Good science fiction makes you think. Not only about the future, but about what you would do if something impossible was possible. It makes you think about your own morals and values. Looper is the latest such movie to hit theatres, and it fits the mold perfectly.
Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is a Looper. He’s hired by the mob to kill people they send back in time from the future. Those who are to be executed are sent back with their hands tied behind their backs, a bag over their head and a payment of silver. When a Looper is no longer valuable, the mob sends back the Looper’s future self with a payment of gold back in time to be executed. A Looper knows from that moment forward that they have thirty years left in their lives and they celebrate as they retire from their profession. One day Joe is faced with the prospect of killing his future self (Bruce Willis), but before he can his target escapes. Old Joe came back in time to change the future, not to be eliminated. He’s looking for a child who will become a ruthless killer in the future, so he can eliminate him and prevent his wife from being murdered.
Looper makes you think. It makes you wonder if you would do what Old Joe is attempting to do if you were in his shoes. Could you kill an innocent child if it would prevent a horrible future from occurring? Unlike a lot of movies you find yourself cheering for different people as the movie progresses. At times you hate young Joe and want old Joe to succeed, and at other times it’s the reverse of that. Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis both do an excellent job of presenting their cases, and having you switch your allegiances between characters isn’t an easy feat to pull off considering neither one of them change all that much throughout the movie. It’s the subtleties of their acting that make that possible. The pacing of the movie is perfect too. It’s never slow and dull, and yet the plot has plenty of time to grow. By the time it is over you are surprised that two hours have gone by. Another great thing about this movie is that unlike a lot of science fiction flicks this one doesn’t get bogged down by special effects.
Looper is worth seeing on the big screen. It will make you think, and it will start conversations among your friends. It’s by far one of the best movies of the year so far.
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