It seems appropriate for a time travel film to have a timeless message.
Rian Johnson’s new science-fiction thriller “Looper” has more than just fast-paced action or big-name actors. The film’s brilliant writing adds an intelligent attack on the self-perpetuating state of violence in society, and it cements “Looper” as one of the best sci-fi films in years.
In 2044, crime bosses from the future use time travel to send their targets back in time, where they are killed by assassins known as “loopers.” A looper’s contract is ended when his future self is sent back and killed, who receives an especially large payload—and is allowed to peacefully live the rest of their life—as a reward.
Looper Joe Simmons (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) finds himself face-to face with his older, retired self (Bruce Willis), who has been sent back for execution. Old Joe is able to fight back and flees. He begins to hunt down the “Rainmaker,” a crime leader from the future, responsible for his wife’s death, who at this time is only a child.
Meanwhile, Young Joe realizes that his employer (Jeff Daniels) will kill him if he does not find and eliminate his older self. He winds up on a farm inhabited by Sara (Emily Blunt) and her intelligent but disturbed son Cid (Pierce Gagnon), who Old Joe comes to believe may grow up to become the Rainmaker.
At its core, “Looper” is a character study made complicated by the fact that the two main characters are the same person. Young Joe has participated in organized murder since the days of his orphan childhood, but at heart he yearns for motherly affection and a simpler life. Old Joe, with a beautiful wife and home in Shanghai, had found the life that he had longed for, but it was taken from him by the Rainmaker. His resulting hate and desperation cause him to revert to the violence of his younger self. Gordon-Levitt and Willis are top-notch as usual, and make a good pair on screen.
“Looper” is about executioners, and thus, is a bloodbath. Toddlers get shot, fingers get smashed; one man’s torso splits apart shortly before he explodes. In one of the best action scenes of the last few years, Old Joe snatches two machine guns and shoots down a whoie gang of men, and he leaves with a blood drenched shirt.
Regardless, Rian Johnson refuses to fall into the mass of writer-directors who use violence purely for entertainment. As Johnson mentioned in an interview with the New York Times Magazine, the carnage in “Looper” is actually an attack on the vicious cycle caused by conflict.
Johnson inserts Ghandi’s old adage “an eye for an eye makes the whole world blind” into a futuristic world of hitmen and time travel to suggest that the cyclicity of modern violent relationships will prolong them far into the future unless someone has the courage to stop them today. Despite whether or not one enjoys “Looper,” Johnson should be given credit for his social consciousness in an age when most thrillers have little or no substantial commentary.
Johnson’s screenplay also includes a few other satirical remarks on modern culture. The urban divide between rich and poor is overwhelming, each side ostensibly hateful toward the other. China is made out to be dominant in the world economy. Johnson elevates his film above the level of a basic futuristic thriller and provides a harsh critique of various societal ills.
“Looper” is smart, intense and even funny at times; it explodes with both originality and gunfire. With rich characters and thoughtful social commentary, “Looper” powers to the front line of modern science fiction. “Looper” is rated R and is playing in theaters nationwide.
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