September 30, 2012 by Vinnie Leduc
While last week’s surprisingly fun Dredd was flashier and more satisfying in the sci-fi visual effects and action violence departments, Looper‘s timeline-tweaking storytelling is definitely the primary draw, and this strength demands multiple viewings. Johnson’s cerebral trip is a ride I definitely plan to take again, despite the film poking some tongue-in-cheek fun at itself by suggesting not to get your brains too fried trying to follow all the ripples stemming from screwing with the space-time continuum
So don’t worry about overloading your gray matter till you’re bleeding out of all your head holes (but you can dive into deep deep discussion and debate if you want to), but on the other hand, don’t worry about not getting enough R-rated action (as if Dredd wasn’t enough) because not only does Looper have its share of violence, but it also includes one of the most unforgettable and spine-tingling sequences of the year.
Once you get past the weirdness of his prosthetic Willis-ish nose and blue contacts, you’ll see that Joseph Gordon-Levitt, fresh off The Dark Knight Rises (I didn’t catch Premium Rush… wait, who did?), delivers another great performance in the spotlight that he shares with Bruce Willis. The I-am-you-and-you-are-me pair is excellently complemented by Emily Blunt (further expanding her repertoire), Jeff Daniels (also adding to his extensive range), and Paul Dano (doing what he does best).
I was a little disappointed that my mind wasn’t ultimately blown or anything, especially with…