Looper Review

I saw Looper at a midnight showing last night, and I was not disappointed....the movie is as good as the hype that surrounded the movie. One of Bruce Willis' best movies in awhile and Joseph Gordon-Levitt's best movie period. Jeff Daniels and Emily Blunt are outstanding in supporting roles Paul Dano gets to play the sidekick to Gordon-Levitt and you know what usually happens to sidekicks. Despite all of these awesome performances ...at the end of the day....child actor Pierce Gagnon steals the film as his performance in the movie has the most lasting impact.
A great mix of action, time-travel and humor...check it out and you will not be disappointed.

Just watched it. Boderline astounding with the exception of a slightly dodgy ending. Loved it. Wanted to love it and I did. Rian's on a mission. I don't want to say too much about the film, but it's one of the most inventive time travel films ever made. Highly original and a much more mature piece than the great Brick and underwhelming Brothers Bloom.

4 and a half stars, a must see.

This is a strange one. Since coming out of the cinema I have been trying to decide what I think of this movie, whether or not I thought it was epic, or a let down after all the hype? And I think I have answered my own question, I am still tihnking about the movie long after I have seen it. There are parts of the movie that going over and over in my mind, and any movie that does that to you is a great movie in my opinion, and not only that but it has done its job.


I don't want to go into details about the plot because I don't want to spoil it. I will just give you a bit of background information. The year is 2044 and time travewl hasn't been invented yet, but it will be in 30 years time. People from the future send people back to 2044 to be killed and there bodies destroyed, so they don't have to be killed in the future.


The plot is really intriguning and the time travel stuff is fascinating, but doesn't go into as much detail as to blow your mind. The setting for 2044 is very apt, it is not over the top, but alot like todays world, except for the hover bikes, which I wasn't really digging. I couldn't believe how quickly this movie went over, I completely lost track of time and was surprised when it ended, which is always a good sign that you enjoyed the movie and were drawn into it.


All the actors involved in this movie done a fine job, Bruce Willis was great in his role, I would say the best he has been since the 80's, he was so convincing in the role he played, he is a master of his craft, and shows that after all these years he still has it. Joseph Gordon-Levitt was also great, I would say this may even be a career best, and a easily a stand out performance for him. I think this movie, along with his appearance in the Dark Knight Rises will push him towards the Hollywood A-list and he deserves it for his part in this movie.


I didn't recognise Paul Dano when he first appeared, and looked alot different, but he was convincing enough for me not to notice him for some time, and Emily Blunt was fantastic, she is a great actor and this movie was no exception.


The star of the show though has to be Pierce Gagnon, who may only be a child but easily took all the limelight from the long list of celebrities involoved with his mature performance that made him look alot wiser than his years. This performance was expectional for a child actor of his age.


Overall the movie was brilliant. I wouldn't rush back to the cinema once I had seen it once, but it is definately worth seeing, it is one of those movies best enjoyed at a cinema, to appreciate its greatness. You won't be disappointed and you will be gripped to your chair from start to finish.

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Overall, I liked it.

The acting was great, even if Bruce Willis is a tad underused and I really like the prosthetic look of JoGo. I really do love time travel films and this one was inventive, tried something new and felt like it was actually trying to tell a story rather than dazzle us with the sci/fi elements.

So what's my problem? The entire third act.

Without going into too much detail, I felt that the secondary plotline was a little out of place and takes over the entire film at the crucial moment. Half way through I thought to myself . I don't really know what could have been done to change the third act because it seems crucial to the storyline...but out of place at the same time. It's an odd feeling.

I felt that the action sequences were a little lacklustre as well, stylistically and poor editing. Not enough to take me out of the world created or my enjoyment of it.

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Suspect's Reviews

I loved it , but I was a little upset over the ending too.

The big shootout with Bruce Willis was the most badass thing I've seen in a long while.

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Just saw it tonight and was not disappointed. So refreshing to have a feel of a big box office studio film with all the originality and freedom of an indie flick. It's like a splash of cold water to the face. Keeps you guessing the whole way.

Fantastic acting all around. My man crush on JGL grows with every movie. (I really hope he gets a golden statue one day, not that he cares) Also can't wait to see what Rian Johnson's next project is. Few nitpicks here and there, gets a little slow at one point but I can forgive that because the rest was awesome.

Not getting the few people who had a problem with the ending however. I think I literally said out loud "wow" when the ending occurred. Now if you are talking about the last shot of the film then yes that was a meh (and I might I say a tad bit awkward, at least to me and my theater it felt that way).

But I'd highly recommend it 8.5/10

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I came here to do two things, drink some beer and kick some ass, looks like we are almost outta beer - Dazed and Confused

101 Favorite Movies (2019)

Well my opinion seems to go along with the majority here. A very good film which falls short of truly great as a result of the film's final third. And for me the whole telekinetic thing didn't really work. That said still very enjoyable and well made for the most part, and a film which will hopefully improve on a repeat viewing. 4 out of 5

For those interested Rian Johnson has given an interview addressing some of the questions viewers have raised




And now the time has come for the shameless plug! For more of my thougts see my full review here - JayDee's Looper review

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I saw this movie yesterday and loved it! Good action and interesting story line i thought!
Watch it! Watch it! Watch it!

I saw Looper this evening and I was disappointed. I had high expectations thanks to reviews I'd seen, but they just weren't met. There's a few good ideas here which aren't really followed up, a lot of potential left unrealised.

I just didn't enjoy this film at all, it's relentlessly unpleasant, more plot holes than a sieve, unsympathetic characters.

Full review (contains spoilers) here on my review thread

Was that the scene with the P90's?

My reactions varied for that scene...

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Here's my Review of Looper



2044: a vagrant world where time travel hasn’t been invented, but will be thirty years from that present time, and will be outlawed immediately. The mob decides to dispose of bodies using time travel. They send their victims back in time to be killed by loopers: assassins who get paid for killing these criminals. If a contract of a looper is to end, his future self is sent back in time to be killed by his younger self, therefore “closing the loop.” Failure to do this could disrupt the flow of time and is punishable by death.

This is a premise as original as it sounds, and Looper does a tremendous job of making this world where time travel exists possible. Through excellent writing, a powerhouse cast, and solid direction from Rian Johnson, this is a fantastic low-key sci-fi flick that no fan of the genre should miss.

The story follows Joe Simmons (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), a looper working for a crime boss in the year 2044, a world filled with economic and social decay reminiscent of Children Like Men. All he knows is killing for a Kansas mob run by Abe (Jeff Daniels), a crime boss from the future sent back to manage loopers. I thought this would lead to all sorts of confusion, but the way this situation is presented embraces all time-travel paradoxes in an intelligent manner. The actors here do a terrific job as well.

On one of his daily kills, he notices that one of his contracts looks familiar. He soon recognizes it as his future self, played by Bruce Willis, and inadvertently lets him escape, thus sending a manhunt after him for disrupting the flow of time.

Now, Willis is an action star through and through, never straying too far from the typecast no matter his role. However, here he shows a deeper human side than all his past efforts. As a man torn between his life and his job, Gordon-Levitt and Willis both manage to play the same character in such a way that both play off each other excellently. Willis deserves a special nod for delivering a subtle, yet masterful performance, even though his screen time barely goes over twenty-five minutes.

The rest of the cast scores points as well. Emily Blunt, Paul Dano, Noah Segan, and child actor Pierce Gagnon all deliver solid performances throughout the film, as each of their personalities adds to the decaying settings around them.

The sequence of events in Looper is well-paced, never being too heavy-handed with the action while giving the more dramatic talking scenes incredible weight within the story, which is where the superior writing comes into play. The writers seemed to know all the time travel paradoxes, and instead of trying to make sense of them they embraced them with the grace, wit, and humor of a Tarantino screenplay. I just about lost track of time watching the film, which runs just under two hours.

Excellent camerawork and a blistering score all add to the drama of Looper, which only hits notes where it needs to, and that can be considered a weakness in a way. A low-key film, it never strays too far into the ethical debate of time-travel. While it makes for an excellent and tight-knit story, it does leave the audience to try and answer some of the questions, few as they may be, the film does eventually leave behind. Even the ending, satisfying as it is, left me with a few questions that I’m still figuring out.

In all, Looper is by far one of the best films of the year. Combine an intelligent premise, a cliché that embraces its absurd nature, and a powerful combination of skilled acting and great direction, and you have a terrific film that is a must-see for any moviegoer.

Perhaps I should give this movie a try, I wasn't really sold by the trailer. But it seems like a lot of people enjoy it, so maybe there is some charm to it.

Hopefully I can find a theater that is still playing it.

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Here are my comments:


This sci-fi action movie takes us to the year 2044, when a looper is someone who works for the mob and kills people who are sent back in time from the future by their bosses. Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is a looper that one day recognizes his future self on the victim and hesitates. As a result, the older Joe (Bruce Willis) escapes.

The future is portrayed as dark and decadent. A lot of killings, blood and gunshots take place. There aren't many funny moments – I think I laughed three times throughout the movie. The story is interesting, though, and it gets more meaningful as it goes on. Plus, the chemistry between older Joe and younger Joe is fun - like brothers, but without the brotherly love and with conflicted interests.

Bruce Willis, as always, has a robust, solid presence. Even though he is an established actor with so much experience in action movies, you never feel that he is there just to coast along and repeat his older performances. You can see that Joseph Gordon-Levitt picked up Bruce's mannerisms, but he also brought his own nuances, portraying the successful, yet kind of desperate, assassin. His performance did not remind me any of his older ones I have seen. Emily Blunt surprised me, too. She came a long way from the uptight, british, fashion-oriented young woman in "The devil wears Prada", to a real badass american farmer in this movie - and she is very convincing. The difference is so big that when she appeared for the first time, that was the third funny moment for me. The little kid, Pierce Gagnon (who the trailer doesn't show, but plays an important role) was at least impressive.

I liked that movie not only because of the good acting, but also because its point is not time travel or the chasing. There are impressive special effects, but it's more about the people involved in the story and how they deal with the situations that occur to them, which happen to be extraordinary.

(Spoiler alert) As for the end of the movie, it feels right for this kind of film: bitter, yet hopeful, contrasting the darkness of the 2044 world in the beginning.(/Spoiler alert)

Favorite line: "This time travel crap, just fries your brain like a egg..."



For more movies, check out the link below.

I saw this film a couple weeks ago and really enjoyed it. The acting all around was excellent, as was the future tell-tale story, grimm and somber. The characters and story development kept my attention and I thought about the film long after watching it; particularly that this is a psycholigical drama wrapped in a thriller/sci-fi label. I might see how some may be a little let down, but not entirely.


P.S. I don't believe this has as of yet been mentioned, but the eye-color of Gordon-Levitt was the most striking make-up effect for me, it gave him an attractive baby-face look that was somehow still gritty considering his future Bruce Willis self.

Couldn't quickly find any recent threads on sci-fi in general, thought I'd throw in my two cents about something. This is turning out to be a fine year for people who dig sci-fi. Maybe not so much box-office wise necessarily. But a real big year for sci-fi none-the-less, a little like 2003 was for horror atleast as far as good films in the genre.

Ones I've seen and liked are:

Prometheus
Looper
Cloud Atlas
even MIB3

I was at the cinema yesterday and I must say that I liked this movie. First of all, I enjoy the idea for the film. Although there is theme of time travel, but it’s not the dominant point of the movie. A lot of attention was devoted to the characters what makes they are convincing and you care about them. Instead of constantly action we’ve the engrossing plot which causes that you don’t pay your attention to illogicalities, at least not so much. The limited budget is visible but it’s of secondary importance. Of course I have a couple of reservations but they’re not so important in order to talk about them. I don’t consider the film perfect or masterpiece but it’s good enough that I’m not afraid to say that is the one of the best agent of its genre I’ve seen for a long time.

Enjoyed it very much, but shouldn't the universe have exploded the minute Bruce Willis threw that first punch?

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Not something spectacular or deep but it was very entertaining and fun.It's one of those films which I like to call "quality entertainment".

Finally, after many fits and stops and starts and a number of implausible situations regarding the postal system, I'm seeing Looper tonight.

1. the trailer didn't spoil 78% of the movie
2. Gordon-Levitt and Willis are perfect for their roles
3. The end was great

Overall, I'd give it an 8.8 out of 10

Will