Looper... Earlier this week, I watched the new sci-fi film starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, Emily Blunt and Jeff Daniels. It was $6 well-spent (I attended a matinee screening of the flick). Looper is an excellent movie about a hit man (a.k.a. a 'looper') named Joe (Gordon-Levitt) who's paid to eliminate targets sent to the past (Joe's present day) via time machine. Needless to say, things start to go wrong for Joe as he carries out his dirty work...and is suddenly confronted with executing someone who's obviously very important to his own life: himself. Bruce Willis plays an older version of Joe, and when the two finally confront each other, all hell breaks loose.
Not only does Looper convey the interesting theme of what people do when they confront an older version of themselves (obviously not possible...currently), and are forced to kill them, the movie also presents such other themes as a man bent on seeking revenge for the death of his wife, and how far a mother named Sara (Blunt) will go to protect her own son. Not only is time travel possible in the world of Looper, but so is telekinesis...which plays a major part in why Sara (Blunt sports a nice American accent portraying this character) is both fearful and protective of her son. And why Bruce Willis' Joe goes to the past to eliminate—well, I won't spoil this part of the movie for you.
Unlike more genial time travel flicks like Back to the Future, Looper treats the ability to visit the past as something totally not to be trifled with. Time travel is banned in the realm of Looper...with only the criminal underworld taking advantage of this volatile technology (one gang using time travel for nefarious purposes being the one led by Abe, played by Jeff Daniels). As mentioned at the start of this paragraph, Looper is not really a feel-good film...and it ends on both a dreary and heartfelt note. It's heartfelt in that Sara goes through all lengths—including risking her own life—to save her own son, and it's dreary in that Gordon-Levitt's Joe—realizing that his own personal actions (including those committed by his older self) will lead to a cycle of pain and anger—chooses to perform the ultimate sacrifice to ensure that the misdeeds of his past (and future) won't cause any more harm to those closest to him. Intense stuff. Which is why you should check out Looper if you haven't done so already.
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