horsys67: 'Looper' Trailer: Five Key Scenes

Friday, April 13, 2012

'Looper' Trailer: Five Key Scenes

Joseph Gordon-Levitt stares down his older self (Bruce Willis) in sneak peek of the time-traveling thriller.
By Kara Warner

Joseph Gordon-Levitt in "Looper"
Photo: Sony Pictures Entertainment

We've been dying to see the "Looper" trailer for the past few days, and now it's finally here, in all its time-traveling, gun-fighting, trained assassin-vs.-himself glory.

Here are five key scenes from the sneak peek:

Loopers Explained
Thanks to the expository voice-over from star Joseph Gordon-Levitt, we learn that Loopers are time-traveling assassins hired by Mafioso types to kill other criminals in the past, so they don't become problems in the future. We see Gordon-Levitt's character "at work" in several different ways in the teaser — including one in which his assignment turns out to be his older self.

A Realistic Futuristic Setting
At the beginning of the trailer, it appears as if the film is set in present day. The characters' style of dress, cars and guns are not exactly current, but they look familiar. All that changes when we see Gordon-Levitt's character flying through a modern-looking city on a not-of-this-world motorcycle. The brief glimpses at advanced technology are paired with quick shots of what Gordon-Levitt's character experiences when he travels through time, a sort of mind-bending distorted reality that tells us we're in a not-too-distant future.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt as Bruce Willis
From the moment it was announced that Gordon-Levitt would be playing a younger version of Bruce Willis, we've been very curious to see how that might look onscreen. Thanks to this new teaser, we finally get a glimpse of Gordon-Levitt-as-Willis, via a close-up shot of their bright green eyes and a few hints at their similar body movements — before they start trying to kill each other, that is. Gordon-Levitt admitted that he spent three hours in a makeup chair every morning in order to step into Willis, as it were.

Emily Blunt in Action
Emily Blunt's appearance in the trailer is almost of the blink-and-you-miss-it variety. We see Blunt wielding a shotgun, possibly in an attempt to off the young version of Gordon-Levitt and in several states of strife. Her scenes are almost a combination of action from the film's present settings and its flashbacks. Why is she upset? Is she related to Gordon-Levitt and Willis' character or romantically linked to them? Maybe she is also a Looper? So many questions that need answering!

Gunfights Galore
This movie is very much a science-fiction thriller and yet, contrary to what a lot of people believe to be true about gun battles in sci-fi movies, there are no laser beams or space guns in sight. The weapons we see in the trailer look like new versions of handguns and shotguns that are powered by regular bullets. And because this is a movie about time-traveling hitmen who off their assignments with guns, we see a lot of gunfight action in this spot, along with some hand-to-hand combat, that only adds to the gritty, futuristic-yet-realistic feel.

Check out everything we've got on "Looper."

For breaking news, celebrity columns, humor and more — updated around the clock — visit MTVMoviesBlog.com.