Review of Looper (2012) by Lloydharrison — 25 Nov 2014

Looper could possibly be my favourite film of 2012. It's not quite as good as 2010's Inception, but it's certainly the most thought provoking and entertaining Sci-Fi since then and personally I think Looper is a worthy mention alongside Sci-Fi's such as Inception, The Matrix and 12 Monkeys.

To Rian Johnson's credit, this film has everything. It boasts originality and sophistication, thought provoking story telling, visually it's spectacular, the set pieces are thoroughly enjoyable and all round the performances are as equally impressive.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt is one of my favourite actors in recent years and he's brilliant here. I was pleased to see him take centre stage after a successful run of supporting roles. And Bruce Willis actually looks interested for a change and he gives his best performance in years.

Emily Blunt is strong also and I was surprised to see underrated actor Jeff Daniels in a supporting role for the first time in years. Most Sci-Fi's attempt to be as big and loud as possible. But tonally I think Looper hits a similar chord to Terry Gilliam's 12 Monkeys.

It's an impressive, ambitious and intelligent piece of filmmaking from Rian Johnson. And to the films credit it doesn't get carried away with an excessive sense of scale and it doesn't over complicate itself with too many unnecessary characters and multiple distractive plot threads.

Also it balances the action perfectly knowing exactly when to throw in a set piece for good measure. Looper is a thoroughly enjoyable piece of filmmaking and I'm intrigued to see what the likes of Rian Johnson and Joseph Gordon-Levitt do next.