Looper review

Older Joe: I don't want to talk about time travel because if we start talking about it then we're going to be here all day talking about it, making diagrams with straws. 

Director: Rian Johnson
(2012)

Ah, time travel. Despite being illogical and impossible, it still crops up to mesmerise and confound its audience. And while it often results in a film that has more than its fair share of plot holes, Rian Johnsons Looper is utterly compelling and ranks as one of the better Sci Fi’s of the last 10 years.

The film focuses on Joe (Joseph Gordon Levitt) a form of hitman called a ‘Looper’. His job is to kill people that are sent back from the future where technological advances make murder almost impossible to commit. Eventually a Looper will have his future self sent back, who he must kill to retire himself. From here, he has 30 years to live his life before being sent back in time to be killed by his younger self, an event that happens indefinitely. Things go wrong for Joe when he fails to kill his older self (Bruce Willis) he’s hunted by the mob, all while his older self attends to his own future altering agenda. It’s initially a lot to get your head around, but once the logic behind the time travel is understood, Looper is a fantastically enjoyable film.

What isn’t initially obvious is that Looper is very much a drama, there’s surprisingly little in the way of action. Instead, we get a compelling story about time travel and the repercussions and consequence of characters actions. It’s a Smart, intelligent sci fi, the likes of which seem to be a dying breed. The little action that is present is particularly underwhelming. A sprinkling of gun combat is thrown in, but fails to offer the thrills or entertainment of Johnsons riveting script. And that’s exactly what Looper is, riveting. From Joes opening monologue, Looper is constantly developing; its plot gripping and its execution strong.

What aids proceedings are the performances that are solid across the board. Despite having a face mangled by prosthetics to make him look similar to Bruce Willis, Gordon Levitt does a well in his role. His performance in well synchronised with Willis’ old Joe, and through small nuances we really get the feeling that these 2 are indeed, the same. Emily blunt puts in what may be her best performance yet as Sara, a single mother and farm owner. She turns this character, who seems relatively young, into a worn and restless soul. We also get minor yet important turns from Paul Dano and Jeff Daniels which propel the narrative along in the opening third. Much like every aspect of Looper, these characters are aided by great writing, but this shouldn’t detract from the quality everyone's performance.

The biggest failing of Looper is that it doesn't offer a large enough payoff for all of the interesting build-up. While it smoothly sidesteps a dreaded anticlimax, it doesn’t fully capitalise on its potential. It should be noted that the film does manage is to tie up loose ends, rounding off a satisfying film. Time travel is a messy subject for a film at the best of times, but most directors aren’t as deft or focused as Rian Johnson.

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