Looper Review

Film Of The Year, or trapped in its own loop?
There's been a lot of buzz surrounding Looper recently, and to a large extent the hype comes with good reason. As intelligent and ambitious science-fiction movies go this year, you certainly aren't going to find many flicks that better this one that's led by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis and Emily Blunt. Thankfully, the writing team and cast defy expectations of this being a standard blockbuster, blending time-travel, flashbacks, narrative jumps and even elements of horror to form a piece of cinema that often borders on masterful storyline.

Visually, Looper packs a punch, with the beautiful futuristic city vistas of 2044 contrasting starkly with the dystopia-esque world ravaged by the sinister Rainmaker thirty years later. Its premise isn't for want of surprise either, with Gordon-Levitt and Willis both playing a character determined to alter their destiny, whatever the cost to their future (or indeed past). The idea of the titular 'Loop' is handled magnificently, essentially setting up a rich universe full of potential for future instalments should the movie be enough of a success to warrant it. The pacing is delicate, not a rollocking rollercoaster ride like The Dark Knight Rises but no sci-fi drag like Total Recall either, which definitely makes the entire viewing experience enjoyable. Gordon-Levitt, Willis and Blunt all give fantastic performances as the protagonists here, while Pierce Gorgon is a terrifyingly strong young find in the role of the strange youth Sid too. Having The Newsroom's Jeff Daniels on board for a few cameos as well? That's just the icing on the gloriously tasty cake.

For all its strengths, though, it's Looper's resolution which lets it down as an overall film product. Whereas the first half of the movie strongly suggests that its climax will involve complex, psychological and time-twisting shocks, when it arrives it seems as if the writers are in a bit of a rush to wrap up all of the loose ends. The final actions our warped hero takes in order to secure the safety of the ones he loves make total sense in isolation, yet put into the context of the future that's still to come it feels like a rude awakening for his other self. It'll be up to your own interpretation as to whether the final fate of Joseph is worth the cost and a narrative success, but for me it was the section of the film that placed it apart from those entries of cinematic entertainment that I've handed 5/5 scores here so far this year. What's the verdict, then? Looper has its minor drawbacks, and the ending will likely be talked about for years to come (many hated Inception's wrap-up, for example, and I loved it), but as a whole it's an absolutely fantastic new science-fiction movie that deserves the attention of fans of the genre and the film industry in general.
4.5/5