I liked it a lot! My mini-review is about halfway down the page here. Tricky to discuss without spoilers though.

Good comments, TE!

OK, here's my effort to discuss without spoilation: I liked a lot of things about this movie. First, the vision of the future was well thought through, with plenty of visual details that made sense but that the movie didn't condescend to explain otherwise. Second, I really did not see the plot developments coming before they happened, yet there was no clanking deus ex machina mechanism in the background. Third, the movie has me continuing to mull again on the central and recurring moral question . . . what makes us good or bad? Nature or nurture?

I felt as though we were watching a book - a really, really good and engaging and thought provoking book.

About halfway through the movie I was going "Wow, I haven't seen SF done in the screen like this is a LONG time."

Note we now have two big SF movies this year that present America's future as being kinda Depression-Era-y crapsack. (again, the "setting" of the future world is great, everyone has really cool gadgets but all the old cars just have like, solar panels strapped to them. it's GREAT with the details.)

The cycles of violence/cycles of time motif was really well handled, the future going back to infect the past.

Also, oh god the body horror. it's just one scene but I had to CLOSE MY EYES.

I haven't done that at a movie since I was 8.

Haven't seen it yet, but one interesting point in a lot of the commentary... In order to avoid drawing attention to the makeup of an actor getting aged 30-40 years, they use two actors, drawing attention to the makeup that made the younger actor resemble the older actor.

You just can't win.

I honestly didn't notice the Uncanny Valley makeup (I thought it was really unnecessary mind you) EXCEPT the lightening they did on JGL's eyes in a few scenes. It's really noticeable and makes him look a bit like character from Teen Wolf or something.

The Whelk, I poked my husband when we got a good look at the depicted future and said, "Mitt Romney land." (Kidding, only!) And what's the second big SF movie to which you refer, btw?

Oneswellfoop, that really wasn't a problem in the movie.

The Hunger Games, Distinct 9's Dorthea Lange Photo land.

The promised levels of violence are keeping me away.

None of the violence is really extreme. it's mostly gangland stuff, people get shot but they don;t like explode into a squib pack of blood.
There is one scene that uuuh lets say it's how you can use time travel to torture someone and OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD

Ah. I liked Hunger Games too but that, of course, was a decent book first.

Danf, there is violence but not the gratuitous stuff that usually makes me steer clear. The scene The Whelk is mentioning is appalling but not disgusting, if you follow me.

Yeah think the Godfather, not like, SAW.

Oh hey Bruce Willis is now in two of the best time travel movies ever. Huh.

I didn't find the violence too extreme, danf. The scene that The Whelk is referring to was (I thought) a very interesting concept and, yeah, cringe-worthy but way less so than, say, the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. Plus, it adds to the depth of the story-line, IMO.

I'm not a huge Sci-Fi guy, but I liked it quite a bit. There were parts of it, often some of the more subtle ones, that I thought were very clever. And it never felt insulting in the way a lot of other SciFi flicks do, IMO.

I'd have a lot more to say if we could open this to spoilers, but until then, I'll try to keep mum. It's just *very* rare that I see a movie in the theater and have an opportunity to discuss it while it's still relatively new in the public consciousness. So, hrrmph.

I can put a spoiler tag on it, if y'all would prefer. Or not.

I think the thing is Looper combined lots and lots of ideas, like a SF book, but never looses the focus of the plot.

I mean it's a major SF movie that takes place largely in an old farmhouse. That's great.

Missed an opportunity to see it this weekend.

My usual semi-trusted reviewers have been disappointed in the movie. They say it's good but not great. So I've cooled off on it a bit, especially after I finally saw Cabin in the Woods and my reaction was, "Really, that's it? That was like an average episode of Angel."

Skimming the responses here carefully, it sounds like lots of you guys liked Looper so now I'm excited to see it again.

I was disappointed by the genre-mixing, just as I was disappointed by it in Cabin In The Woods. Time travel and telekinesis are two distinct plot devices. That's not a spoiler since the movie introduces TK right at the beginning. When they did introduce it, my first thought was "Oh, please, don't go there." Once they get to the farmhouse, the story is nothing more than Carrie's little cousin Wilbur. Also, not a spoiler since all TK stories are variations on the same theme.

Then, the ending is the first time travel ending any savvy SF writer would toss into the trash bin before ever committing ink to paper. Not only doesn't it work, but it is a big honking solopsist deus ex machina.

It has its flaws but it's one of the better movies of the year so far.

Same with End of Watch, IMO.

"it's one of the better movies of the year so far"

I would agree with that.

I haven't seen Hunger Games, thought "Dredd" might be the other movie with a "kinda Depression-Era-y crapsack" future. (Great action movie but probably too violent and gory for a lot of Metachatters.)

Then, the ending is the first time travel ending any savvy SF writer would toss into the trash bin before ever committing ink to paper. Not only doesn't it work, but it is a big honking solopsist deus ex machina.

The ending does not work on a technical, time travel level. The ending does work in terms of the message/theme of the story, which has to do with shortsightedness vs. sacrificing for a better future (so yes, Romney's America). So I gave it a pass.

And really, for the most part, the time travel is pretty well handled up until the end. I've told everyone who's asked me about the movie so far: "It's good so long as you don't think about the paradox created by the ending."

I certainly will continue to support movies like Looper and Inception over rehashes of existing IP (esp. if JGL is in them, omg mancrush).