Rian Jonhson's Looper (2012)

Director Rian Johnson puts a new and interesting spin on the time travel genre in his new film "Looper". A story about a young mob killer named Joe, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt , who has to hunt his older self from the future, played by Bruce Willis. The future Joe comes back in time to try and save his wife, which he believes he can accomplish by eliminating a future mob boss before time travel is invented. This theme loosely echoes the plot of "The Terminator" movies. In the hunt for his target, Joe realizes that he cannot save himself by bringing his future self to the mob. He also learns what his future self is planning and decides to protect the person he is after, and in doing so, he breaks the cycle of violence.

Johnson contradicts the time travel action genre by not having the main characters change. A typical time travel action film has a character that faces a conflict, attempts to rectify it, and ultimately learns he must change to break his cycle. But in "Looper", the future Joe continues to solve things through violence even as he tries to save his wife. Although he mentions being saved and "cleaned up" by his wife, his actions in the film's present prove that he has not changed, and that violence will be perpetuated due to his actions.

Another way Johnson contradicts the time travel genre is by making the film fairly linear. At one point in the film, the younger Joe kills his older self. Immediately after, Johnson chose to show how the young Joe becomes the future Joe and made him go back in time. This causes the audience to view the two Joes in a slightly different light. One has killed his future self, and the other has not. And this may be the reason why the younger Joe decides to end the cycle at the end.

In order to convince the audience that Joseph Gordon-Levitt's and Bruce Willis' characters are the same, Joseph had to have make-up applied to him before every shoot. He also drew inspiration from Bruce Willis' previous films such as "Die Hard" which can best be seen during Joe's conversation with one of the mob leaders Abe. Another reference to "Die Hard" occurs when the future Joe robs a convenience store and he asks the clerk for some Aspirin, which John McClane always asked for.

Rian Johnson makes reference to past film with the character "Kid Blue", which mimics a character from the 1973 movie of the same name, starring Dennis Hopper. The name of the bar that Joe and his looper friends visit every night is "La Belle Aurore" which is a reference to "Casablanca". Lastly, the use of "Gat Men" as the nickname for the loopers is a reference to the Thompson guns which mobsters used through American history.

Whether you are looking for an entertaining thriller action film, or thought provoking storytelling, "Looper" has them both. This film is a new take on the time traveler genre and is worth watching.