There’s a scene in 2012’s Looper that goes against its own rules for the future. The logic surrounding a certain aspect of the movie’s canon seems airtight from the start, but there’s a hole in the script’s lore. Rian Johnson’s sci-fi adventure is a twisty affair that requires the utmost concentration to keep pace with the plot. However, the writer/director forgot to consider an important factor when adding to his world.
Looper made Jason Gordon-Levitt look and sound like Bruce Willis so both could play a temporal bounty hunter called Joe. Joe’s job is to kill those sent back by criminals in the future and dispose of the bodies. However, the older version of Joe, played by Bruce Willis, is also sent back to be killed by his younger self but manages to escape. A mind-bending pursuit ensues that deeply impacts the fate of both versions of the same man. While Looper‘s ending and rules are impressively written, the routine of the criminals in the future is a little illogical.
10 Behind-The-Scenes Facts About The Making Of Looper
Looper is a smart movie but it’s even more impressive to watch after learning about all the interesting details that went into pulling it off.
The Murder Of Old Joe’s Wife Proves That Murder Is Possible In The Future
Looper’s future criminals aren’t as restricted as implied
Joe’s voice-over opens Looper and contextualizes the criminal organization that exists 30 years in the future. Time travel in Looper hasn’t been invented in Young Joe’s present. However, the technology has already been introduced and outlawed in the future and is only used by criminals. Gordon-Levitt’s character states it’s, “nearly impossible to dispose of a body in the future,” due to the vaguely described, “tagging techniques and whatnot.” The targets are sent back alive, so the implication is that murder presents similar challenges. However, Old Joe’s wife is shot dead in the future, proving that killing is still very possible.
Old Joe’s wife is shot by the same criminal organization that sends the Loopers back in time to be killed by their younger selves with their outlawed temporal technology. While the “tagging techniques” may prevent bodies from being disposed of in the future, it would seem this same obstacle isn’t present when it comes to ending a life. As such, it begs the question as to why the same people who send back the targets don’t kill them first.
Those In The Future Could Have Killed Their Targets And Sent The Bodies To The Loopers For Disposal
The Loopers could have had less work to do
Loopers have two responsibilities. The first is to kill any target that arrives in the present, and the second is to then dispose of the bodies. That way, the targets in question from the future simply fall off the map. However, the murder of Old Joe’s wife proves that the targets could realistically already be dead when they’re sent back to the Loopers. This would only require the Loopers to dispose of the bodies rather than also committing murder, which would logically mean the criminals would have to pay them less.
Looper’s Biggest Mystery Still Hasn’t Been Explained 12 Years Later
Rian Johnson’s Looper creates a detailed world within a relatively short runtime, but one aspect of the movie’s canon was never properly addressed.
Much of Looper‘s plot is set in motion by the failure of Seth and Joe to close their loops. The scuppered attempts are caused by their older selves being alive when they arrive from the future, making them able to catch their younger selves off-balance and escape. If they had been shot dead in advance, as they did to Old Joe’s Wife, then their loops would be pre-closed upon arrival. While it could be argued that there’s a certain pageantry in having a Looper kill their older self, it also demonstrably leaves way too much to chance.
Looper
- Release Date
- September 28, 2012
- Director
- Rian Johnson
- Cast
- Bruce Willis , Joseph Gordon-Levitt , Emily Blunt , Paul Dano , Noah Segan , Piper Perabo
