Review of Looper (2012) by Broose — 27 Sep 2012

Looper is a movie that has time travel in it, but at its core, it is a character drama, a movie about a crime and redemption.

First of all, while time travel is a plot element which tends to promote intricate, complex plots which can at times be confusing but also enjoyable, Looper intentionally tries to avoid that by keeping vague the actual details of what time travel is and what effects actions in the past have on the present. Looper is less interested in exploring what the actual implications of time travel would actually be, and rather simply uses them to achieve its real goal, which is a way for the main character to literally come face to face with himself, and try to decide what he wants to be.

Because of this, the movie has a very noticeable shift in pacing midway; at the start, the film is chaotic with very few moments of respite, while once everything is in place for the real story to start, the movie really takes its time to build up to a final conclusion.

The problem I had with this movie wasn't that any part of it was really bad; but that the focus of the film was actually much weaker than the premise and exposition. The technology and setting of the movie are incredibly detailed. There is a definite feel to the cities that aren't quite too futuristic but are also just a little different to modern cities. And while the time travel was a little less sophisticated than I would have liked, it really wasn't difficult to get the suspension of disbelief going because everything in the film was just so consistent. I think my favorite segment was just the very first ten minutes, where we get to gleam a sort of basic understanding of the world. However, when the movie shifts into a drama, a lot of the initial charm of the movie is lost. Two of the major characters are introduced midway through, and because of that, it's just difficult to become emotionally attached to them. A lot of the scenes that are intended to create sympathy just feel rushed, and it felt like a weak way of manipulating me into caring, rather than actually showing or emphasizing the characters of the movie. This may be a minor spoiler, but in general I don't think it's a good idea for a lot of the emotional weight of a movie to depend on a child; it's simply too difficult to get an actor good enough to carry that burden. In particular, I remember in multiple scenes of the movie, which were intended to display the child's emotional instability, laughter erupted in the theater because the kid's expressions were just so exaggerated. And while we are on the topic of tone, there was almost TOO much comedic relief in the movie. It got to the point where it detracted from what was actually going on.

Again, there really wasn't any part of the movie that I didn't enjoy, but the first half was incredible while the second half, intended to be the real climax of the film, was just plain good, and that just gives me a feeling that a lot of potential was wasted.