mean not going overboard with flying cars, teleporters and the such. The effects and writers kept things in the reals of possible. To be honest though I enjoy special effects and CGI I think when you go overboard with them you take away from the story and characters. The writers and directors know when and when not to use them in the film and it works. I don't think anyone will have any complaints about them. The action is also well done with again nothing truly over the top and Bruce Willis is perhaps the action king. Though I'm sure others would argue that point. To be perfectly honest I've never heard of the director Rian Johnson before. Looking him up I see he's directed Brick and The Brothers Bloom, and again to be honest I haven't seen or heard of these films, but from his job as director of Looper I can tell he has a chance of a very bright future.
Did this for me surpass the praise given to it? Yes without question it did. This film beautifully blends genre's including thriller, noir, action and sci-fi, and inspired by great films like Blade Runner, Chinatown and Twelve Monkey's. Though nothing truly original or ground breaking the film as unique and wonderfully written story along with excellent acting by the great cast. The effects were good, but nothing out of this world along with great action. This is a thinking man's well executed Sci-fi film and I beyond highly recommend seeing this film, and even more than once. I will be seeing it again this weekend. Looper: A truly great film.
By Peers
And that is only because, when catching a preview of "Looper" a couple of weeks ago, it was lauded as "this decade's Matrix."
Looper is not this decade's Matrix, for three reasons:
1) The films operate on a completely different premise
2) Looper doesn't make you think as hard
3) I don't see this stretching out to two god-awful sequels
I will not go through the plot for you, as I don't think that is the primary function of a review. You want to know what the film is like, you don't want me to give you a synopsis. That's what trailers are for.
Looper is set in the near future. Unlike some films in the recent past, it hasn't made the world some technologically unobtainable Wunderland. Our film is set in a highly destitute city and it would appear most people are on drugs. Aside from a few floaty things and a couple of (possibly concept) communication tidbits, Looper stands on its own using its acting to stand apart as a film.
The acting in this is fabulous. I have seen a few films in Gordon-Levitt's rise to prominence, and Looper is surely the film to throw him properly in to the acting spotlight. I have no idea if he shadowed Bruce Willis but his voice, mannerisms, even the way he held posture and face, mimicked his future self so well it was admirable. The baddies aren't ridiculously so, the goodies, well there aren't too many of them.
Looper lacks damsels in distress (thankfully) and has some genuine laugh-out-loud moments primarily provided by Paul Dano as the child Seth.
The ending was mildly predictable but thought-provoking considering what you have already seen transpire in the movie itself. Thankfully we did not encounter a self-aware robot with a human face that wanted to strike a bargain for survival.
Looper is not going to go down as an all-time classic in general, but it is going to get a cult following in the sci-fi circles and be talked about for years to come. A definite required purchase.