Looper (2012)

It amazes me how much the time travel movie has evolved over the years. Going from the first time travel movie, 1949's "A Connecticut Yankee In King Arthur's Court" to all those years later with movies like "Planet of The Apes," "The Terminator," "Star Trek IV," and the "Back to The Future" series, the time travel genre has gotten more and more cerebral and twisty-turny as time has gone on. And while those earlier films were certainly intellectually well done, it wasn't until later that the genre really started having fun with messing with your head.

Movies like "12 Monkeys" and "Donnie Darko" were surreal enough to add a level of perceived complexity to what is not necessarily the most complicated of plots, in which seemed to be a bit of a trend - if you want to make it intellectual, just make it trippy. These movies are enjoyable in a style-over-substance way, however, even if you don't know exactly what's going on. Then again there was "Primer," which I still to this day maintain is literally impossible to follow due to its narrative structure. I also maintain that "Primer" as a film is not very good, but that's another discussion.

And then there's the time travel in "Lost." We'll just leave that at "a big pile of wank" and move on.

What is a bit rare, however, are movies that address very complex time travel without being trippy about it. Most of the time it's either very simplistic or simply crazy enough to the point that it really doesn't matter if you get it or not. I always thought that the movie that did that the best was the Futurama film "Bender's Big Score," but now I'm probably going to have to give the crown to "Looper," because where this movie goes is not only really mind-bendingly complex, but also presented in a straightforward fashion.

Maybe time travel could explain better how in the crap he knew Bruce Wayne was Batman...

There is such much...SO much that I can't tell you about "Looper." And that's not because I don't want to, but because if you haven't seen it, having things explained to you would be a crime. I don't even want to write them with a SPOILER WARNING over top of it, because you still might read it. And that's not cool because if you haven't seen it, you need to. Right now. Seriously, just stop what you're doing and watch it because it's probably making my Top 10 of 2012. It would be shocking if it did not.

I'll tell you about as much as you'd get from the synopsis on any random website. "Looper" is about a man named Joe, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt. He is a "looper," which is essentially a clean-up man for the mob. But it's not just any mob. No, this is a mob FROM THE FUTURE.

See, in the future, time travel exists, but it's incredibly illegal. It's also apparently near impossible to dispose of a body in the future, so mobsters send people back through time to be killed and disposed of in the past. Loopers just wait at a predetermined place at a predetermined time with a gun, and when the person appears, boom headshot occurs.

I'm pretty sure that's not how one typically plays hide-and-go-seek.

What's interesting is when the loop is closed. What that means is that every Looper is eventually subjected to the same fate, which is that eventually in order to wrap up loose ends, if they are still alive 30 years in the future that Looper is sent back to be killed by their past self. The past self is given a big payment of gold, told to enjoy their remaining 30 years, and retired.

But when Joe's loop is closed, and his future self played by Bruce Willis comes through, he hesitates and his future self gets away in the past. However, keep in mind that Future Joe has lived his life having killed Future Joe when he was Past Joe. So we have Bruce Willis running around in a time line where he has already killed himself.

From there "Looper" goes in a lot of directions. This is a movie that feels like five movies condensed into one, but at the same time, it never feels crowded. The themes, plot, and even the genre switches a few times throughout the film, but at no point does it feel gimmicky or forced. It evolves very organically into one big story with a lot going on in it.

Because of that, "Looper" keeps you on your toes. There's no way to know which direction the plot is going to go in. What starts off like a crime movie involving time travel turns into a manhunt/chase movie, which turns into something like "The Terminator" which turns into something like "X-Men" which turns into something just crazy. And yes, like I said before, none of this feels unnatural. Take that for what it's worth.

While the story of "Looper" is certainly good enough to warrant the price of admission, the cast was also one of the main attractions. Joesph Gordon-Levitt does a really good Bruce Willis impression, and Bruce Willis is as always awesome, but it is hard to not be thinking about "12 Monkeys" while watching him. Emily Blunt shows up about halfway through the film in a nice surprise, because she's also very good, despite being slightly less hot due to hiding her English accent. I was also pleased to see Jeff Daniels pop in to play the mobster from the future running things in the past. He had a bit of an Albert Brooks in "Drive" thing going on, which was quietly intimidating and awesome.

But the real standout in the cast, as odd as it is to say, was young Pierce Gagnon, playing a young boy named Cid, who has something definitely strange about him. I'm dead serious when I say that this kid was, hands down, the absolute best child actor I've ever seen for someone as young as he is. There's no way he can be more than 7 years old, but he destroys in this film. He's laying down napalm in laser-guided 10,000 gallon barrels he's so on fire. Pierce Gagnon is right up there with Kody Smit-McPhee and Chloë Grace Moretz, and he's like half their age. Unbelievable.

I'm calling it here - The kid is going to be a marvel.

I really don't feel right describing much more than that. "Looper" should be viewed without many preconceptions beforehand, as part of the fun of "Looper" is seeing where in the crap it's going next.

"Looper" is notable for many things. It's got a unique take on a somewhat difficult genre to succeed in, it has constant shifting of plot elements which keeps it constantly fresh and exciting, it has a dynamite cast including a phenomenal young talent, and there are plenty of shocking moments including what it possibly one of the most disturbing and gruesome death scenes I've ever seen despite not showing a drop of blood. If you want to talk about a complete package, here it is.

THE BOTTOM LINE - "Looper" is without a doubt in my mind one of the best time travel movies I've ever seen. I can't honestly think of one that was as good since "12 Monkeys" back in '95. I am very excited to see what director Rian Johnson will do after this, because his work is reminiscent of Christopher Nolan. Seriously, there's no chance "Looper" isn't going on my Top Ten of 2012, and you need to see it. Highly Recommended.