Looper is a movie that I've been waiting to check out since....well since I first heard about it going into pre-production. Time Travel. Check. Bruce Willis. Check. Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Check. What's not to love about that combination? As always, I stayed away from any and all spoilers. A movie like this is definitely something I want to go into not know anything about it. So, you can imagine how surprised and maybe how I was caught off guard somewhat when it switches gears a bit and they suddenly turn the premise on themselves....literally.

I like the idea of a young and an old looper who are one and the same at odds with their counterpart, each one fighting for what they think is right. What I didn't see coming was that this is basically a "if you can travel back in time, would you kill Adolph Hitler when he is a kid, knowing what the future will hold if he lives"? It's a very unique concept of time travel and one that has been debated by everyone that is in fact a fan of the Time Travel genre. I originally thought this movie would be about Young Joe and Old Joe teaming up together, escaping the bad guys and saving the day at the end, each one going back to the life they had before 'sh*t hit the fan'. Boy, was I ever wrong about this.

As odd as this little kid turned out to be with his TK abilities, I thought the relationship with the boy and Young Joe Simmons (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) was the most heartfelt and sincere moment in the film. He is literally face to face with "Hitler", but he is able to bond and see the good in him and make the choice to save him at the expense of his own life.

If there is one criticism I have with Looper, it's also this chunk of time that centers around his abilities. Pretty much the entire time I thought I was watching an episode of The Twilight Zone. I wouldn't say that's a bad thing, it's just that the influence was a little too much on the nose to draw attention to itself, which points out that the movie isn't really all that original. The other thing about Looper is that I saw the self sacrifice coming once I saw Young Joe bonding with the kid. So, there was no surprise for me at the end.

Overall, this is a decent Time Travel flick. Not the best, but it does offer you a different take on a time-worn genre. Definitely worth a Rent.

The first episode of Smoviemakers I listened to was Kevin Smith gushing over this movie to Rian Johnson.  Kev claimed the movie made him love Bruce Willis again, which is pretty high praise.

Did the kid with abilities on the farm remind ANYONE else of Superman?

I'm one of the guys who just sees influences now, Bruce's mission is basically like the Terminator, going back to kill someone, the body parts disappearing was a more gruesome Back To The Future, and the messages in the flesh was right out of the Red Dwarf novel "Better Than Life."  I didn't catch the Domu bit though since I never read that book.

Yeah, totally agree. Ya know, I've yet to find a movie about Time Travel that wasn't 100% 'plot hole free'.

Never heard of either one till just now.