Looper (2012)

Directed by: Rian Johnson | 118 minutes | action, crime, science fiction, thriller | Actors: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, Emily Blunt, Paul Dano, Noah Segan, Piper Perabo, Jeff Daniels, Pierce Gagnon, Qing Xu, Tracie Thoms, Frank Brennan, Garret Dillahunt, Nick Gomez, Marcus Hester, Jon Eyez

Time travel may not have been invented yet, but it will be possible in thirty years’ time. At least, if we are to believe the sci-fi thriller ‘Looper’ (2012) written and directed by Rian Johnson. In 2044 there will be ‘loopers’ such as Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt, made almost unrecognizable with nose and jaw prostheses, colored lenses and new eyebrows), who earn a meager living by ‘cleaning up’ people. Loopers are no ordinary hitmen, however; they work for clients in the future (ie the future of the future). Because time travel is outlawed once it’s invented, it’s the domain of gangsters and other serious criminals. It is easier for them to get rid of opponents through such a barrel than in any other way. Also saves on dumping the body! And so Joe gets a job every day at a fixed time: from 2074 the victims are teleported thirty years back in time, after which the looper has to shoot him immediately with his ‘blunderbuss’. One shot and the job is done. He should not hesitate, because the most important rule in his field is that he must never let his target escape. Then you really have the dolls dancing.

What can also happen is that you come face to face with your future self. Therefore, they are gagged and blindfolded and sent back in time. But some walkers can’t contain their curiosity, or they recognize something in the facial expression of the victim that falls from the sky in front of them. That’s exactly what happens to Joe: One day he has to cut out his older self (Bruce Willis). That unexpected confrontation makes him doubt, and he shouldn’t have done that. Because the older Joe runs off and junior has to give chase. It would be a shame to reveal any more. ‘Looper’ is a film full of unexpected twists and turns and it is better to experience them yourself. The fact is that the film is very cleverly put together. Of course it is complicated and there are (technical) plot holes to discover, but you should not let that guide you. The great thing about ‘Looper’ is that the film stretches on so many different levels. On the one hand there is of course the confrontation between the older and the younger Joe. Their transcendent conversation in a diner, while enjoying a cup of coffee and a bouncer, is enlightening on the one hand, but also alienating at the same time. But other laws are also mocked. Just take the picture of the future that is being sketched out. Where in other sf films you imagine yourself in a completely different world, with a lot of shiny metal and robots, the future in ‘Looper’ actually looks suspiciously like our current environment. Although things are a bit run down and there are surprisingly many people who can do a telekinetic trick, otherwise Johnson stays as close as possible to the current time. The cynical tone of the dialogue and the voice-over is mainly reminiscent of the black humor that characterizes film noir. It’s a mix of styles, but Johnson’s craftsmanship makes it work.

‘Looper’ has similarities with genre classics like ‘The Terminator’ (1984) and ’12 Monkeys’ (1995, coincidentally also with Bruce Willis in the lead role), but is much more clever. Rian Johnson not only makes way for the necessary action, but also knows how to process an emotional layer in his characters, which you don’t often see in science fiction films. As is more different than usual. For example, the grand finale takes place on a ranch (!) in Kansas, where Sara (Emily Blunt) and her son Sid (excellent Pierce Gagnon) accidentally – or not – get involved in the skirmish. If you can’t follow the ‘technical’ side of the story right away, the characters still have something to hold on to. More than, for example, with ‘Inception’ (2010) you have the idea that these are people of flesh and blood and that is not only due to the actors, but also to Johnson’s script. Gordon-Levitt and Willis aren’t even remotely alike – not even with facial prosthetics and other attachments. The fact that you still believe that they are the same person is because both gentlemen have looked closely at each other’s characteristic facial expressions. The gait, the drawl, the glances; those details are correct. The artifice with prostheses in fact only distracts.

But Johnson is forgiven. After his promising debut, the high school noir ‘Brick’ (2005, also with Gordon-Levitt in the lead role) and the adventure crime film ‘The Brothers Bloom’ from 2008, he once again underlines his talent with ‘Looper’. He shows guts by taking on such an ambitious project and putting his own spin on a genre like science fiction, which is so full of laws and regulations that you have to be well-mannered to dare your ass against the crib. throw. Johnson certainly will, because with ‘Looper’ he made one of the most interesting films of 2012. A film that is not easy to pigeonhole and that you actually have to see several times to fully understand. Rian Johnson is a man to keep a close eye on!