'Looper' is Joseph Gordon-Levitt's surprising time traveling thrill ride

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - In surprising fashion, Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Bruce Willis have generated the best movie about time traveling, ever made.

Looper is set in Kansas City in the year 2042.

It's about a group of assassins known as loopers, who are ordered to kill people delivered to them from the future. This all happens 30 years down the road in 2072.

Joe (Gordon-Levitt), is the main character who finds himself in a rugged situation when his future self (Willis), becomes his ordered target.

"There's that moment where he's staring in the eyes of his older self, and of course he freezes up and can't pull the trigger. His older self overpowers him and runs. And that's what sets off the chain of events that begins the movie," director Rain Johnson said.

When Joe hesitates and lets his guard down, older Joe has enough time to escape with only a few wounds to stitch up.

The movie soon turns into an all out brawl between Joe's self and violent society around him.

Looper is entertaining in just about all aspects of filmmaking; including the action, special effects, makeup and story.

The last time I had this much fun at the movies was April 11, when Joss Whedon's The Avengers released in theaters.

Looper is not only full of wit, but it dives deep into the psyche of one man's struggle with doing what's best for him, and what's morally right.

The film is much smarter than I originally anticipated.

"Science fiction films and good scripts don't really come along very often. And as it turned out, this film has really great science fiction," Willis said.

And what a year for Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who continues to show us why he's one of the most talented men in Hollywood.

This film felt real and compelling with him in it. A lot of it has to do with his long-time relationship with the director.

Rain Johnson directed the 2005 critically acclaimed Sundance flick Brick, that helped mold Joseph Gordon-Levitt into the mature actor he is today.

"He ended up actually writing the lead character for me, which is the first time that's ever happened for me as an actor," Gordon-Levitt said.

No matter what you have going on this weekend, Looper must be on the to-do list. See this one and I promise you won't be disappointed.

Looper is one heck of a thrill ride and stands as one of my favorite films of 2012.

Co-stars include Emily Blunt, Jeff Daniels, Piper Perabo and Paul Dano.

FINAL GRADE: A

Looper is rated R for strong violence, language, some sexuality/nudity and drug content.

Runtime: 1 hour and 58 minutes.