See Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt). See Joe kill people. He waits for them to just pop onto the canvas and then blows them away. Before you get all judgmental, it's Joe's job to kill people so that makes it o--wait...it's still really, really bad. At any rate, Joe is a looper. It's the year 2044 and time travel had been invented in the future. This means that Abe (Jeff Daniels) has been sent back to the past to hire guys to kill people who are: captured...sent back to the past...killed and disposed of to close the loop. The trouble with being a looper is that, at times, your number gets called. That's right...you get captured in the future...sent back and you kill yourself to close your own loop. Confused yet? Take a couple of swigs...I'll wait...
Okay, you back? Enter Joe (Bruce Willis)...thirty years later. Captured and sent back to stare at his own gun, held by his own hands while peering into his own eyes. Joe (old) escapes Joe (young) and the hunt is on. But wait--there's more. Old Joe is on a mission. If he can kill the one called the Rainmaker, who has created all of this mess, he can make it all disappear and enjoy what was a horrible, junkie/murderer's life turned good when he met his fine wife. So, Old Joe is on a mission to kill a seven-year old and Young Joe is on a mission to kill Old Joe. Hmm...need another drink? Yada...swig...yada...gulp...yada...Joe and Joe square off in one wildly entertaining and potentially befuddling ride.
It's good. Ya know...about halfway through this two-hour movie, I was ready to give up on it. Fortunately, my future self sent me a text and told me to hang in there, that I 'would < 3 it'. I wasn't sure what that meant, but kept an open mind. I'm glad I did. I'll give it 4.0 Stars. You think you know where this one is going and quite frankly, you're not thrilled. Sure, if it stayed on that path it would have been okay, but when it shifts gears and takes the story to new heights...that's when this one kicks into a new gear and gets really good.
After all, you think it's going to be about Young Joe killing Old Joe and all of the trauma...action, etc. that such a plot would bring. Oh-Ho-Hum, in my book. But--when it turns into a race to kill the Rainmaker as Young Joe bonds with Sara (Emily Blount) then it turns into one entertaining and truly thought-provoking flick. I'm not going to give anything away here, but Looper prompted my little group to sit in the theater loooong after this one ended to re-hash the finer points and time theories (it's okay...don't worry about us...we have no lives anyway).
Further, the acting in Looper is tremendous. Gordon-Levitt continues his hot streak untarnished (I'm not going to hold Premium Rush's lack of titillating success against him) as he was tremendous. I'm not sure what they did to him (whether it was CG or make up) to make him look more like a younger Bruce Willis, but it worked. Willis...still amazing. Daniels...great role for him. Blount...love her with that American accent!
Honestly, this is some exceptionally thought-provoking stuff that stays with you for awhile. You've got some fantastic moral dilemmas from start to finish and each is worth a lengthy discussion.
To discuss it, you need to see it and see it, you should!!! Go BIG on this one. Just be warned that it contains plenty of violence of the blood and guts variety. If you can endure that (or you sick-o's may crave it) then you should be fine. You may get that foggin' feeling, but you're probably going to be glad you did!
True...OUT!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment