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Thoughts on the movie "Looper".

Posted by user510 on May 19, 2015 at 12:56:26

I saw this one when it first came out on BD. But I saw it via "on demand" through my FIOS service. For some reason my recollection of the movie wasn't enough to tell if I liked the movie or not.

About one month ago I had read some other comments about the movie that suggested it to be a pretty good sci-fi thriller. So I searched for a blu-ray disc on ebay and found a used one offered at $3.00, plus $4.00 to ship. I bought that one.

Last week I saw the movie for the second time and now have quite a bit more appreciation for it.

In this post I don't want to 'spoil' any part of the movie for those who haven't yet but might want to see it. So I'll keep plot points vague.

Looper (2012) Tri-Star Pictures
blu-ray version
Cast:
Bruce Willis: (Joe)
J. Gordon-Levitt: (Joe)
Emily Blunt: (Sara)
Jeff Daniels: (Abe)
Pierce Gagnon: (Cid)

writer and director: Rian Johnson

Setup:
Film takes place in the year 2044. Later, in the year 2077, time travel is invented, then outlawed. Crime bosses in 2074 use time travel as a black market device to "disappear" their targets.

SOP: Mob boss sends target into the past (2044) where time travel does not yet exist. A hit man known as a Looper lies in wait to finish the job. (aka kill the target with a gun known as a blunderbuss)

The target suddenly appears in front of the waiting Looper, on his knees and wearing a hood. Bars of solid silver are strapped to his back. The Looper kills the target the moment he appears.

After the successful hit, the Looper retrieves the silver from the target's back as payment and then disposes of the body where nobody (in 2074) can find it. Very tidy.

Closing the Loop:
SOP: Using the time machine again, the mob sends the Looper, now 30 years older, back to 2044 to be killed by the Looper's younger self. This time the old Looper is wearing gold bars strapped to his back, but otherwise appears just as had all of the previous hits. Hooded and on his knees.

The young Looper, by plan, won't know it is his older self until he finds the gold bars on the back of his victim. After this successful hit, the young Looper retires from the mob and is allowed to live off of the silver and gold bars he has received as payment. He can go anywhere on the planet he chooses but with one certain caveat. After 30 years the mob will track him down, then use the time machine to send him back to 2044 to be shot dead by his younger self. That is how the Loop is closed.

Protagonists: Joe (2044) played by J. Gordon-Levitt. Joe (2074) played by Bruce willis. Yep. Both actors playing the same character, one 30 years older than the other. Hence referred to as "old Joe" and "young Joe".

Complications:
At the normal place and time, young Joe is waiting for his next hit to arrive. But he is surprised this time because the intended target arrives not wearing a hood and.....is recognizable to young Joe as his older self. Young Joe hesitates just a moment. Just long enough for old Joe to turn his back. Young Joe fires his blunderbuss. But the shot hits the gold bars on Old Joes back and he survives. Next moment, old Joe loosens his bonds, takes one of the gold bars from his back and hurls it hard at young Joe's head. The bar hits its target and young Joe is knocked out. Old Joe escapes.

From this point the movie goes into high gear. Both Old Joe and young Joe are now targets for the mob....Young Joe, because he has failed to close the loop. (punishable by execution) Old Joe because he's supposed to die per plan.

Next protagonist: Sara (Emily Blunt) and her six year old boy Cid (Pierce Gagnon). Sara gets drawn up into the struggle between the mob, young Joe and old Joe. She doesn't know it right away but her baby boy Cid is a target that old Joe feels he has to kill in order to save someone in his future.

And this is where I'll leave the setup to avoid spoiling the movie for those who haven't yet seen it.

Viewer comments:
I thought the plot to be a unique take on the potential paradoxes possible when dealing with a time travel theme. This movie seems to have some original thinking within it.... or at least I haven't seen this perspective before.

I thought Emily Blunt played her character very well. She was completely believable. There is a determination to be seen in Sara's eyes that sells it hook line and sinker. An admirable woman.

The young Cid is very well played by the child actor Pierce Gagnon. That little kid is amazing in this role.

Willis works to his usual high standards. Never over the top. Always methodical and well measured.

J. Gordon-Levitt. Also well played. Kudos to the make-up department for finding a way to alter Levitt's face to slightly resemble the features of Willis. This helps to sell the young / old relationship between the two Joes.

Generally, I don't enjoy thinking about time travel paradoxes. The potentials get technical and are just a little bit like trying to untie a complex tightly tied knot. This one seems somewhat more approachable for me. But still, the paradoxes abound.

Pretty good stuff. I'm giving the movie 3-1/2 stars out of 5 possible.

-Steve

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