Trailer Tuesday: Looper

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Just last week over at TheMovies.co.za we were discussing our favourite science fiction movies of all time... and I realised that a hefty chunk of my picks have to do with time and/or time travel as opposed to extra-terrestrial encounters.

Count me officially excited then for hybrid crime thriller/sci-fi actioner Looper. Set less than 40 years from now, the film centres on "Looper" Joseph Simmons (Joseph Gordon-Levitt), a young man who lives the good life thanks to his job as a specialist mob hitman. In essence, the Mafia from 2077 use illegal time travel to send their enemies back to 2047 for evidence-free extermination. It's clean, quick and highly effective, as long as the victim doesn't escape... Which is exactly what happens when Joseph is faced with the task of executing his 55 year old self (Bruce Willis) - who has already lived through all this.

Woo-oah... Cue some serious brain strain!

Looper also stars Emily Blunt, Paul Dano, Jeff Daniels and Piper Perabo.


Now Looper could easily be like last year's chronology-centric sci-fi tale In Time (my review). In other words the 2012 release could be stronger in concept than execution. But really, I think the odds are currently stacked in Looper's favour. Let's examine the evidence:

A) Early word about the film has been strong.
B) There's the major curiosity value of watching Gordon-Levitt mimick Willis's voice and mannerisms for 2 hours - with this feature trailer providing a better sense of the impersonation.
C) Looper comes from writer-director Rian Johnson (a fringe filmmaker praised for his originality), and the movie is supposedly influenced by Philip K Dick's short stories (this one especially, I imagine).

Looper opens wide in North America on 28 September, having already had its world premiere on 6 September (this Thursday) at the 2012 Toronto International Film Festival. The film's South African release date has yet to be set.

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