Random Review: "Looper"

I’m going to throw up a movie review because… well, why the hell not?  I saw Looper last night and it was pretty awesome. You should go see it.

What? My recommendation isn’t enough for you… alright I’ll go a little more in depth.

If you have seen the trailers you know Looper stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt (The Dark Knight Rises, Angels in the Outfield) as a contract killer named Joe who stands in the middle of a cornfield and shoots people who appear out of thin air after the mob sends them back in time.  The fun really starts when Joe’s latest victim is an older Joe played by Bruce Willis (Die Hard, Bonfire of the Vanities). Before young Joe can react, old Joe slaps him silly and the two spend the rest of the movie hunting each other down.  So you’ve got time travel, mobsters, AND Bruce Willis. Do I really have to say more?  Well if you insist…

One of the stranger aspects of this film is the makeup effects used to make Gordon-Levitt look more like Willis (because let’s face it, it’s not going to be the other way around).  This idea is freaky, but it works brilliantly because throughout the film you do not think about it. It is not distracting, and many might not even notice the difference.  Gordon-Levitt also does a great job adopting Willis’ mannerisms and attitudes without seeming like a caricature.

The film is also refreshing because the trailers barely break the ice of the plot.  There is a whole storyline featuring Emily Blunt (Young Victoria, The Adjustment Bureau) as a farmer with an incredibly creepy son named Cid. Pierce Gagnon plays the most dangerous child seen on screen since Hit-Girl.  I will not spoil this story anymore other than to say it is more complex than you think.

Looper is directed by Rian Johnson, who you may know from his work on the High School Noir thriller Brick and from a few episodes of Breaking Bad. His gritty style shines through here and makes even the more fantastical elements of the film seem grounded in reality. Most people expect to see some sort of rating system at the end of movie reviews, so I am just going to make one up right now. Use it as you will.

I give this movie:

8 Tiger-Socks, 4 ½ Waffles, & Half a Baby’s Face