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Good science fiction is a rarity these days. With mindless CGI spectacles and other Hollyweird distractions it’s hard to communicate a decent narrative that satisfies the brain while pleasing to the senses. Most of Hollywood builds a career out of the razzle and dazzle effects-heavy motion pictures that give audiences a minute high and comes up short on everything else. Seldom do these highly paid artisans make material worth revisiting. There are forty to fifty piles of cinematic dog crap for every Inception, Source Code, or Primer. Rain Johnson’s Looper, a time-travelling thriller, is of their similar caliber and, with its spirited search for soul in the face of technology, so very worthy of repeat viewings.
Engaging, whip-smart, and economical, Looper satisfies on many levels. Concentrate hard enough and your head, hard at work processing the many twist and turns of the plot, just might explode. Does it all make sense? Sort of, but that won’t stop you from wanting to retrace the events to make sure you’ve interpreted correctly. And, for the sweet tooth audience members only along for the ride for the candy apple spectacle, well, there’s plenty of that, too. While we can banter back and forth about whether or not the Bruce Willis lookalike prosthetics done to Jospeh Gordon-Levitt’s face actually work or not, Looper is a damn fine film that’s easily forgivable in its minor flaws.
The year is 2044. Joe (JGL) is an assassin in Kansas City. While there is no time travel, Joe informs us that the mob, thirty years into the future, will one day send back targets they need to be killed. It is Young Joe’s job to bag and tag and dispose of whatever is sent his way. And so he waits. Old Joe (Willis) is the Looper sent back for Young Joe to dispose of. The job, done successfully, closes the loop and ties up all loose ends. The killer is the victim, get it? Problems arise, of course, when Joe, young and old, both hesitate.
Johnson’s script, featuring a dystopian society and genetic mutations is, at times, a convoluted romp full of big ideas and even bigger questions. Especially because Old Joe arrives with his own agenda: kill the violent dictator known as Cid (Pierce Gagnon) before he can accomplish the evil of the future Old Joe is from. While it isn’t as smart as some hope or want it to be, Looper never flies off the rails with illogical pressure at its sharp turns. And, thankfully, Johnson doesn’t allow the script to “loop” itself out of existence with too many forward-thinking conceits. It’s precise and clever; an amazing four-leaf clover for a film that could have easily slipped into its own portal through time.
Gordon-Levitt delivers another charismatic performance and watching Willis evolve from typical baddie to an unusually misguided do-gooder is quite unexpected, if not a tad harrowing for a role that is so unsympathetic. With the performance here and in Moonrise Kingdom, Willis is on a much needed roll. Co-starring Emily Blunt, Jeff Daniels, and Garret Dillahunt, Looper’s visual language gets a hefty lift from an entire round of dedicated performances in a world on the verge of tottering over the point of no return.
Johnson, however, is the film’s real star. Serving as writer/director once again, Looper is his strongest outing yet as it tops his stunning debut (2005’s Brick) and catapults over the darkly charming The Brothers Bloom. There aren’t simply some moments that work; this isn’t a start-and-stop science fiction film. No, this is fully charged creative force that manages to attack moral quandaries with style, humor, and age old questions. His explanation for the mechanics of time travel is intensely clear. And his organization of the film’s many elements is slick; the pairing of multiplex delights with quiet indie-like intelligence is to be commended.
Comparisons to director Christopher Nolan are bound to be made and time will tell if Johnson, who certainly has my attention, will follow in those same footsteps with his own franchise. Regardless, he should continue asking his audience “What if” questions if the result are movies like this one. The future is wide open with cinematic possibilities for his talents.
Looper is a film your future self doesn’t want you to miss.
MPAA Rating: 
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