Bruce Willis’ Sci-Fi Thriller Masterpiece Is Officially Back on Netflix, Bringing Looper’s Time-Travel Chase to Streaming
A hitman faces his future
Looper follows Joe, played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt, an assassin working for criminal syndicates in a dystopian future. His targets are sent back in time because their bodies cannot be disposed of in his era.
Loopers are eventually expected to kill themselves to erase evidence of the hits. Joe’s routine changes when his older self, played by Bruce Willis, arrives as a target and escapes, setting off a chase between the two versions of him.
A time-travel system under pressure
The film’s opening act lays out the elaborate process behind the loopers’ work. Its dense explanations can be difficult to follow, but the story’s uncertainty also reinforces the disorientation experienced by young and old Joe.
As the two men try to change what lies ahead, Joe forms a connection with Sara, played by Emily Blunt. She lives with her son in a farmhouse, bringing the film’s futuristic conflict into a rural setting.
Johnson’s breakthrough thriller
Looper was Johnson’s third feature, following Brick and The Brothers Bloom, and his second collaboration with Gordon-Levitt. Its cast also includes Paul Dano and Jeff Daniels in supporting roles.
The film combines a grim future with present-day rural landscapes and centers on characters confronting redemption and mortality. Its mid-budget scale and crafted visual world helped make it a significant step in Johnson’s career before the Benoit Blanc films and Poker Face.
Key points
- Looper is now streaming on Netflix.
- Bruce Willis and Joseph Gordon-Levitt play older and younger versions of Joe.
- The plot centers on a hitman whose future self becomes his target.
- Emily Blunt plays Sara, a mother living with her son in a farmhouse.