Looper is a spectacular, propulsive sci-fi thriller in the mind-bending style of Philip K. Dick. Director/writer Rian Johnson displays exceptional skill in both fields with this labyrinth saga of time-travel, organized crime, and personal regret. Joseph Gordon-Levitt plays Joe, a “looper” employed by a futuristic mob. The mob uses illegal time-travel to send back bodies they want disposed, and Joe “closes their loop” by blasting them with a shotgun and getting rid of the corpses. But when Joe’s future self (Bruce Willis, terrific) come through the portal, a battle between free will and destiny is enacted.
Johnson vividly explores this universe with fine attention to details, good effects work, and sleek cinematography. He has the directorial talent to handle explosive action, hair-raising sci-fi, and even a good sex scene. Looper is a rip-roaring blast, but even as your mind works out the plot’s twisty knots, the story of Joe’s salvation and eventual loss is poignant and effective. It helps that many supporting characters, particularly Emily Blunt as an isolated woman taking care of a preternaturally powerful young boy, are given their own substantial, well-conceived arcs.
Even as the film confines its location to an isolated farmhouse, it manages to ratchet up the tension and interpersonal conflict. The cast, including Paul Dano (crazed and vaguely pathetic), Jeff Daniels (menacing and weary), and Emily Blunt (layered and mysterious), are all spectacular. Johnson only overplays his hand with the film’s final twist, taking a disappointing exit from the narrative puzzle he’s constructed. Looper is so cool and stylish, it’s bound to maintain a cult following – this is a modern day Blade Runner (right down, alas, to its clunky, mostly unnecessary narration).
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