I like the idea of time traveling, and this movie had it`s own unique style, but I can`t say I enjoyed it as much as I was hoping to. I`t was really hard to care for any of the characters. I`t didn`t matter who died, and would care less if those that lived died. The ending did get really interesting, I won`t say why but the movie goes up a notch, and almost makes it worth staying until the end.

Could be better, if your storyline naum was so slow, rolled and filled with holes, the situation of Bruce Willis was also much lower than expected, the performance of Gordon Lewitt and median, the only thing that saves the film is yours premise, and the ending thoughtful.

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. A daft script that just isn't interesting. Worst treatment of time travel paradoxes: change a man in the present and that same man from the future changes to his own surprise. Seriously, the Futurama episode where Fry is his own grandfather is practically PKD compared to this tripe. Telekinesis mentioned in the first five minutes, to be used as a Deus Ex Machina in the ending, all in between is filled with awkwardly paced boring filler. The ending feels like bland proselytizing. Incredibly disappointing.… Expand

You might just take Looper at first glance as what it says in all the marketing and synopsis material, with time travel now being possible, large crime syndicates send their targets back in time to be executed by Loopers, hired guns who can dispose of the bodies a lot easier than they can in the future.
But what is shown in the film is so much more than that, and it plays out into a brilliant, yet not perfect, sci-fi thriller.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt stars as Joe, one of these Loopers, and when he isn't being hired to kill someone from the future, he is stashing away the silver bricks, his payment, and only cashes in a few, and by night he parties and takes drugs, until his next assassination. Gordon-Levitt has had prosthetics and make-up applied to his face to look like a younger version of, well, himself, but actually Bruce Willis, who plays the future Joe, sent back in time to be killed, and of course when this goes wrong, the simple rule has been disobeyed, never let your loop get away.
But in the bigger picture, Old Joe is back to try and prevent a tragic event in his own life, and he can only do so in Young Joe's time, and that lies within a small boy, Cid, played by Pierce Gagnon, and this kid truly puts in a wonderful performance, he is perhaps the best thing about this film and his acting and manner is fantastic, and of course a plot twist just adds to the heightened drama.
The whole cast, including Emily Blunt and Jeff Daniels, are on fine form, a Looper truly does portray a different sort of dystopian future that we are used to seeing in cinema these days. But while the film is smart and clever in its original idea, this perhaps could be its biggest downfall. The amount of plot holes after watching it second time are just too big to ignore or not give notice to, they don't exactly ruin what is a entertaining film, but on occasion it just seems all for nothing when you realise what other way it could have went. With such a complex idea, there was always going to be a slip up along the way for writer/director Rain Johnson.
Aside from this, there are enough twists and turns to keep you entertained for two hours, and Gordon-Levitts similarities to Bruce Willis including his gruff, soft-spoken voice are mind-boggling.
An excellent, albeit flawed thriller, which offers realism, while also poking fun the odd time on what other films try so hard to be serious about, definitely see Looper.… Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I enjoyed this film, to an extent. It's very clever, and it's refreshing to watch a film that doesn't treat its audience like idiots that need everything explained to them. The premise is interesting and the 3 lead characters give strong performances, particularly Emily Blunt.

However I found the film difficult to warm to, and was disappointed by the end. For me there are too many plot-points that weren't really believable. I found that idea of only using time travel to send people back in time to bump them off a bit stupid. Why not just kill people in the future? The rainmaker kid came across of being quite evil in nature, but if he's wiping out future crime lords doesn't that make him a good guy? Would Bruce Willis really shoot children? The choice of odd weapons used by everyone in the film (blunderbusses and pistols) was never explained, and the bad guys were all out of a video game (all wearing black trenchcoats). I was surprised that there weren't more memorable moments or set-pieces. Overall a clever film but not one I'd plan to watch again anytime soon.… Expand

If this was an original concept, it would be a 10. But it's a mash-up of multiple ideas (The Witness, Akira, and others come to mind), so we have to take a little off for orginality. With that being said, it is executed nearly perfectly.

I went in to this movie with high expectations because of the reviews, than i watch the movie and i was bored by it, this movie is clearly made for fans of time travel and science fiction and no one else, the plot is vary complicated and requires a lot of thinking and concentration, i got bored by this movie because i'm not a big fan of time travel movies, if you are not a fan of time travel,science fiction or vary complicated movies, i would say avoid this movie because you will probably not like it

5/10… Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Not quite the movie the previews make it out to be, but it's still quite good. It's an interesting take on time travel, but that's not even the important part of the movie. This child that has such powerful abilities, that he brings the world terror in the future is in the grasp of the protagonist, but decides that instead of continuing to try and change that future (which in itself only perpetuates it), he decides to end his own life. One of the better sci-fi movies in a while.… Expand

This movie is terrible. Anti-climactic endings are the worst thing ever to happen to modern films. What is the point of watching a movie if the main character, a protagonist, is going to die at the end?

Reading some of the reviews on imdb.com I was excited to see this, I dont think the movie's story is all that great, I guess I was expecting a better movie, 7/10 is the best I can give this.

Awesome movie. Despite a concept over present in modern movies the time-travel; the director succeed to create a world and a plot really captivating from the beginning to the great ending. Except the fact that it would have been really interesting to have a better look at the hero's future, the whole movie avoid the "cliches" and succeed in its initial goal entertain

This film got snubbed during the Oscars. How in the world did this not even get nominated for Best Original Screenplay?! Seriously you cannot show me a more unique film than Looper. Very few films blow my mind but Looper succeeded in doing just that. Dark, Different, and Entertaining as hell. One of the best movies of 2012.

I know I'm in the minority here, but I HATE this movie! After watching it I was actually angry. I felt like the writers and the director had just smacked me. This movie really did show ALLOT of promise as it built itself up rather nicely, establishing a "kind-of" realistic near future. But then they introduce the whole time travel element. At first it was a creative new use for it. But the longer they developed it, the more it the logic surrounding it fell apart. Basically they have created a form of time travel that completely ignores its own rules to the point that you would have to be a a half brained idiot to not see it. Basically the movie is saying: Shut up, stop thinking and enjoy the movie. Overall: This had the chance to be a really good movie, but any ingenuity was raped out of it by lazy writers and a director with no direction.… Expand

One of the best sci-fi movies in years. Rian Johnson is a very talented director that previously made the outstanding film Brick, shows the combo of himself and Joseph Gordon Levitt is a winning one.

Great movie but had a couple flaws hear and there but a great movie overall. Maybe one of the best movies of the year it had great action.GREAT MOVIE with great actors and a great plot.

This story was written by someone who does not comprehend even the basics of time travel problems and paradoxes. It is a mystery why this chaos received so high grades. The plot in short: mafia from the future sends their assassination targets into the present to be disposed of; in the present there are killers, so called loopers (organized by a sadist from the future) who await their targets and kill them. Before or later, the looper receives a mission to kill his future self. Some of them fail to do so. And then the chase begins. First of all, the premise is pretty stupid, to use such advanced technology for such mundane goal. In the movie they have explained, that in the future it is impossible to get rid of someone without being tracked. It is, as it seems, far easier to build a time machine then to avoid tracking technology from a collapsed society. Then we have a pretty horrifying (and illogical) scene of punishment for a failed looper. His present self is mutilated and his future self loses his limbs one by one. This is wrong, all his wounds have been inflicted in the past so they would appear all at once in the future. And it is unresolved if his present self has been killed or will they keep him alive for the next few decades without his limbs, until he is sent into the present. Then we have our „hero", Joe who escapes his captors in the future, escapes his present looper-self and begins his search for a mysterious future mafia boss, the elusive „Rainmaker", who in the future has killed his wife. Then begins a „Terminator-rip-off". Terminator-Joe from the future does not have exact information about Rainmaker, only his date of birth and he manages to narrow his search to only three kids he will have to kill. He eliminates two targets and of course, his past self protects the real Rainmaker, the fact that it HAS TO BE KNOWN to his future self even before his trip to the past, because it is past, no matter when the audience has find out this. Then the Terminator-Joe eliminates his entire (ex-)gang and there is a showdown between him, his present-self and the Rainmaker-Kid. The situation is resolved when the present Joe kills himself and the Terminator-Joe disappears. Which would set in motion time traveling paradox: Terminator Joe does not exist so he cant be sent into the past and all his actions would be reversed. But no, all his actions in the movie remain. The Rainmaker-kid survives and he will grow up not to be mafia boss but exemplary member of future society. The end. Oh, and this Rainmaker-kid has a Carrie-like telekinetic abilities, which has nothing to do with a plot and is complete superficial. As for the pacing of the movie, it is horrible. We begin with a bang (literary), then a movie comes to a halt and we have an hour or so pure boredom (or character „development"). Then we have a final shoot out. All in all a very bad experience, caused by a fanboy-hype. If you want to see Bruce Willis travel through time, watch „12 Monkeys", a far superior movie in every sense.… Expand

You can never go wrong in choosing a movie that stars Bruce Willis or Joseph Gordon-Levitt, but when they come together, that's when the magic really happens! Looper is the brainchild of Rian Johnson, who likes to bring us unusual stories, that mainly star JGL, however Looper is much easier to follow than most of Johnson's other films. While I'm not his biggest fan, his attention to detail has always really stood out to me and is perhaps never more evident than in Looper. Johnson actually used make-up and special effects to make JGL resemble a young Bruce Willis, which I found to be ingenious. Not to be overlooked is of course how clever a story Looper is, as it blends together time travel and the mafia. In the future, time travel has been invented, but like every other good thing, it is illegal. The mafia controls time travel and uses it as a weapon to commit murder. In this future world, it is impossible to dispose of a body, so the mafia sends their targets back in time where they are met an executed by a hired gun, known as a looper. The performances are of course top notch, Willis, the action star of a generation, only gets better with age, and JGL is the simply put the hardest working, most under appreciated actor in all of Hollywood. To be completely honest, this intriguing, action-packed, thriller was not as good as I expected it to be, and I really didn't care for the way in ended. That being said, it is still a great film that is definitely worth your while.… Expand

Kudos to Rian Johnson for a creative and tricky screenplay, but the problem with Looper is that's all there is to the movie. The pacing is agonizingly slow, the performances are uninspired and there is little for viewers to grasp onto in order to connect with the film. There are lots of ideas but nothing to really think about. Perhaps a different director would have yielded more satisfying results.… Expand

This is slightly unfair, as a film itself I would give it 8 maybe, but I must give it 7 due to the consensus, the consensus is this was an amazing film, it wasn't, it was solid but wasn't awe inspiring, it was also this decades Matrix, and it wasn't, it was nowhere near Matrix, I had to be true to myself, I'd rent it before buying it
And Emily Blunt fans, She acts well, but she is the most pointless character ever… Expand

All the douches giving this anything below a 7 are a bunch of hipsters that think they're cool for disagreeing with the way time-travel is portrayed in this movie. This movie was AMAZING, not as a sci-fi movie, not as a thriller, but in the way it executed both elements seamlessly and with uniqueness. If you're going to watch this JUST for the sci-fi, then don't bother. This is a great MOVIE, one that will stay in the back of my mind for years to come… Expand

Looper is just simply one of my favorite movies ever. Excellent acting, writing...the works. The little things in the movie make it great. Looking for an original screenplay sci-fi? Look no further than Looper.

The story in Looper revolves around a gangster that takes out marked men for a criminal organisation. The twist is that the criminals are 30 years into the future where they apparently aren't allowed to kill people so they send the people that are to be slain back into the past. The movie breaks the no-killing-in-the-future-rule several times and the viewer is left wondering, like in so many other instances, why the heck the writers overlooked yet another hole in the plot that is so glaringly obvious that it'll sit on your mind for the entire duration of the movie. The most explanation that you get is that you shouldn't try to understand any of it, making it nothing more than an action movie full of convenient Deus Ex machina and not the brilliant science fiction the plebs and so called "critics' are trying to make you believe it is. Bruce Willis fans (Old Joe) will be disappointed by his lacklustre performance, possibly because of a script he couldn't really work with. That and they cast him as a child-killer which I felt was slightly revolting. A completely miscast Garret Dillahunt (Jesse) enters and quickly departs the movie in a most unbecoming way for an actor who is capable of much more. The sets are anachronistic and the vision the set makers had for a 2040's and 2070's America is completely unbelievable and an insult to any seasoned sci-fi viewer. Single-action revolvers, REALLY? Yor: The Hunter from the Future had more believable set props than that. Despite the movie's many incosistencies, plot-holes and cinematized gangster-style executions that are played at a rapid pace at the beginning of the movie this movie is watchable by anyone looking for a cheesy Hollywood sci-fi flick. Just don't go in thinking this is some kind of pièce de résistance of sci-fi viewing; you'll be sorely disappointed if you do.… Expand

There are only a few movies in the world that can make you think. Think about what will happen next or even think about how the story relates to the characters. This movie has both. This Movie was an unexpected thriller, incredibly written and will keep me up at night just thinking about it.

The pace during the first hour was relentless. But then it varied so much I looked at the timer several times. Nonetheless, it was great if not awesome. Rainmaker is just a boogeyman. I was disappointed that they didn't show what he had done or was capable of, and I wouldn't have minded if they had added ten, fifteen minutes to shed light on his character. Gordon-Levitt earned some respect from me for his performance. Somehow I also enjoyed watching Willis. Blunt was surprisingly good too. All in all, this is one of the best sci-fi flicks I've ever seen.… Expand

I've shied away from movies of late. There was a time when I would have got excited by the next big science fiction movie, but I didn't really care Looper, and didn't rush out to see it, (even if it did feature the beautiful Emily Blunt). Especially since advertisements had compared it to that Wachowski Brothers film, which, although visually inventive at the time, had laughable dialogue. I eventually rented Rian Johnson's movie one bored Saturday evening. At first I couldn't get into it, so slept on it and watched it the next morning when I was more awake. Firstly, I must say how refreshing it is to see a movie that actually works. The visual aesthetic is convincing, and never at one point could I not suspend disbelief in this reality. Although it does not suffer with bad dialogue like many high concept movies where the focus is too much on the topography and plot of the movie, the dialogue is still probably the weakest element here. The film is competently acted by its cast leading me to check afterwards that Emily Blunt was indeed English. Props to her there for the accent. The film kept me engrossed throughout it's two hour duration. Admittedly it never really set my pulse racing, nor did it provoke me, or set the synapses firing, but neither was I bored. The plot is not overly taxing, but there are enough temporal shifts to keep it interesting. There were some nice stylistic flourishes which were probably unnecessary, but you come to expect style over content in this genre. The film does feel a little horizontal and flat at times, but maybe that is the mille plateaux. I would have to agree that I never really felt for the characters, although there was some humanity from Blunt's character. Although dystopian, to say that there is no hope whatsoever is untrue. There is some optimism to its denouement. I'm still waiting on a science fiction film that does not rely on weaponry for its thrills, and I'm growing tired of hearing profanities. I think it makes for lazy dialogue. However, I must concur this is one of the better things I have seem for quite some time. They called it a golden age at the Baftas, and I must admit sensing something of a renaissance in film at the moment.… Expand

Looper is a really great film for several reasons. Bruce Willis is back on form in one of the best science fiction films of all time. It's as mind-blowing as The Matrix and Inception, with all the action and tension of a blockbuster hit. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is fantastic as Young Joe with some of the most realistic visual make-up I have ever seen. One very memorable scene involves torture in the strangest way possible, without spoiling it, it's definitely one of the most chilling scenes in cinema history. Overall, definitely worth checking out for SciFi Bruce Willis fans… Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Nel 2044 i ricchi sono ricchi e i poveri si arrangiano servendoli. I primi vivono nei grattacieli di una città che ricorda vagamente ‘Blade runner’ (ma senza le pubblicità), i secondi abitano in caseggiati popolari davanti ai quali parcheggiano le loro macchine rappezzate. Il risultato una società violenta e infiltrata dalla malavita: in più, rispetto ai giorni nostri, ci sono i loopers, assassini prezzolati che uccidono le vittime della mafia che vengono loro spedite da trent’anni nel futuro. Un lavoro pulito, pagato con i lingotti recapitati sulla schiena del malcapitato, che però può incepparsi quando a tornare il te stesso invecchiato. Dopo tanti altri, capita anche a Joe (per la seconda volta in pochi mesi ecco un killer di nome Joe): il problema che il passare degli anni lo ha fatto diventare Bruce Willis che, in cerca di vendetta, non ha nessuna voglia di farsi ammazzare. A partire da questo momento, ‘Looper’ si trasforma da buon thriller fantascientifico con qualche eccesso di violenza e manierismo ad opera di valore assoluto grazie a una seconda ora che, giocando tra i contrastanti sentimenti umani e i paradossi del viaggio nel tempo, affascina senza possibilità di scampo fino all’efficacissimo finale. E’ vero che, forse, sarebbe stato di ancor maggior effetto ribaltare la conclusione, ma questo un film, non un romanzo di Dick e allo spettatore fa piacere alleggerire un po’ l’animo dopo tanta cupezza e tensione: il giovane Joe decide di spezzare il cerchio (il loop che sarebbe stato meglio tradurre con circolo o anello) ed un bel cambiamento da parte di un tossico capace di sacrificare il suo miglior amico chi non elimina il proprio loop non ha scampo per salvare i lingotti accuratamente risparmiati sognando una fuga in Francia. Alla trasformazione, contribuisce non poco vedere come diventato il vecchio Joe: Willis interpreta senza battere ciglio, ormai se lo può permettere, un assassino di bambini incluso quello di una sua vecchia fiamma guidato solo dall’amore perduto e da un odio che lo illude di poter cambiare il futuro in cui il misterioso Sciamano (in originale Rainmaker, da cui gli svariati riferimenti a nuvole e pioggia) sta cercando di eliminare tutti i looper. Al confronto dell’attempato leone, al quale l’esperienza ha insegnato a dare qualche sfumatura alla granitica presenza, Gordon-Levitt dimostra di dover ancora percorrere parecchia strada, malgrado l’assidua presenza sugli schermi negli ultimi tempi: la sua interpretazione cresce però con il passare dei minuti, forse perché non ha proprio la faccia da killer e funziona meglio quando, in fuga, abbandona la città per rifugiarsi nella fattoria presidiata, il caso di dirlo, da una combattiva Emily Blunt. Proprio tra campi di frumento e strade sterrate si arriva alla conclusione, dopo che Willis ha fatto fuori un numero imprecisato, ma certamente alto, di mafiosi (compreso il plenipotenziario venuto dal futuro ben interpretato da Jeff Daniels) armato di due mitragliette, una per mano uniche armi non vintage, essendo le altre intonate ai gusti ‘passatisti’ del giovane Joe. E’ il culmine di sessanta minuti di grande cinema, capace di far pensare ed emozionare allo stesso tempo grazie a una qualità che, se la prima parte fosse allo stesso livello, porterebbe il film dallo status di ottima pellicola con un futuro di culto a quello di molto vicino al capolavoro, seppur di genere.… Expand

Writer/director Rian Johnson has hit the big time with Looper, a really polished and original clever sci-fi thriller that succeeds by focusing more on its characters and slick action than tying the narrative in loops to explain the intricacies of time travel. In fact the film makes it clear that the time travel discussion is off the table, Willis makes this point abundantly clear to his younger self when the pair discuss their past/future in another great American diner scene. It simply isn't allowed to distract from the film. The action is stylish and the film carries a genuine sense of almost low budget indie cool throughout. Armed with his awesome blunderbuss, Gordon-Levitt copes with playing a lead action man well and is ably supported by Bruce Willis and Emily Blunt. Blunt, in particular, gives a strong performance as a single mother resolutely protecting her son.

I have seen some comments to the contrary, but I found the film's ending to be excellent and thought provoking.… Expand

Vastly overrated. The film never lives up to its first 20 minutes. (which is high in spectacle and hyper stylish direction)
The deliberately slow burning second half on the other hand, is standard science fiction time travel yarn with a creepy telepathic kid. Watch "Twelve Monkeys" or "Source Code" instead.

I have mixed feelings toward this movie. Looper was well edited, and suspenseful. The acting was solid, and I enjoyed the futuristic/dystopian world they created. The music fit the mood perfectly, the cinematography was also great. The problems start with the movie's plot. There are some plot holes and inconsistencies in the story, because the way time traveling was portrayed. It was impossible even on a theoretical level (I could write an essay about the problems, there are so many). I wish they would not screw up the time travel part, because that part meant to be a key element, but it just made the plot confusing and senseless at some points. Otherwise technically the movie was really well made.… Expand

Decent enough story but this still doesn't make time travel believable, not sure that can ever be done the plausibility of it, that is. But I'm pretty sure people just appearing and disappearing isn't how it'll look. Same kind of thing with telekinesis, let alone being exhibited by a 10 yo kid. The quality of this movie is like a very good steak served with ketchup as sauce.

if garfield was sent back in time to past garfield to kill future garfield i bet they would have both eaten lasagna but that did not happen 0/100000 DONT BOTHER WATCHING

Starts out great. The opening felt similar to how I saw Blade Runner but somewhere in the middle it drags and what happens doesn't really matter until the revelation. I respect Rian Johnson for pulling off a great atmosphere but I just thought there were a lot of room for improvement in terms of pacing. Overall it is a good movie that shows a lot of potential for discussions. Maybe I just wanted to see more sci-fi.… Expand

Overall, awesome movie. This is some of the best acting by Joseph Gordon-Levitt I have ever seen. It has one of the best plots. This film is not what you would expect. This has become my second favorite time travel film of all time, next to Back to the Future Part II

This could have been so much better, and that's the biggest disappointment. The idea (given we've had the likes of The Terminator series and Minority Report beforehand) is fine, but at no stage do you ever get to the point of CARING about the characters enough to want them not to get killed.... I cannot fathom why so many critics rate this film so highly- it's bubblegum for a new generation, content to suspend any form of reality for a couple of hours and 'veg out'.

Save wasting your life watching this and rent 'Bourne Legacy' instead- at least you'll see a movie that leaves you feeling happy that you watched it at the end- the same cannot be said of 'Looper'- it left me feeling empty.… Expand

surprising and unusual, a new way to enjoy the futuristic genre, besides another unforgettable performance of young Levitt and the good creativity of Rian Johnson

Good movie, horrible unnecessary ending so many other possibilities that should have been explored. This movie has it's own time travel rules. I really don't know what else to say.

Looper is a really good movie! Great special effects and a great story. The best thing about Looper is that it perfectly mixes story and action making it a must see! I'd highly recommend it to anyone so long as they don't have an extreme hate of the Sci-fi genre!

i enjoyed it, enternaning and bruce is a little diferent in this one, well there are some crazy effects and even my girlfriend likeed it. i find myself at a loss of words so that means i cant remember too much about it

There are some plot holes and some times you just have yourself scratching you're head because it's not exactly clear how the time travelling works. But everything else of the movie is good and very enjoyable

Looper is a movie that has an interesting story to some degree but from the mindless action scenes to the and incoherent editing, Looper fails miserably like Bruce Willis's acting.

Looper is my favorite movie of the year. I got the blu ray the day it was released and watched it immediately. I find the self inclosed story (with no need for sequels or prequels) to be very refreshing in a genre populated by franchises. While I avoided the movie in theaters for some time, after hearing about how good it actually was I went to see it and was blow away. Part of this is most likely because my expectations were not great. The idea of the mob using time travel didn't seem plausible. I think a bigger organization than the mob would be required to harness and use a power as awesome as time travel. How about a government conspiracy with CIA agents instead of criminals? Regardless of that fatal flaw the world created by writer director Rian Johnson is flawless. He brought a skeptical viewer (myself) to an adoring viewer in less than 10 minutes.… Expand

Just like Terminator mixed with some Die Hard. It is a really good movie. A must watch for people who like action and TriStar movies should defenetly watch this!

In 2 words, this film is so-so. It wants to be a Hi Res concetpt sci-fi film, but the plot doesn't hold out for that, and the splatter violence and appalling and unnecessary language give away the fact that there isn't enough in the story or the characters to keep it going. If you've paid oyur money and bought your popcorn, it will tick over, but you'll forget it within minutes if you have any semblance of intelligence. And if you have any sensitbility, you will actively WANT to forget it. It's just poor and nasty, at its heart.… Expand

Movie requires a small amount of suspension of disbelief; negative reviewers got hung up here. Director did a fantastic job hinting just enough to understand everything going on, along with creating characters the audience is interested in. Highly entertaining, best movie I've seen in a long time.

Amazing movie!!!!!!!! Nice story and good actors

Thank god that the National Board of Review seems to have common sense still with giving "Looper" the Best Original Screenplay award. This film is AMAZING. It is a "Inception 2.0" of sorts, but even more action-packed. Is that the possible downfall of it in the awards circuit? Maybe. I'll admit, I've been rather limited in my 2012 film watching (so far), but this has been my second favourite film of the year (right after "Argo"). The screenplay, as noted, is extremely well done with an intelligent idea and exceedingly good dialogue. Bruce Willis is great in action films, and he does the same here. Ms Blunt is a great actress and she keeps her head high with this performance. The best, however, is the work of the makeup department and Mr Gordon-Levitt. Wow. That was a great and totally out-of-character performance for his usual self. Finally, I can see him as a serious actor. So, what more does one need than a great screenplay and great cast? Technical aspects? Those are covered too. It's just a good film. No. It's a great film. There is no way about it. One of the best of the year.… Expand

Such a surprising cinematic experience. I was apprehensive before watching because most movies dealing with time travel completely butcher it and make the movie seem more silly than anything. Thankfully, Looper did a very good job with it. They didn't try to explain anything about the science of it, which I was fine with, but I felt that they nailed the concept. Joseph Gordon-Levitt did an amazing job, not only acting but as portraying a young Bruce Willis. Obviously the make-up department deserves credit for the look but JGL mastered all of the mannerisms and the style of talking. Very impressive performance on his behalf. And I love Emily Blunt so her being in the film is a nice bonus, plus it's nice to see her take on a slightly different role from her typical typecast. The only negative in the film, in my opinion, was the telekinesis element. I thought it was a really silly aspect of the film and didn't need to be in there at all. The Rainmaker, could've easily been portrayed to be a genius child, not a borderline superhuman. That's really the only part of the film that was mediocre. Looper is definitely a movie that I think most people would enjoy. Some will probably find it challenging to follow but those that follow it well will surely consider it entertaining.… Expand

Action thrillers generally require the willing suspension of disbelief. You have to *want* to believe that it is possible to shoot people while running, survive explosions "just outside the fireball", jump through windows with barely a scratch, etc. These are established patterns of the genre, and we, as an audience, have come to accept them (even though none of these are very likely). The point I am trying to make is that when you go to an action movie, you are willing to overlook a bunch of glaringly impossible stuff, and will be actively trying to accept the plot "as-is" without looking too close. this is why it is to jarring when a movie is so full of internal inconsistencies and the sheer number plot holes make the script look like swiss cheese. These people are professionals, and they can apparently turn any weird idea into a marketable film, which makes me question even more why they had to go with this B-plot that made the otherwise seamless visuals simply not entertain anymore. I'm not even going into the onedimensional characters that can be completely described in one short sentence each. This is an action flic after all, we have come to accept that. Haven't we?… Expand

A well constructed story-driven scifi film that doesn't hit you over the head with explanations about causality but just works with the already well established (mainly by Back to the Future I guess) hollywood time-travel ruleset. Levitt plays a younger Bruce Willis and does so very well but his 'altered' appearance does take some getting used too. One of the better films of 2012 and certainly a recommended watch!… Expand

Looper is a really good sci-fi/action thriller. Although the second half of the film tapers off towards the end, the film is held together by a solid concept, great direction, and good performances, even if some things are left unanswered.

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This movie could have done with a 10, although it was great it did not live up to my expectations, there were may plot and logic holes/flaws. Like with almost all time travel movies it stumbles in handling its core element (time travel logic). There was nudity which was forced. The ending was great but the addition of the TK Kid was SO STUPID. Other than these flaws the movie was great, loved the whole young BWills thing decent action the story was also commendable putting aside the time travel logic issues.… Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Life seems to have a clear beginning and end, but I don't see why almost every movieplot needs to follow the same format. Not saying that all movieplots litteraly begin with the birth of a character and end with their death, but instead I'm suggesting they begin with the so-called "Hollywood Beginning" and end with its short-bus brother the "Hollywood Ending." I define the "Hollywood Beginning" as any plot that force feeds milk down our throats until we understand what's going on, while its counterpart the "Hollywood Ending" ensure's us that the plot is over and not continuing on secretly after you leave the theater. What I like about Looper is the beginning. Without any leadup, it drops you into the middle of the main characters somewhat unique situation (Just watch the trailer and you'll find out what that is). A dangerous move for most far-fetched plots, but Looper is paced well and acted clear enough so the we naturally get on board with what's going on and even start to feel for the main character and the people around him. Brilliant. What I don't like about Looper is the latter half and the god awful ending. It takes everything that was semi-unique and compelling about the first 30 minutes and tosses it out the window with a lit molotov **** in its mouth. The only shred that remained was a "It's me against a brigade of unfair big cocks" plot, or in other words, the "Minority Report" plot.. So, to the same effect of sticking your mom in the ring to fight Mike Tyson, we have to watch our main character put up with his future brainless, professional death machine self, who wields uzzies like he's on the set of the next Die Hard installment. The beginning of the movie was so good because the daily life of a looper sounds so enticing, of course you'd inevitably have to think about the possibitly of killing your future self. A movie based around this idea alone is doomed to follow a path that leads to a big pile or already been used toilet paper. But a movie based around the life of one looper who has to deal with drug addiction, daily executions and the disposal of such victimes, coping with co-workers who shot their future self, or even didn't shoot their future self, is already enough character-plot crap to jam into a 2-hour flick.… Expand

A time Travel Movie that is fresh and finely acted without getting overly complicated. Levitt and Willis do great work here as well does the rest of the cast. I just wish more movies likes this would get made.

This movie has everything you would want in a time travel film, action drama and well TIME TRAVEL. Now i wouldnt say its the best film of 2012 or it sould win best picture but it is a great film and maybe sould be nominated for original screenplay. From the begining to end it is a rollercoaster that has countless loops. It keeps the audiences attention and never lets go. Now for the action, it is great, just enough to hold the audience over. During the movie you will be thinking alot about the time travel in this movie and it can be a little bit confusing but think about it its just a movie about time travel thats all it is too it. Overall this is one of the best timetravel action films i have seen also my top 5 films of 2012. 9/10… Expand

The problem with this movie is, that it tries to be taken as a serious piece of work. But fails, becasue of the many loop holes in the plot. On the positve side, the cast did a great job. But that wasnt enough, to save this movie.

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The movie gets a 4 effort but that's about it. My main problem with movies like this, is time travel is in all respects impossible. The mind boggling physics of it make it such a sticky subject that only really good movies who attempt it, seldom get it right. Most only on the grounds that the movie is making fun of time travel, Back to the Future comes to mind. The only serious movie that comes to mind that tackles it well, is 12 Monkeys. In that movie the "circle of events" are left to unfold like an infinite loop, old bruce willis is unable to stop the spread of plague, while young bruce willis watches unaware; ad infinitum. But in this movie the plot hole keeps me from really caring about the movie at all, according to the films logic. Here is my best shot at explaining it. In the future, 2074 time travel is created. Also in the future everyone is "tagged" so it's impossible to hide a body that has been murdered. So in order for criminals to hide bodies they seize control of time travel. They do this in order to send people 30 years, to be murdered. Even though " Old Joe's" (Bruce Willis) wife is killed in the future. I wonder what they will do with that body? Now, the thugs who murder these people who are sent back are called loopers (Jason GL), they wait in designated locations to kill those wanted by the "evil higher ups" and dispose of the bodies. That is until they themselves are to be terminated. The loopers are given a bunch of gold and this lets them know they just killed there future self and that is their last kill. The problem arises in the fact that knowing this would inevitably change the future. Knowing that in thirty years you will be taken away to be sent back to the future to be killed by yourself would make any self surviving human prepare for the day when they are to be taken or get out the looper business altogether. The central theme of this movie is that there is mysterious rainmaker who is terminating all the loopers in the future. This person ends up being a kid that old joe tries to kill in order to save himself. But the rainmakers reason for terminating all loopers is because his mother/guardian is killed by old joe. This cannot happened is young joe either kills old joe or kills himself. The logic goes that if young joe kills himself, old joe disappears giving no motivation for the rainmaker to become the rainmaker. Which ends the movie from the beginning. Where the logic breakdowns is that if young joe kills himself, their is no old joe to run amok. Therefore old joe is killed in the beginning alternate scene that explains how old joe, gets old and runs amok's already seen himself get killed. He never has a chance to run amok because in this time line he killed himself. Basically the movie makers wanted to make a circle, square. By giving the movie a happy ending it ruins logic the world is based around. Thus don't waste your time trying to watch this movie, it will make you try to understand time travel, which for me has been a waste of time. Points for every-other aspect of the movie.… Expand

I joined Metacritic, as a public service, to review this movie and hopefully prevent someone else like me, who generally relies on the consensus of professional critics, from making the mistake of watching this tripe. THIS IS NOT A GOOD FILM, IN THE LEAST. Compounding the film's incoherent, inconsistent treatment of time travel -- the writer explicitly telegraphs, during one of the scenes, that the viewer need not attempt to make any sense of it -- are myriad additional (glaring) plot holes and unanswered questions. The "development" (such as it is) of JGL's "character" (such as it is) is utterly, maddeningly unbelievable. (The only way even to begin to make sense of him is as a walking mommy complex.) The penultimate action sequence is simultaneously so out-of-place and fantastic that it beggars contemplation, much less belief. And those are just the movie's three most fundamental defects; there are many, many more. It seems to me that the writer, when developing the screenplay, first conceived of the "clever" ending (which is actually clever only insofar as one is profoundly stoned) and then sloppily constructed a storyline to get there. I am honestly *befuddled* by the strong critical reception of this movie, *befuddled*. See also the reviews by Oxcart, JonnyRaves, mess888, and (especially) SebDangerfield. Do not waste your time or money on this one.… Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. You either hate this movie or you are retarded. This movie has made you expect something good but it screwed you. The time traveling makes no sense at all. When in the end the main character shot himself his older version should disappear IMMEDIATELY not thinking and have a bad disappear effect. The fact that the kid was introduced at the beginning of the end and his powers were only introduced at the end with no explanation at all, makes me thing what the hell the writers were thinking. To include time travel in a movie is not new (see back to the future) but at least in that movie they explained how it was "possible" as you should in science-fiction. This movie did NOT! This was just a major disappointment and you will start to hate the kid and at the end he lives.… Expand

Brilliant, unique and disturbing, with a lot of unexpected twists and turns. Looper is far from your typical generic time travel movie and is one of those rare science fiction futuristic movies that will tug on your emotions. Emily Blunt and Joseph Gordon Levitt deliver brilliant performances and the child actor who plays Blunt's son is a scene stealer. Easily the best movie I've watched this year.… Expand

Rian Johnson wrote delicious script for this movie. It's inventive, original, and unpredictable (but with plenty of foreshadowing to properly prepare the audience). When you consider just how many movies recently are sequels and remakes, and the few that aren't are adapted from popular books, its surprising that hollywood managed to produce a movie this interesting. I don't give a 10/10 to anything, but there literally was not one thing I hated about this movie. Some "comic book guy" ("worst movie evar") types are unable to accept some of the fictional elements in the story, but that's their loss. I would dare any of them to write a script 10% as good as Johnson's.… Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Basically unwatchable. I really do not understand why Joseph Gordon-Levitt is being heralded as the new Hollywood superstar. There is absolutely nothing that makes you want to see him, in any role. He is short, ugly, has absolutely no charisma, and is as boring as hell. Well, hell is probably a lot more interesting. Bruce Willis at least attempts to spice this movie up, but even he cannot do it. When trained killers miss him time and again, at point blank range, the entire premise becomes nothing but utterly ridiculous.… Expand

Good movie and easily one of the best of the year, Looper does a good job of avoiding some of the usual trappings that time-travel movies fall into nowadays. I love the idea that is glosses over most of the explanation of why time travel works in this movie and just focuses on the story between Levitt and Willis, even if they aren't on screen together for the vast majority of the movie. I love how this movie takes a played out concept and puts a nice, original spin on it for the audience. I can see why this movie might turn off some people with a few things here and there, but I personally loved this movie. The only problem I have is that I didn't get to see it soon enough.… Expand

Looper takes an tremendously silly concept and tries to ask some big questions with it, which unfortunately does not work at all. However, it manages to set up a compelling conflict that avoids standard "good guy, bad guy" fare for something much more complex, resulting in a very good thriller where you can easily forget about all the philosophy and just watch the players make their moves. It provided me with the rare experience of watching a Hollywood film and truly wondering what's going to happen next, because there wasn't any obvious happy end in sight. Add some great acting (with the exception of Bruce Willis, who, as always, plays Bruce Willis and matches Kristen Steward in his range of facial expressions), and the fact that it doesn't rely on CGI and explosions to keep you excited, and you end up with a surprisingly solid experience.… Expand

Possibly the kick ass film of the year! A good story with steady-state suspense and pounding action, a great cast with marvelous acting and a bravado director delivering a film of immaculate style and elegance.

It's not every day you see a irresistible trailer and it surpasses your lofty expectations. A highly ambitious undertaking by director Rian Johnson who masterfully executes and delivers on all fronts. In the year 2044, the US economy collapses giving way to widespread organized crime. In 2074, time travel is invented but immediately prohibited. Because of advanced tracking systems in place, disposing of murder victims isn't possible, which in turn creates a "new" market and profession. Hence "Looper." Tilted camera angles, upside-down shots, super slow-motion; Johnson toys with experimental cinematography with formidable results. A fantastic time travel sci-fi thriller that is firmly character based, and not just solely relying on special effects or time travel. Rian's directing art house style is evident but it's also blended with some mainstream elements not seen much in previous films such as "'Brick". What flaws this film may possess can be easily absolved because the overall experience is extraordinary.… Expand

The worst movie i saw this year by a long margin, not only its full of the usual nonsense about time traveling but also the whole story is a mess. I watched the movie accepting its own schizophrenic paradigms but even doing so all the remaining plot doesn't make sense, the main character is just a lunatic cliche that doesn't even know himself and act randomly without any logic, all the events, i repeat, even accepting the time traveling part that is very inconsistent on its own, are scattered without any logic leading to an end where he does the dumbest choice of the whole movie, really only for 10 years old kids or something, avoid it.… Expand

I think this is on par with Source Code and Moon (and maybe even Twelve Monkeys) as story-driven scifi that could probably bear several watchings over the years. It's a fine addition to the canon of fine scifi movies.

This movie is an example of a bathos at it's very best. It showed promise, but it just ended up being another predictable, action-blockbuster cash cow. There's nothing impressive about this movie; it's just disappointingly average. I'd put it on the same level as Total Recall, honestly. The whole "TK" concept seemed so clumsy and ill-suited and the writing was just lousier and lousier as the movie progressed.… Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The title is a Mars bar and just like junk food this film delivers that useless energy. In its fantasy came a world that could never even be explained, logically or even with any degree of attempt. Maybe in 1930's there is an era of which this film is modeled from definitely in no foreseeable future. This aside the plot is littered with gaping holes. Paradoxes were given as much thought as some illiterate explaining the theory of relativity and resulting in suicide. Quite literally those braincells where already popped from it's crackheads abusive direction. Poor at everything, what SCI-FI I ask, it really didn't even try to be scientific. Bums with guns, and silver equals gold.… Expand

My favourite film of the year although not for everyone. The best way I can describe it is like a mash-up of Twelve Monkeys, Terminator & Drive. It's basic yet very graceful. JGL pus in a great performance & the story is really good but this is definitely a marmite film.

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Mildly entertaining premise that wasn't executed well. The movie's ending was terrible.

The main character just happens to end up on the very farm as the kid he is looking for after running from the diner? He didn't even know what that information on the note was until the farm owner explained it to him.

The story seemed to grow more and more inconsistent after the farm culminating with this hardened killer sacrificing himself for some kid he barely knew.… Expand

What an original and masterful sci fi film, the kind We've been waiting for for ages, maybe since Twelve Monkeys. Great to see Willis on form here and nailing the action genre again. From the second you start watching it you're thinking 'timeless classic.' Stick this one in the sci fi cannon without a doubt, open the gates and real her in. Prometheus is nothing compared to this. Brilliantly woven plot, great pacing, always exciting. Might be a while before we get another treat like this… Expand

Good movie, coherent, plot-twisting, and with well written characters. This said, I thought there would be more science fiction and a little more broader view. It made me think of "12 Monkeys", which had the same scale: one city, max. 10 depicted characters, and surprising ending. To sum up, very engaging, despite the flaws.

Excellent movie. The cast is fantastic, Joseph Gordon-Levitt especially and the story is a real mind twister. I liked how the future is shown almost similar to the present with only details showing us that not everything is the same. However it takes some time to tie all threads into one, but once you get the point than the story fully mesmerizes you. I was also surprised with the force little Pierce Gagnon played his very demanding part.
Finally, this movie should not be watched if you are not fully concentrated on it, as the details can slip quite easily.
Highly recommendable.… Expand

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. What a film. I did not expect this to be as good as it was. This is not a film for lovers of light-hearted films: it is a very dark one-of-a-kind experience. The problem is that I'm writing this review quite a long time after having seen the film; so I apologize for anything that I put wrong or not quite right. This is not a film about time travel as such; as time travel has been invented in the future, and it is used to send criminals back in time to be exterminated, when upon yourself arrives to be exterminated, you must do so, or you will suffer the consequences (as someone did in a very gruesome way during the opening of the movie). That is the premise of the plot in its simplest form. When (I forget the main character's name, sorry) arrives to be killed by himself, all hell breaks loose. The complicated (yet simple) storyline is handled masterfully, not leading to any confusing moments during the whole run-time of the picture. The acting is also ace, Bruce Willis providing everything you'd want from him in role such as this, and Joseph Gordon Levitt being the perfect anti-hero. The camerawork is mind-boggingly fantastic, although perhaps a tad hard to watch at times. This is a dark, unnerving sci-fi film that provides a very smart, witty and surprise of a gem that I don't think anyone was expecting. Not for kids, Looper wins the award of the most surprising film of the year (in a great way). 92/100.… Expand

Tried to read some negative reviews, and is it a joke? "This movie is bad, because this scene is bad, plot is bad, acting is poor, actors are awful... blah-blah-blah". Are you all 15-years old? The only thing I didn't like, is that plot is a bit dense for 2 hours, looks like writer had too many things to discuss and had to make it short..

If you're looking for something thrilling yet thought provoking, go no further, Looper has arrived. Rian Johnson's Looper is a bold, wholly original genre film that delves into the fabric of time travel like you hardly get see these days. The high concept story line of a man's future-self on the loose after failing to 'get rid of him' is only the tip of the iceberg. Whats left is a dizzying tale of crime, time alteration and most interestingly, parenthood, that twists and turns the audience like an intelligent thriller should. The deceptive direction may not satisfy all, but it kept the intrigue on high.The principal cast was very good, and it's also good to see Bruce Willis on form this year. Filmed with much style and edited with clockwork precision; I highly recommend this to movie-goers.… Expand

Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis are gripping in the movie Looper.

Looper was a disappointing film that, having promised so much in its trailer, did not satisfy in both its uncompelling storyline, cliched acting and futuristic (borderline annoying) cinematography.

Pretty good, but not as good as I thought. I thought this was going to be some futuristic science fiction movie, but it barely classifies as this. The acting and characters are good, my main issue though is the plot. I was expecting a bind boggling journey into 2 futures, instead half the movie just takes place on a farm. There is less to do with science/future here, and more to do with magic. Yes, magic....and this is where the movie falls flat. There is this child called the rainmaker who has a telekenetic ability to manipulate gravity or something....essentially he can kill people with his thoughts. Its not so much I have an issue with that the story focuses too heavily on this kids magic abilities rather than the science/future/time travel aspect...the problem lies with that the movie doesnt bother to explain how or why this magic is possible. It also shows a brief portion in the future, where it appears that this future child rainmaker is killing a bunch of people and destroying a city...I wanted so bad to see that and have it be part of the movie! So half of the movie's cool futurustic, post depression society, and time traveling complexes ideas are stolen by this little boy and his magic abilities. Nothing is done to explain why this kid has magic abilities, and right when you think that this focus is going to pay off(by showing the kid in the future, destroying a city and killing millions of people), it doesnt....it just shows someone reading a number(boys birthdate) to Bruce Willis for no reason before he dies....Well it just happens bruce willis goes back in time so he can kill this boy, but the reader of the number didnt know that....and this is where this movie suffers in scenes like this....it fails to explain or identify reasons, which is usually fine, but in this movie YOU really want to know the reasons. Overall You are left dissapointed and wanting more from only certain segments of the movie. It sucks you in by building suspense to show something spectacular are cool, but it only follows through half the time. It is a good movie, it is just that if certain ideas or scenes were extended or elaborated upon this would have been a perfect movie.

Pros = Kinda futuristic, good acting, memorable characters, cool locations
Cons = Plot holes, failure to explain/elaborate upon ideas, focus on magic instead of science, Boring futuristic art direction.… Expand

Okay, to be honest, "Looper" has earned the medal for the great plot and innovative ideas. The only thing that was not right was the action and bad guys' motivations. I see that the movie has its meaning, and it is really good, very interesting to see; however, the action was not quite as I was hoping it to be. Moreover, if the bad old dude that trained Joe got killed pretty easy... But still, there's a reason for that and I understand: the movie just simply circles around Joseph and Willis and the boy (the "Rain Maker"). In short, the movie is a lil' bit overrated when talking about the action aspect, but it deserves a 5-star rating over the meaning. Good movie.… Expand

This is a thrill ride and a joy to watch up to the end. It keeps you glued to your chair the whole time until the plot unfolds and a shocking end reveals itself!!!!

Top of the line popcorn entertainment. Acting is good, plot holds a few surprises and most importantly the pace of the movie keeps you from looking at errors in the plotline due to the element of timetravel.

Pretty cool little movie. Most importantly it doesn't try to be anything its not. Its not really philosophical, its not not even overloaded on special effects. Its a story, a real good story with decent acting. In the end it was entertaining, which is exactly why I go to movies. One note, this movie gets extra points because it has Jeff Daniels as a bad guy...very cool.

Looper seems to suffer from over-expectation, going by some reviews. Heavily pushed as the "new matrix", I struggled to find the similarity to the Keanu Action-blockbuster. Sure, Looper is a high-concept movie but its much smaller in scale and focus - and all the better for it. There's action but its quite spaced out and rarely the showstopper that a film like the Matrix would require. Instead we get a very good turn from JGL playing his character like a young Bruce Willis. When it works, its fantastic although sometimes the eyebrows seemed a bit too much. Willis himself is great as the reluctant assassin and the two play off each other well in their scene together. The rest of the cast work well, although I would have liked a bit more of Jeff Daniels. But sometimes its better to be left wanting more. Overall though, Looper is a nice bit of sci-fi but not the picture some will be expecting. The script can feel a little clunky but its got enough nuance to carry through to the ending which, while some hated it, I quite enjoyed.… Expand

Anyone that has not seen this movie yet, you need to see it. This movie is an instant classic. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is amazing in it. This movie will really f**k with your mind if you like that s**t. I really rec amend this movie to everyone.

Pretty good Sci-Fi time travel flick in the vein of 'Twelve Monkeys', starring Bruce Willis. Joseph Gordon Levitt is great here as usual, but I found the film a bit over-rated. If you've seen a lot of these time travel stuffs, you know where it's heading, and the whole film is practically a set up for the ending.

This is one of the best movies this year along with a few others. It is very dark and evil especially all the children, the rainmaker and Bruce Willis character killing the children. I enjoyed the movie but some people might find it confusing, if you get most confusing movie then you will get this but if you don`t you won`t. Its a great movie and i would recommend it to anyone.

Slightly Interesting story - a bit confused at times mixing too much diverse sci-fi into the same story. Good acting and direction. HORRIBLE violence -- its way to excessive and gory at times and un-necessarily so. It makes Tarentino look like a sissy. And that's not easy to do, neither is it a good thing to achieve.

Well... What to say... I think they really tried to make an intelligent movie but they kind of fail. That's too bad because the idea wasn't bad but too many things are out of place. The actors, they're not bad but not really good either, none of them is really engaging.
I'd say go see this movie if you don't think too much and you are a bit bored because still the action scenes are not that bad.

A refreshing approach to the overly tired action genre. The film achieved many things right, but what really shines is by far the script. When is Looper 2 coming out?

One of the masterpieces of the science fiction, where we appreciate good theories abiut the future and the mafias of the future.
The Performance of Gordon-Levitt and Willis is awesome, and we appreciate some similarities between the two actors
This movie shows us again that the science fiction is a genre able to make excellent movies.

First of all, let me take a moment to praise outstanding work done by the director and writer of this movie, Rian Johnson. I have watched a lot of science-fiction films that incorporate the elements of time travel and in the beginning, this movie seems like any other typical science-fiction film but it has a lot of surprises, the amount of creativity that has been put in the making of this film. Looper is a remarkable and beautiful film, with astounding performances by Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Young Joe Simmons), Bruce Willis (Old Joe Simmons), Emily Blunt (Sara Rollins) and Pierce Gagnon (Sara… Expand

Rian Johnson takes you from this world and pulls into the world of Looper. Johnson's films are unlike those of other filmmakers, because they are so surreal.

Looper is one of those films that desperately wants to be taken seriously. It tries to capture audience interest and respect in several ways -- action, inter-character and character development, even the cerebral "nature of cause and effect" conundrum. Unfortunately, it screws everything up and makes a royal mess. Its characters are, by and large, shallow to the point of one-dimensionality, generally merely character stereotypes rather than even photocopied archetypes. The primary anti-hero protagonist/antagonist (yep, it's that convoluted) probably undergoes the most development, but that's due in part to the fact that he's being played by two separate actors. By and large, the performances are wooden and unconvincing, the writing stilted to the point of being hack dialogue, and the plot so full of holes that trying to sort it all out would take much more time than this film is worth. (Consider this a note to all would-be time travel story writers: whether you decide on a deterministic or non-deterministic model of causality doesn't matter as long as you are consistent. Looper? Total flop on that.) Joseph Gordon-Levitt does a reasonably good job with what the script gives him (which isn't much), and Emily Blunt turns in a rather good performance, in part because she's the only believable character in the whole mangled mess. To be totally and brutally honest, if billing on this movie were by quality of performance, Blunt should be going first; hers is the best portrayal in the film. By the same logic, Bruce Willis' unconvincing, flat, and downright uninterested performance should earn him a credit just below the lighting intern. Frankly, Willis phoned in this performance; even with the pathetic writing, he could have done much better. Jeff Daniels turns in a decent portrayal of a boss from the future sent back to run herd on the miscreants that populate the turkey of a plot. Scriptwriting was horrendous, particularly in the area of plot. The entire film was over-the-top violence and brutality. Really, with the aforementioned exceptions to the generally poor performances, the only other people in this production that deserve a true pat on the back are those responsible for generating the setting and scenery. They, at least, did a fine job in creating a dystopian, energy-starved, socially collapsed world in which to set this train wreck of a film. (It's an unfortunate thing when the setting is outshining most of the cast in quality of performance.) Given the blasting I've given this film, it's easy to wonder why I'm giving it a 2 instead of a 0. Three reasons: Gordon-Levitt, Blunt, and the scene setting crew. Everything else? Junk. Had I known now what I was getting into, I would not have gone to the theater for this. I would've waited until it hit cable...and then watched something else.… Expand

Looper sucked in so many ways that it's actually difficult count them all. Unlike most of the other haters, I would be willing to overlook the ridiculous plot and the inconsistencies (of which there are many), if the movie was generally well executed and entertaining. But it's not. The movie is amateurishly directed, poorly edited, and unevenly paced. 80% of the action scenes lack the slightest amount of tension and fall completely flat. There is not one single well-developed character in the entire film, so there's no reason to care when anything happens to any of them. The script is disjointed and back-fills plot lines to explain things after they happen. The last two-thirds of the movie is very boring, and is chock full of clumsy, melodramatic, and just plain corny dialogue (especially between the Emily Blunt character and her "son"). Some of these dramatic scenes are so long and awkward that when I saw it, people in the theater were actually laughing uncomfortably, unsure of how to react. Then on top of everything else, Looper is a highly derivative mish-mash of other, much better, sci-fi movies, but doesn't even do a competent rip off job (see Inception ripping off the Matrix). Instead, what the viewer gets treated to is a series of dumbed-down scenes and plot points from movies like 12 Monkeys, The Matrix, Blade Runner, The Fifth Element, Strange Days, and a host of others. In the end, Looper is a smelly turd of a Movie. The only possible explanation I can offer as to why people liking this movie is that maybe we've been starved of a truly great sci-fi movie for so long, that almost anything will do at this point. Or maybe people are just idiots. Or both.… Expand

Good point but have neglected entertainment.
The two actors do not look like each other.
Should have included some persecution for some more excitement to the movie.