'LOOPER'

'LOOPER' (R) (3 1/2 STARS)

Written and Directed by Rian Johnson
Actors: Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, Jeff Daniels, Paul Dano.

In my opinion science fiction movies have to have that little extra imagination and something more than just technical skills. It is not my favorite genre because most sci films come off as cheesy and too complicated for their own good. My three favorite sci fi movies have either a story that makes you think well after the movie is over or a beauty and imagination that bursts on to the screen. My two favorite thinkers are "2001" and "Twelve Monkeys". The last one is one of the most beautiful looking movies ever made and a story that is up to par with any film noir movie, "Blade Runner". I walked into the new movie "Looper" expecting an illogical story with a lot of dumb action. I walked out finding a movie with great heart, humor and amazing imagination.

It is also another smart choice by my favorite actor right now Joseph Gordon-Levitt who gives another amazing and quietly effective performance. Gordon-Levitt has now crossed that threshold of being someone that guarantees at least an interesting movie each time out. "Looper" has a plot I do not want to spoil so I will give a brief synopsis. Gordon-Levitt plays Joe who is a hired killer of sorts called a Looper. Loopers are given men to kill that are sent from thirty years in the future and whose time is up. Joe and other Loopers are given orders by a mob boss played by Jeff Daniels in another perfect, scene stealing performance. Joe finds out that he has to kill his future self and after that plot revelation "Looper" becomes something special.

The movie is always full of ideals and it's plot is highly original and that is something for a sci fi movie. Joe will get involved later with a mother and her son and this plot surprised me because of it's freshness. It is made more special by the performance of Emily Blunt as the mother. It is another solid performance by her and her character and relationship with her son is powerful due to the great writing by Rian Johnson. Until then I was into the story but kind of getting restless especially during some painfully dull stretches in the some of the beginning moments. When the movie switches to Bruce Willis's confrontation with Gordon-Levitt in a diner and the story of Joe and this mother and son the movie starts being special.

The movie surprisingly becomes emotional which I did not expect at all. Most science fiction movies leave us cold but "Looper" makes us care about the characters. It does not just rattle off sci fi mumbo jumbo but gives us great imagination, ideals and people we want to follow and care about. One of the characters has a line that summarizes why I really like this movie. He tells us that he doesn't care about time travel and if he started talking about it the conversation would last 20 minutes. "Looper" knows that a great movie needs more heart and less exposition and phony, over-the-top jargon.

I really love Joseph Gordon-Levitt for he makes every performance less about him and more in service to the story. He doesn't call attention to himself, he just quietly conveys a decent nature and a natural likeability. "Looper" is one of the most highly original movies in quite awhile. People are comparing it to "Inception" but there is no comparison. "Inception" is about dreams and "Looper" is about time travel and so much more, you can't compare the quality of both. It did make me think and even though it could have been a masterpiece like "Twelve Monkeys" it still has great ideals and a story and characters you will care about. Rian Johnson should be commended for writing a movie with great imagination, ideals and heart.

P.S. I had to see "Looper" twice and I think it requires two viewings because I had to make sure I comprehended the plot correctly. It stood up on the second viewing and I loved watching the masterful second half of the movie along with the beautifully modulated performances by Gordon-Levitt and Blunt again.