Looper
Released on Wed, September 26, 2012
'Looper', set in a gritty and plausible near-future of 2044, depicts a world where time travel hasn't been created yet, but is on the cusp of existence, a technological breakthrough that will be realized three decades later. This impending invention has profound and illicit implications, particularly for organized crime. Criminal syndicates in the future find a morbidly efficient solution for dealing with individuals they want eliminated.
Rather than risking detection and legal ramifications in their own time, these criminal organizations leverage the illegal and highly secretive technology of time travel. They kidnap their targets and dispatch them back to the past, to 2044. This sets the stage for a unique and dangerous profession.
In the past, these marked individuals arrive at a predetermined location, where specialized assassins known as "loopers" await. These loopers are contracted to eliminate anyone that arrives, effectively erasing them from existence and creating a seemingly untraceable method of murder. The looper disposes of the target, ensuring the person is removed without any complications in the future.
Joe, the protagonist, is one such looper, and he lives a relatively lavish lifestyle fueled by his successful assassinations. He operates within the strict parameters of his profession, following orders and collecting his payments. For Joe, it's a lucrative and seemingly straightforward way to make a living, detached from the complexities and consequences of regular crime. He lives a life of material comforts and enjoys the perks his dangerous job offers.
However, Joe's comfortable existence is irrevocably shattered when the criminal organization decides to "close his loop." Closing the loop refers to the brutal act of terminating the looper's contract by sending their older, future self back to be assassinated by their younger self. This ensures that there are no loose ends and that the looper can never turn on his employers.
The ultimate target arrives in the familiar location for his younger self to eliminate, but this time it's a man with Joe's face, a weathered version of himself from the future. This cataclysmic event throws Joe's life into chaos, forcing him to confront the ramifications of his actions and instigating a desperate struggle for survival against both his past and future selves, as well as the powerful forces that control time itself.
Paul Dano
as Seth
Noah Segan
as Kid Blue
Jeff Daniels
as Abe
Pierce Gagnon
as Cid