Proof That Original Movies Can Still Happen.

Time travel movies are nothing new. You have your classics like Back to the Future and you have your Timecop’s. Either way, we know the basic idea of time travel in cinema. That is why Looper is such a wonderful addition to the category. It has a unique concept that should not be overlooked by moviegoers as just another action movie. It is, in fact, one of the most original sci-fi movies of the past ten years.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt star as Joseph Simmons. The year is 2044 and time travel has not yet been invented, but it has thirty years in the future. He works for the mafia of the future as a “looper”. Basically a looper is a hitman that kills people sent to his time from 2074. The story goes that it is near impossible to get away with hiding a body in the future, so they are sent to the past where the loopers murder the men and dispose of a body that technically never existed in 2044. When a looper has served his purpose the mob sends their future self back where they are killed by their past self and given a huge payday and are told to enjoy the next thirty years of their life until they inevitably know when they are going to die. This is known as “closing the loop”. Things don’t exactly go as planned when Joe’s future self (Bruce Willis) is sent back. He escapes from young Joe and now he has to hunt down Willis before the mafia he works for eliminates both of them.

Things aren’t as simple as they seem when Willis reveals that he is here to hunt down someone who in the future will become known as “Rainmaker”, a man that will take over all aspects of the mafia in the future and begins by closing all loops. Willis has three possible candidates as to who could be “Rainmaker” and has to eliminate all of them to make sure the future is altered. The moral dilemma here is that in 2044 these are only children who may or may not grow up to be this new evil. Young Joe finds his way to a farm whose caretaker Sara (Emily Blunt) has a child who is on old Joe’s list.

I won’t go any farther into the plot for fears that I will give away too much. Looper brings up a host of dilemmas that the invention of time travel would bring up. How could criminals of the future take advantage of this new technology for their own gain? What would one person do to save the one true love of their life that saved them? Are there lines that need to be drawn in trying to change history for what one person believes is for the better? These are just a few of the questions that arise while watching Looper.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt sure has come a long way since Third Rock From The Sun hasn’t he? From Inception to The Dark Knight Rises and now Looper, JGL has become a go-to guy in Hollywood. A prosthetic nose piece was used to make him appear more like a younger Willis and while it will throw you off for a minute or two at the beginning of the film it quickly becomes unnoticeable as he emulates Willis in such detail it is a bit creepy. The smirk and voice inflection are there and make you realize he must have spent a good amount of time practicing for this role and not just simply doing a Bruce Willis impression. As for Willis himself, it is a bit of a surprise to realize as you watch the movie and his plan unfolds that old Joe is an a**hole. He may have a reason for his trip back but he tip toes the line between a heartbroken man looking to save someone and being the true villain of the movie.

The supporting cast consists of Emily Blunt, whose Southern accent sounds like a Brit doing a southern accent, so it’s a good thing she’s British, Jeff Daniels who no matter what he does or how scruffy his beard may be will always be Harry from Dumb and Dumber only now he hits people in the hands with hammers, Piper Perabo who has taken time off from Covert Affairs to take her top off as a showgirl that is the object of young Joe’s affections and the great Paul Dano who plays Joe’s friend Seth.

I really did not know what to expect before I started [amazon_link id=”B005LAII8K” target=”_blank” container=”” container_class=”” ]Looper[/amazon_link]. I knew the basic setup of the flick but was surprised by movie that was much more complex than I thought. The movie embraces its R rating with bloody but never over the top violence and is anchored by Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s eerie turn as a very believable young Bruce Willis. Looper is a little bit of gangster movie mixed with revenge tale and family drama on top of that. Just add time travel and you have a winner.

NERD RATING- 8.5/10