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Hailed as the must see movie of the year, director Rian Johnson’s Looper is a sci-fi action thriller which leaves you both suitably challenged, and desperate for more.
Joseph Gordon Levitt has claimed he watched Bruce Willis movies back to back in order to perfect his style and judging by his powerful performance in Looper, he more than proves that he is fast rising to the top of his game.
Having previously worked with Johnson on 2005’s indie film Brick, Gordon Levitt is more than capable at playing a younger Willis and succeeds in creating a multifaceted character who is able to keep up with this fast paced plot.
A sense of noir mystery and seduction dominates Kansas in the year 2044. Opening scenes explore the glamorous lifestyle of Joe (Gordon Levitt) against a sharp contrast of poverty stricken, civilian life.
Time travel has not yet been invented and Joe has a successful career as a looper, effectively acting as a hit man for the criminal underworld. Victims are sent back 30 years to meet their fate, and Joe is more than happy to pick up his pay cheque, whilst planning a new life, which he hopes to begin after he has saved enough silver.
Disaster strikes when Joe is faced with a new target; his future self in the form of Bruce Willis. His failure to ‘end the loop’ and effectively end his own life, changes the future forever. Both young and old Joe set out to create a new vision and subsequent plot developments provide the opportunity for a stand out performance from Emily Blunt.
A slightly complicated sounding plot survives due to the carefully crafted world in which the characters are developed-there are highly detailed back stories which allows you to feel both empathy and compassion for the complicated individuals involved.
The dystopia world helps to create a unique concept, making it completely believable that Levitt could play a young Willis and with the help of extensive make-up, aesthetically, he is convincing.
The two play off each other and their separate struggles to change the future feels like the actions of one man at times. Blunt’s character is the big surprise and she commands the second half of the film with a fierceness which suggests competition for both Levitt and Willis
With elements of Inception and proving to be a powerful piece of speculative fiction, Looper remains intelligent and stylish throughout.
It manages to go further than the regular run of the mill sci-fi’s which concentrate on innovative inventions and stunning special effects, and instead offers both this and much more in heart, sophistication and integrity.