Looper

What would you expect from a film called Looper? From the title itself, you probably don't know what you'll get. Seeing the film itself, you won't know what you're going to get either.

And that's a good thing.

In the not so distant future, time travel will have been invented in their future. Since it is also very much illegal, only crime bosses have access to time machines. They use it to send some unlucky victim back in time to be blasted by a waiting assassin (the Loopers). And when the Looper's services are no longer required, the unlucky victim is their future self.

One such Looper is Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), who's living the good life in Kansas. One day, his latest target (Bruce Willis) turns out to be his future self. In the future, Joe'll have run afoul of the psychic Kingpin, The Rainmaker. Now in the present, Old Joe escapes to find The Rainmaker before he can cause chaos. Present Joe, meanwhile, has to find his future self before his employers kill him in the here and now.

The screenplay, from writer/director Rian Johnson, is what makes it work the most. For one thing, it doesn't try to confound its audience with techno-babble. Instead, its main focus is just to get to the point of its main concept. Bit by bit, it also introduces more plot twists to throw its audience through a loop. In the end, these plot twists all pay off wonderfully.

On a $30 million budget, Johnson's crew has worked technological wonders. Its cities of the future look great, as does the its display of psychic powers. With cinematographer Steve Yedlin and editor Bob Ducsay, the film creates an amazing blend of action, character study and dark humor. Also of note is the impressive use of makeup to make Levitt look like Willis; and in one scene, Willis look like Levitt. None of these wonders are visual overloads, which makes them most amazing.

This is an action film whose style is substance. It's that substance that keeps the audience interested from the very beginning. For that reason, Looper is certainly worth your time. Pun not intended.