The 21st Century has been pretty terrific for sci-fi fans, you've got to say – whether it's the revival of Star Wars for family audiences, or the more recent successes of Denis Villeneuve's Dune films, among others.
One of the more occasionally underlooked but nonetheless excellent sci-fi movies from this century, though, just hit Prime Video – and it's one you shouldn't miss if you've never seen it. Looper is a 2012 modern classic, as you can see from the trailer below.
Rian Johnson, of Knives Out and The Last Jedi fame, wrote and directed this time-bending futuristic thriller, and it's a movie that has easily earned itself cult status (which makes it sound like it wasn't a success on release – it was!).
It tells the story of a contract killer played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt – someone who accepts contracts from the future, where time travel has been invented. Victims are sent back to him at agreed points, where he offs them and collects payment. However, when his future self (played by Bruce Willis) comes back in time and manages to avoid being killed, it kicks off a wild series of events.
Things get pretty crazy from there, as pyshic powers and determinism come into play, and there are some amazing set-pieces. But part of what stands out the most more than a decade later is its world-building – much of which happens in the background of scenes and sets. It also doesn't rely all that heavily on visual effects, which always helps to keep a movie's longevity looking good, in our books.
Looper was really well-liked when it came out, too – it sits on a score of 93% on Rotten Tomatoes from critics, with audiences only a little way behind on 82%, which nicely demonstrates its broad appeal. Perhaps some people just couldn't get their heads around it, but it's well worth the effort.
The movie was added to Prime Video's streaming library on 1 August, so if you're a Prime member you can now stream it at no extra cost. It's a great reminder that alongside the new sci-fi shows that the likes of Apple and Amazon are churning out, the best streaming services also need a decent back catalogue of older hits.
