Weekly rewind: October 4
BY MICHAEL SMITH World Scene Writer
Thursday, October 04, 2012
10/04/12 at 4:27 AM
For expanded review, visit tulsaworld.com/movies.
"Looper"
Rating: 
(on a scale of zero to four stars)
Blending a cerebral science-fiction narrative with gunplay, time-travel bells and whistles, and the world-weariness of a detective novel, "Looper" is a nifty piece of art and action that takes us back in time a bit.
I can't help but think that Arnold Schwarzenegger might have starred in this movie 20-something years ago for a director like James Cameron or Paul Verhoeven, who built their careers with "The Terminator" and "Total Recall," respectively.
There's more than a little of the former in "Looper," with its tale of relentless assassins, as well as the latter and its tale of identity. And yet this slow-burning tale is in most senses an original (and yet some will think it reminds them of "Blade Runner," too, but this is no imitation).
It is 2042, and the important story concept to know is that time-travel has been invented by this year, but it's illegal.
So who runs it? Sure, it's the mob, and when they have a guy in the future that they want to rub out, they send the mug from 2072 back to 2042, where a gunman - a looper - is waiting, gun in hand, to blow away an anonymous victim.
Joe Simmons (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is as good a looper as the syndicate employs, but unlike many of his adrenaline-junkie colleagues, he knows there's something more to be gotten out of life than whacking people, and he's making plans for the future.
One big problem: The mob doesn't like loose ends, and loopers are loose ends.
So someday they send back your future self (Bruce Willis, in this case) and you "complete your loop" by blowing him away. Don't carry out the job - which young Joe has a problem with when the time comes - and there's a problem in the form of a small army sent out in the streets to complete your loop for you.
On its face, "Looper" is a brainy, cool sci-fi thriller concept. We could only wish that more movies this smart get made.
Now showing
| Movie | Rating (on 4 scale) |
| Finding Nemo 3-D | |
| Looper | |
| The Master | |
| End of Watch | |
| Arbitrage | |
| The Dark Knight Rises | |
| Killer Joe | |
| Lawless | |
| The Expendables 2 | |
| Sparkle | |
| Hope Springs | |
| Pitch Perfect | |
| Robot & Frank | |
| Trouble With the Curve | |
| The Bourne Legacy | |
| ParaNorman | |
| The Campaign | |
| Ted | |
| The Words | |
| Hotel Transylvania | |
| Total Recall | |
Associated Images:
Joseph Gordon-Levitt (left) and Bruce Willis play younger and older versions of Joe Simmons in "Looper," an action film for the serious-minded. COURTESY / Tristar Pictures
|
