looper

Looper Opens Toronto Film Festival, Scores Good Reviews

Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Paul Dano in Looper | TriStar Pictures

The Twitterverse was buzzing today with praise for director Rian Johnson’s Looper, the time-traveling, mind-bending sci-fi flick starring Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, that opened the Toronto International Film Festival.

Here’s the scoop: In the year 2042, a man working for a group of killers called “Loopers” (they work for the mob and kill people who are sent blindfolded back in time from the year 2072 by their bosses) recognizes a victim as himself. He hesitates, resulting in the escape of his older self. That would not be a decision I’d ever want to make.

Even with a fairly short list of credits on his IMDB page, Rian Johnson has a huge fanbase with movies like The Brothers Bloom and Brick. I love everything I’ve ever seen of his, partly because his films have a certain “look” and partly because he never takes the easy way out. You know you’re in for a good ride with his films.

I’m also a huge fan of both Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon-Levitt (loved him in the bike messenger thriller Premium Rush), not to mention the rest of the cast, which includes Jeff Daniels, Emily Blunt, Piper Perabo and Paul Dano. So basically, Looper is my kind of film heaven.

Looper arrives in theaters September 28, 2012. It’s rated R for strong violence, language, some sexuality/nudity and drug content.

Bruce Willis with a Really Big Gun in Looper | TriStar Pictures

Here’s a taste of the reviews so far:

[Rian Johnson’s] grandly conceived, impressively mounted third feature shows a giddy, geeky interest in science-fiction, then forces it into the back seat and lets the multidimensional characters drive. – Peter Debruge, Variety

Rian Johnson’s third and most ambitious feature keeps the action popping while sustaining interest in the long arc of a story about a man assigned to kill the 30-years-older version of himself. – Todd McCarthy, Hollywood Reporter

The coolest, most-confident sci-fi flick since 2006′s Children of Men. – Amy Nicholson, Box Office Magazine

Looper is one of the year’s most engaging sci-fi films, one that works as both a thriller and a character piece about people faced with making big life decisions (often at the business end of Blunderbuss). – Jim Vejvoda, IGN Movies

One of the best films of 2012. You’ll immediately want to see it again. – James Mottram, Total Film

A hugely ambitious and mind-blowing sci-fi twist on the gangster flick that’s likely to make it one of the coolest movies of the year. – Edward Douglas, Comingsoon.net

Comments

One response to “Looper Opens Toronto Film Festival, Scores Good Reviews”

  1. FrugalKiwi Avatar

    Love GOOD sci-fi, so I’m glad to hear this one is getting good reviews.

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