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Looper

Life is a loop. For Loopers when the loop finally closes, it's a cause for celebration but for their future selves 30 years away it means game over. A Looper kills whoever appears in front of them and eventually that means themselves, sent back through time by mobsters as in 2074 bodies are to hard to get rid of its an easy buck for an average kind of killer. Joe a Looper from 2044 finds his faith in the job wavering when his friend Seth let's his loop run(letting his older self escape) and he hands him in to keep his stash of silver. Though when a spree of loops start closing in quick succession Joe finds himself face to face with himself, overpowered by his future self his loop runs. Present Joe sets out to close his loop and save his life while future Joe wants to stop the villainous future Rainmaker who causes a world wide spread of chaos. Present Joe soon realizes he'll do anything to keep his life while his other self has the same revelation selfshness and desperation takes over as the two fight for each owns existence and one child's life could be both Joe's savior and damnation.

Present day (2044) Joe is played by a fake nose wearing Joesph Gordon-Levitt and even under the cosmetics he brings a changing character form his usual happy go lucky to junkie killer and yet still plays it with the same talent and strength he always brings to his films. Moving on a few 30 years and Levitt becomes Bruce Willis as future Joe, Willis give a strange turn while not committing to vengeful husband, tragic hero or ambivalent gun wielding menace he still brings a sufficient performance when given a chance on screen (though it feels like action hero Willis is always trying to come out). Emily Blunt is loving mother and Shotgun wielding rough farmer Sara who acts as a catalyst to give Joe a heart midway, also acting while not her shiniest performance it's still a great turn at of the norm as one can get in a mash up of tragic sci fi drama. Aside from the three big scene stealers, Paul Dano gives his role that likability and huggable style as Joe's friend Seth who you'll feel for at the beginning though is quickly forgotten and Kid Blue played Noah Segan as the polar opposite to Joe's character and the minor laughable antagonist of the film.  By know means should he be forgotten is Jeff Daniels as Leader of the Loopers Abe, acting as a mentor and then the man who wants Joe dead you can see just how much Loopers are really percieved, an entertaining, amusing and even cold in a good way performance.

Not the first time Willis has dealt with time travel and similar to Twelve Monkeys, giving Blunt a chance to step out of rom-coms and the same for Levitt but also a meaty starring role(officially) in a blockbuster after his side partnership to Batman. The three of them, added with the Sci-fi mash up and action elements give Looper a great feel, though not a classic it still holds its own. Side stepping the string diagram of time travel, alternate realities and butterfly effects Looper chooses instead to focus on the heart of the matter, or essentially the man. The events of the film all transpire and take note of life being a loop and for none as much as Joe, It soon becomes almost a character piece about the man himself. Redemption and what he'll do to save what he has left is his main goal, only he realizes for the exact same reasons and decisions he made in the past he has nothing worth fighting for and it all comes down to what kind of a man Joe really is whether present or future that really makes a dent in time rather than the actual means of time travel. As for the first hour Looper gives a tense yet engaging Sci-fi thriller, though at about an hour in the action settles down and it feels almost a different film, not bad but different and a little less engaging. Despite that, Looper is worth a watch and while it won't have you wracking your mind for answers and questions as to the time space continuum, it will make you question as to what kind of people the characters shown really are, did i mention it has time travel and one shot of Willis with a terrible Topee?  I recommend Looper for a fun night at the flicks.

7  /  10

FIN.




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