Movie Review – Looper (2012)

Movies involving the concept of time travel are always interesting.

From the ability to jump back and forth through time like in Back to the Future and Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure, or one-way trips backwards through time like in The Terminator or Looper, time travel movies can be great tales of science fiction.  Of course, many time travel movies also require a mandatory discussion about whether or not the events in the movie could occur with respect to the time line and changes made during the past.

That’s where Looper comes into play.  Looper is a story in the near future involving executioners in the mafia and the killing of people sent back in time from the future.  Things seem well until a target from the future survives the execution and tries to change the future.

Looper stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Joseph Simmons, a 25-year-old executioner for the mafia.  Bruce Willis plays Old Joe, Joe’s future self sent back in time from thirty years in the future.  Jeff Daniels plays the role of Abe, a man from the future and Joe’s boss in the mafia.  Rounding out the cast are Emily Blunt, Noah Segan and Piper Perabo.

Looper (2012) – (c) TriStar Pictures / Alliance Films

Set in the year 2044, Joseph Simmons (Joesph Gordon-Levitt) works as a special executioner (known as a “looper”) for a mafia in Kansas City.  His job is simple:  executing targets as soon as they appear in a designated area.  The targets are always bound and blindfolded, and he knows exactly when they’ll appear in his target area.  All that Joe has to do is shoot the target, dispose of the body, and then collect the pieces of silver as payment.

It’s explained that time travel is invented about twenty years from that point in time, but as soon as it’s invented time travel is outlawed.  As a result only the outlaws use time travel.  Supposedly it’s very hard to dispose of bodies in the future, so the mafia sends the targets back in time to be executed and disposed of.  A payment is sent with each target to ensure that the target is killed.

At some point the looper will ultimately kill the future version of themselves and receive payment in gold.  The execution is known as “closing the loop” and it frees the looper of their duty in the mafia.  They can then run around and spend the money and live for the next thirty years.  But in thirty years time, the mafia is going to capture them and send them back in time to be executed.

As we see, Joe is a skilled killer and collects a small fortune in silver bars.  Seth (Paul Dano) is a fellow looper and friend of Joe.  Seth likes to show off his telekinetic ability, something that one in ten people can do in the future.  The two of them cruise the city’s streets and visit the showgirls.  One of the showgirls, Suzie (Piper Perabo), is involved in a relationship with Joe.

Looper (2012) – (c) TriStar Pictures / Alliance Films

One night Seth suddenly shows up at Joe’s apartment.  He’s begging Joe to hide him as the mafia is hunting him right now.  Seth explains that his future self was sent back as a target, and he couldn’t pull the trigger.  His future self escaped and now the mafia is hunting both of them.  Joe agrees and hides Seth in a hidden compartment in his floor.  A group of men from the mafia arrive led by Kid Blue (Noah Segan), and Joe is taken to headquarters for interrogation.

Looper (2012) – (c) TriStar Pictures / Alliance Films

At the headquarters, Joe meets with Abe (Jeff Daniels), a man sent back from the future to run the mafia and control the loopers.  Instead of using violence Abe makes Joe an offer:  give up half the silver he’s been collecting as a looper, or give up Seth.  Joe reluctantly gives Abe the location of Seth.

The young version of Seth is quickly captured by the mafia while the older version is still on the run.  By capturing the younger version the mafia is able to control the older version.  They don’t outright kill the young version of Seth.  They torture him.  We watch the older version of Seth discover new markings on his body telling him where to go.  To emphasise the point, the older Seth’s fingers and feet begin to disappear and his face is slowly melted away.  By the time the mangled version of the older Seth arrives at the meeting place he’s practically begging for a bullet to end his miserable condition.

Looper (2012) – (c) TriStar Pictures / Alliance Films

Joe continues killing targets until a different target appears.  This target is not blindfolded, nor are his hands bound together.  The target looks up and Joe realizes that it’s the future version of himself.  Young Joe tries to fire his weapon but Old Joe (Bruce Willis) is too quick.  He dodges the shot and knocks out Young Joe.  Old Joe escapes as Young Joe lies there unconscious.

Looper (2012) – (c) TriStar Pictures / Alliance Films

As Young Joe sleeps we see clips of the future of what should have happened.  We see Young Joe execute Old Joe and then collect the gold as his payment for closing the loop.  Joe then travels the world and sinks deeper into his drug habit.  Once his money is gone, Joe is forced to return to crime to support his lifestyle.  While in Shanghai, Joe meets a woman (Xu Qing) who saves his life.  The two of them fall in love and get married.  The mafia eventually finds Joe and captures him, but Joe’s wife is killed in the process.  Joe is taken to the headquarters where he kills the mafia men and sends himself back in time to stop the future events from occurring.

Looper (2012) – (c) TriStar Pictures / Alliance Films

Young Joe awakens and is more determined than ever to kill Old Joe before the mafia catches both of them.  He burns a message into his arm telling Old Joe where to meet.  The meeting location is the diner on the edge of a farm that Joe frequents.

In the diner, Old Joe explains what happened to his wife and how he managed to send himself back in time.  He tells Young Joe about the Rainmaker, an unknown leader of the mafia who masterminded the time travel assassinations.  Old Joe traveled back in time to kill the Rainmaker and save his future wife from being killed.  He doesn’t know much about the Rainmaker except that he’s a child right now in this county, and he’s narrowed it down to one of three homes.  Young Joe doesn’t seem fazed about Old Joe’s story and still wants to kill his older self, ending his deal with the mafia.

Looper (2012) – (c) TriStar Pictures / Alliance Films

As Young Joe is about to kill Old Joe, Kid Blue and mafia men storm into the diner.  Young Joe tears off a part of Old Joe’s map, and Old Joe shoots his way out of the diner.  Both versions of Joe escape from Kid Blue.  One version flees into the city while the other loses the men in the corn field.

Looper (2012) – (c) TriStar Pictures / Alliance Films

Young Joe follows the coordinates on the map to an isolated farm house owned by a woman named Sara (Emily Blunt) and her five-year-old son, Cid.  Sara is an overprotective parent who shoots first and asks questions second when it comes to protecting herself and her son.  She initially scares Joe away and he stays in the field, hiding and staying out of Sara’s sight.  One night a man approaches and he thinks that Sara is about to be attacked, so Young Joe runs out and protects her.  The man turns out to be a harmless drifter, but Sara is impressed by Joe’s actions.  She takes care of Joe as he’s currently dealing with severe drug withdraw symptoms.

Looper (2012) – (c) TriStar Pictures / Alliance Films

The next morning Young Joe is feeling better.  Sara still doesn’t trust him and tells him to leave her property by the end of the day.  Joe tries to tell her why he’s there and he shows Sara the map and set of unknown numbers on it.  Sara is horrified at the numbers.  The digits are Cid’s birthday along with the code from the hospital where he was born.  Sara shoots Joe with a blast of rock salt, knocking him across the room.

In town, Old Joe discovers the scars on his chest and has memory of the shooting.  He’s outside one of the homes that he narrowed down to being the Rainmaker’s house.  Outside the house is a little boy who matches the Rainmaker’s possible description.  Since three boys were all born in the same hospital on the same date, Old Joe decides to kill all three of them systematically to ensure that he kills the Rainmaker.  We see him take aim and then fire at the young boy.

Looper (2012) – (c) TriStar Pictures / Alliance Films

Back at the farmhouse, Sara changes her mind about Young Joe and allows him to stay there as a protector.  Joe slowly befriends Cid despite Sara specifically telling him to stay away from the boy.  We see that Cid is an electronic genius and very intelligent for somebody his age.  Sara later tells Joe that a few years ago it was really her sister who raised her son, and Cid doesn’t think of Sara as his mother.  We later see Cid throw a fit and become enraged, yelling at Sara and showing off his own telekinetic powers.

In town, Old Joe arrives at the second location on his map.  He’s shocked when he realizes that the second child is really Suzie’s son.  Joe has a change of heart and doesn’t try to kill the child.

Looper (2012) – (c) TriStar Pictures / Alliance Films

One day Jesse Goldhar (Garret Dillahunt) arrives at the farm house.  He forces his way into the home and interrogates Sara about the people living there.  Young Joe hides as Jesse searches part of the house.  After stopping in the living room for a moment, Jesse resumes his search of the house for either version of Joe.  Young Joe and Cid slip out through a secret passageway and watch from a distance as Jesse finally leaves the house.

Looper (2012) – (c) TriStar Pictures / Alliance Films

Jesse secretly returns to the farm house the next morning.  Young Joe is walking down the stairs when he discovers Sara being held by Jesse at gunpoint.  He tries to talk Jesse out of it when Cid accidentally falls down the stairs.  Sara frees herself and runs with Joe out of the house as Cid unleashes his fury in a massive telekinetic blast, killing Jesse and destroying part of the farmhouse.  After witnessing the boy’s powers, Joe realizes that Cid is the boy who becomes the Rainmaker.

Across town, Old Joe changed his mind and was making an assault in Suzie’s home.  Just before he kills her son, Joe remembers what happened with Cid at the farmhouse.  Old Joe realizes that Suzie’s son is not his target.  Kid Blue was waiting for Old Joe inside of Suzie’s home and he captures him, ultimately taking him to meet Abe at their headquarters.

At the farm, Young Joe pursues Cid as the boy runs through the corn field.  He finally finds the kid but stops short of killing him.  Young Joe can’t do it.  He tells Sara to take Cid and flee from there before Old Joe arrives.

Looper (2012) – (c) TriStar Pictures / Alliance Films

Old Joe is taken to the mafia’s headquarters and held prisoner by a very enthusiastic Kid Blue.  The problem is that Kid Blue is underestimating Old Joe’s abilities.  Old Joe quickly breaks free and begins shooting all of the mafia men.  Kid Blue is shot in the leg and passes out, but everybody else is killed during Joe’s shooting rampage, including Abe and his bodyguards.

Looper (2012) – (c) TriStar Pictures / Alliance Films

Old Joe and Young Joe ultimately confront each other outside of Sara’s farm.  Young Joe still wants to kill his older self, but obviously the older version cannot kill the younger one.  Old Joe is wounded as Kid Blue suddenly arrives on his hovering motorcycle.  Young Joe is able to shoot and kill Kid Blue, but Old Joe escapes the scene.

Looper (2012) – (c) TriStar Pictures / Alliance Films

Sara and Cid are trying to escape when Old Joe blocks the road and fires at them with a pistol.  Cid is afraid of the gun and uses his telekinetic power to crash their pickup truck.  Sara and Cid then flee across an open field as Old Joe continues firing at Cid.  Sara falls and Joe shoots and hits Cid, wounding the child.  Cid becomes enraged again and prepares to let loose another telekinetic blast.  Sara is able to calm him and Cid stops the blast.

Old Joe runs forward and tries to shoot Cid again, but Sara stands in his way and blocks his line of fire.  Young Joe arrives on scene and has a haunting vision of what’s about to happen.  He sees Old Joe shooting Sara which causes Cid to ultimately become the Rainmaker.  It’s a circle, a closed loop.  Before Old Joe can pull the trigger, Young Joe shoots and kills himself.  This makes Old Joe suddenly disappear from the scene, leaving Sara with Cid.

Looper (2012) – (c) TriStar Pictures / Alliance Films

Looper ends with Sara finding Old Joe’s crashed vehicle and the stockpile of silver bars.  Sara then cares for Cid and gives him the love and care that he needs, preventing him from growing up angry and becoming the Rainmaker.

So is Looper any good?

Personally, I thought Looper was a great science-fiction and mafia movie.

The mafia executions are great throughout the first part of the film.  We see Young Joe as a hardened killer as he kills one target after another.  Yeah, it would be pretty easy to shoot and kill a bound and blindfolded target while using a modified blunderbuss (basically a shotgun), but you still need to be pretty cold-blooded to execute people in that manner.  There’s certainly a good amount of violence and bloodshed in this film.

The one-way time travel in Looper is what drives the main part of the plot, especially when you talk about time lines and changing events in the future.  But that’s also where you can create a paradox if the events are not handled properly.

In the movie we have Old Joe who takes it upon himself to travel back in time to prevent the death of his wife in 2074.  He decides that the best way to save her is by eliminating the person responsible for the time travel assassinations.  Somebody only known as the Rainmaker.

Let’s go with the theory that Cid really was the younger version of the Rainmaker.  He was an angry child, he was a genius, and he also had very strong telekinetic powers capable of killing people.  It’s still possible that the Rainmaker was really Suzie’s child, but we weren’t given any real information about her kid.  All we really know about her kid is that he was born the same day in the same hospital as Cid.

Do the events in Looper just create a big paradox?

On a similar note, could you really travel back in time and kill yourself?

Young Joe killing himself stops him from growing old, falling in love, and then using his rage to travel back in time to kill the child who is ultimately responsible for the time travel assassinations.  But if he never grows old and follows that path, then he wouldn’t travel back to 2044 and create that mess.  If he doesn’t travel back in time, then Young Joe would continue executing for the mafia and ultimately go to Shanghai, fall in love, and then become enraged when his wife is killed in 2074.

The ability for Old Joe to still exist despite his younger self committing suicide opens the door to the theory of shifting / alternate time lines like in Back to the Future, Part 2.

It’s possible that once Young Joe pulls the trigger and kills himself, the universe shifts to an alternate time line where it’s possible for Cid to grow up and live a normal life, a life that does not involve time travel assassinations.

You can spend hours discussing alternate theories about Looper, if Cid really was the Rainmaker, if Young Joe shooting himself in the arm at the end would have worked, and whether Young Joe’s suicide really stopped the future from occurring that way.  When you factor in the lack of information about ALL the characters (Was Suzie’s kid really the Rainmaker?  Is Abe really Cid from the future?), the possibilities and explanations are endless.

That’s where Looper has problems, albeit minor ones.

The rest of the movie involving the mafia is great.  It’s full of plausible moments and plenty of action and bloodshed.  The overall story is pretty solid.  But it’s the time travel part that causes headaches when you try to analyze if the movie would have really worked that way or not.

Looper (2012) – movie trailer

I wish that Looper had a different ending that would explain how Old Joe is still able to travel back and cause the events in the movie.  I get it that the audience is supposed to figure some of it out by themselves (or not, it is just a movie meaning to entertain us), but there are too many possibilities to make it a worthwhile discussion.

That’s Looper‘s downfall for what would otherwise be a fantastic science-fiction film.

Old Joe – “I don’t want to talk about time travel because if we start talking about it then we’re going to be here all day talking about it, making diagrams with straws.”