I try not to think about Looper a lot. Coming from Rian Johnson, the director of the Brick and The Brothers Bloom, the anticipation for his third feature is killing me. And it is almost an entire year away from hitting theaters. But distributor FilmDistrict (who picked it up at Cannes this year) decided to go ahead and test-screen it in Los Angeles last night, heightening the anticipation even further.
The sci-fi/time travel film stars Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon-Levitt (as an younger version of Willis’ character), Emily Blunt, Paul Dano, Jeff Daniels, Garret Dillahunt and Piper Perabo. The high-concept story follows “hitmen whose victims are sent back in time from the future to be executed. The Loopers bump them off in the present, so there is no trace of a crime in the future.” Sound somewhat confusing? Judging from these first impressions, it looks like Johnson nailed it.
Although the test-screening participants had to sign an NDA, it looks like some film journalists were able to post full impressions. The most in-depth write-up comes from Devin Faraci below, who provides a clear opinion without dipping into spoilers. I’ve included snippets of Faraci’s opinion below, but be sure to head over to the site to get a better rundown, especially details on the tricky performance from Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis.
Devin Faraci of Badass Digest:
Looper represents a major leap for Johnson, a huge step forward in style and scope. It’s smart and funny and thrilling, the kind of science fiction movie that wildly entertains while never shortchanging characters or ideas. Johnson tackles time travel with confidence; at first the rules are waved away, but eventually the ways that time travel works begins to become clear to us. The rules have to work, because Looper is tight as a drum, and any hiccup in how things work would send the story careening.
Devin’s take on the time travel aspects:
It’s all show, very little tell. There are not a lot of scenes of people sitting around discussing the mechanics of time travel; instead there are lots of scenes where we see time travel in action. Johnson plays with concepts we’re familiar with, putting his own spin on them. Looper echoes Back to the Future and Terminator, among other time travel classics.
Devin’s take on the world-building:
Looper is set in a strongly sketched future world that’s just about two weeks from today. It’s a film dotted with small details that feel thoroughly thought out, reminding me of what Duncan Jones did with Moon. The future world is intriguing, but it isn’t the heart of what Johnson’s doing here. Looper is a movie about confronting the person you used to be – in this case quite literally. It’s about the idea that the you of today may not be the same person as the you of yesterday, thanks to years’ worth of accumulated experiences.
Devin’s take on Johnson’s first action film:
Bigger than Johnson’s last two films, Looper has one thing in common with them – like Brick and Brothers Bloom it’s a film that plays in a genre, but never at the expense of characters. This is an action film, and Johnson proves that not only does he have excellent action chops, he has interesting ideas on how to shoot his action so that it doesn’t look like every other action scene you’ve ever seen. Looper proves that Johnson is ready to move into the big, expensive movie game, and that he has the kind of instincts that might allow him to make a big, expensive movie that’s actually good.
Jeremy Smith at AICN:
LOOPER is an intricately structured story enlivened by Johnson’s trademark wit and wounded romanticism. It’s an invigorating, thrilling, ceaselessly inventive film, a miracle in an era of by-committee studio filmmaking. And while it’s still months from being finished, barring any postproduction monkey business, it’s already a great movie. I can’t wait to discuss it in greater detail.
Drew McWeeney of HitFix:
This is thrilling cinema, though, and Johnson displays a real knack for building set pieces in this movie, something he hasn’t done before. There are so many great moments, some that pay off with a perfectly-timed punchline from a character or that lay out a series of great visual gags. It’s a fun film, and several of the big moments were greeted by applause from the audience. There is an audacious element to the film. It sets up this big idea right up front, then a lot of other ideas, and then it starts to really tie them all together, and watching things fall into place, there’s an excitement. It feels like you’re watching someone attempt this stunt, and the closer they get to actually pulling it off, the more invested you get. Johnson’s movie is incredibly ambitious, and it’s a testament to the world he’s created that my first question at the end of the film is “Are we going to see the story of [REDACTED] next? Because now I want to know.” I’m convinced by this thing he’s built, and I want more of it. I like the rules of his world, and I like the way he plays with those rules, the way he plays both to and against expectation, depending on the scene.
@gemko:
Apparently it’s now ok to reveal that I’ve seen @rcjohnso’s LOOPER and it’s damn good. Takes a brilliant premise & thrillingly subverts it. (Rian’s a friend so apply salt as needed. But the test-screening reviews—of a cut two months further along than what I saw—seem to concur.) I should note that “damn good” is an extremely qualified assessment of a film that was a long long way from finished. My love may grow… It begins with a terrific, unique idea and then doesn’t go at all where you’d expect with it. Esp. w/r/t Bruce Willis.
I was at this screening too and loved every second of it. Absolutely brilliant film.
Just got to screen #Looper starring @JosephGordonLevitt. The movie totally kicked ass, a great Sci-Fi with a solid story. Gonna see it again
just went to the screening of the movie LOOPER. Amazing film!
I saw Looper a couple months ago and my feelings were, for the most part, similar to yours [Devin’s]. I especially loved the way the sci-fi world of the 2040s looked and felt. For the most part, that felt wholly unique and exciting. However, I did have a problem with the reveal(s) that you are holding back on. When this stuff comes to the forefront, it feels like we are suddenly in a different movie. The earlier sci-fi/time travel movie is great. But then it becomes something wholly different that I didn’t exactly love. It brought my overall grade of the film down a notch.
Looper hits theaters September 28th, 2012 and along with Alfonso Cuarón‘s Gravity and Ridley Scott‘s Prometheus, it is looking to be one strong year for original sci-fi.