You just got hired to kill people for the mob. Cool, right? Well, not so much. This is because you’re being sent back in time to work your way up the ladder towards bigger contracts. Looper is a sci-fi film about this. The main characters are an assassin named Joe and his target – a victim of his own assassination attempt outfitted with a machine called “closing device”. We present to you the best movies like Looper, in this list today.
Looper, as a movie, has won several prizes at different film festivals, including Los Angeles Film Society for Best New Movie of 2012. The acting was brilliant, the plot full of twists and surprises. However, Looper is not an easy movie to watch. There are many plot holes, like how Joe got to be what he is (and there’s more than one Joe in the movie), how time travel actually works, why old Joe wants to kill his younger self etc.
Things start to get complicated when Joe’s first target is his younger self! Imagine, now you’ve traveled back in time and have no way of getting home without killing yourself. These ten movies are an excellent namesake for this list, since they all have very different storylines that explore various dimensions of time travel.
How would you feel if you discovered that your ex-partner was your father? That your lover was also your mother? Or that love itself is just a farce and we’re all just actors in a giant play to decide the fate of humanity? This list is one of the most entertaining and thought provoking lists for this article, so get ready to dive deep into the rabbit hole!
Here is the list of the 10 best movies like looper to watch.
Terminator series
Available at Amazon Prime
The first Terminator was a rather simple revenge flick. Nothing much to see here. With the second movie, things started to become a bit more complicated. The main character was even replaced by another one, John Connor! John is supposed to be the savior of the human race, but he’s just a kid trying to live an ordinary life with his formative years playing into his hand. Then, everything went haywire when Skynet appeared on the scene.
The third movie, Terminator: Salvation, does a better job in visualizing the concept of “terminator” and what it really means. The movie further shows how close we are to developing human-like bots with artificial intelligence. It’s only a matter of time!
Paradox series
Available at Amazon Prime
Next up, on the list of best movies like Looper, we have the Paradox Series. Anybody who is a fan of sci-fi films, has to witness the beauty of the Paradox Series. Dated in 2009, this series is a British based, science fiction drama, revolving around the police. The series stars Tamzin Outwaite as a detective inspector in the main character, and it is written and produced by Lizzie Mickery and Clerkenwell Films for BBC, respectively.
Set in England, the series begins with Flint leading a police team, who is working closely with a scientist. Collectively they attempt to put an end to disasters, foretold by the pictures which are apparently sent from the future.
It aired during the November and December of the year 2009. With a plethora of negative reviews from critics, the series did not get renewed for another season. Hence we have put it on our list, as it is short, crisp and something we believe one would enjoy thoroughly.
So put on your pajamas and get ready to witness some time travel, when some images in astrophysicist Dr Christian King’s, played by Emun Elliott, laboratory show hugely catastrophic events in the future.
Time Crimes
Available at Amazon Prime
While time traveling, one of the most nerve wracking events occurs when you meet yourself. That one meeting can change everything. This next movie on the list of best movies like Looper talks about such an event.
Long story short- Time Crime is a movie about a man, who traveled back in time by mistake, only to find himself there. This meeting created havoc, ultimately unfolding a series of events which resulted in extreme chaos. As we know that time traveling does infact come with a cost of its own. The more everything was tried to be solved, the worse it progressively got.
However, let us clear out a few things for you. If you expect an action flick from Time Crime, then you’d not be satisfied. It is a slow burn, which gets interesting with time. With time, the number of outcomes possible decreases, however, there still remains a huge number of possible outcomes. In such a way, this movie makes you incharge to thinking of all that is possible for our protagonist.
All the questions one has regarding time travel are handled beautifully by Time Crimes, hence it can be rightly put on the list of best movies like Looper.
Primer
Available at Amazon Prime
Disclaimer: If you are looking to watch a movie, in order to be entertained, then Primer might not be the one you should choose. Primer, primarily makes you wonder about paradoxes, series of events without any explanation, loopholes, paradoxes and a lot of other things that do not seem to fit in.
The two characters, Abe and Aaron both start to wonder as well. A machine is waiting to be used and what, at first, seems like the best and easiest method to use it, turns out to be the most complicated one.
A lot of questions are waiting to be answered. For example- when a certain character starts to bleed a little from his or her ear. Does this mean that he/she is set to get injured in the future or will he/she be injured in the past that they have not visited yet. This movie showcases various generations of people along with their actions, which are impossible to keep a track of.
What startles me the most is the brilliance of the film that captures the attention of the audience for a long period of time. This movie is completely maddening, extremely fascinating and truly successful. If you have made it this far into the review, then I suggest you watch it and find out!
Frequency
Available at Amazon Prime
The story of Frequency starts with the life of John Sullivan’s father Frank’s life being taken, owing to a huge fire outbreak, on 12th of October, 1969. Ever since then, there has not been a day when John hasn’t dreamt of the tragedy that took place so many years ago. This entire incident took a toll on his mental health and made John haunted by loneliness and anger.
A day before his father’s death Anniversary, John discovers a house he has inherited from his father along with an old ham radio which he immediately starts to play.
The house has an electrical fence, through which he finds himself speaking to a man, who introduces himself as a firefighter as well. This man is apparently waiting for the world series of 1969. With time and conversation, they both realize that they are talking through time and John, wasting no time, warns his father about his death in the near future.
Consequently, John later discovers, on October 12th 1999, a photograph of his father, as an old man, is now put up on the walls. This essentially means that John, while changing the past, has also changed the present.
But with great power comes great responsibility. So he realizes that changing his father’s death has also changed a lot of other events in the present. A series of crimes have taken place and that, in turn, has led to the murder of John’s mother. Later, the father-son duo sits to fix the distorted reality.
Edge of Tomorrow
Available at Amazon Prime
Coming to one of my favorites on the list of best movies like Looper, is Edge of Tomorrow. This is not only a thriller but an entertainer as well. Some might even say that this is one of the most “thoughts provoking” movies in the recent past. If you are indeed looking for time loops, time travel, mech-driven movies then Edge of Tomorrow is your one stop destination.
As we all know Tom Cruise has already starred in a lot of action movies that fans recommend as “must see” but Edge of Tomorrow definitely tops the list of that. This sci-fi movie stars Tom Cruise as the male protagonist and it has everything that will make you stop looking for any other sci-fi cinema with a time loop involved in it.
However, we must not forget to mention that Edge of Tomorrow has not been able to do justice in the box office, in terms of Cruise’s other hits. But the ratings do hint towards how good the movie really is. The time loop and time travel used in this one, have also been a part of several movies before.
Edge of Tomorrow is based on a Japanese novel named Need is Kill, written by Hiroshi Sakurazaka. If someone tells you that it is just another one of Tom Cruise’s action flicks then it’s not doing justice to the brilliance as well as the entertaining part of the film.
Minority Report
Available at Amazon Prime
Next on movies like Looper we have an American Science fiction dated in 2005- Minority Report. Directed by Steven Spielberg, starring Tom Cruise, this movie is based on a short story in 1956, written by Philip K. Dick. The movie background is set in the year of 2054, in Washington D.C. along with Northern Virginia.
Precime is nothing but a police department which specializes in catching criminals. In this case, they catch criminals based on prescience knowledge provided by three physics known as ‘precogs’. Tom Cruise stars as John Anderton, Colin Farrell in the role of Agent Danny Witwer, Samantha Mortom playing Agatha and finally, Max von Sydow as Lamar Burgess.
This film is an amalgamation of various elements like tech noir, thriller, sci-fi along with a touch of traditional thriller movies. The story opens with the male protagonist being accused of a crime he did not commit. Old school drama, right here! This movie can be classified into two different parts. One part comprises the character and the other consists of storytelling with extreme complications. It also has several layers and plots involved.
The movie caters around the idea of one vs the other- free will vs determinism. In this, they along with the audience wonder whether free will is capable of existing when the future is already known.
The involvement of the government in an attempt to protect its citizens, the role of the media, severely advanced technology and so on are just like adding cherry to the cake.
Twelve Monkeys
Available at Amazon Prime
Twelve Monkeys is directed by one of the most interesting directors of all times- Terry Gilliam. His movies are weird in the most wonderful way possible. If you happen to watch Monty Python and Twelve Monkeys consecutively, then you’d wonder whether it is the same person.
Starring none other than the very talented Bruce Wilis, Twelve Monkeys is a sci fi film where he has to travel back in time, in order to stop the extinction of the entire human race, owing to a virus.
Now, it is extremely difficult for us to cite down the reasons why Twelve Monkeys is so successful without giving out a spoiler. So we will leave it up to you to watch this, if you have enjoyed watching Looper.
Triangle
Available at Amazon Prime
Triangle is a suspense thriller, directed by Christopher Smith in the year of 2009. The central plot of the movie caters around sin and discipline. Triangle features an ever changing plot in order to keep the cult along with the audience interested and engaged. This British-Australian film opens by showing a group of pals going on a boat trip and everything else goes following up goes haywire.
With the dawn of the boat trip, people are dying left and right. As the group of friends try to figure out more about the killings and the killer, myster reveals itself in the craziest form possible. Starring Melissa George as Jess, a single parent of an autistic son, struggles to escape and make it back home for her son. The movie also shows a With the morning of the boat trip, people start dying in a tale that feels a lot like a traditional slasher film.
But, as the buddies try to figure out who the killer is and what’s really going on, a mystery begins to unravel into a truly crazy tale of wisdom fabrication horror. Triangle stars Melissa George as main character Jess, a single man of an Autistic son who fluently seems to be floundering with the daily grind of holding it together and minding for her child. While the movie’s plot descends into a time circle, the cult follows Jess’s struggle to escape the circle and make it back home to safety.
Blade Runner
Available at Amazon Prime
If you like Looper, then Blade Runner should be on your list of best movies like Looper. What makes it visually stunning is its cinematography. That is also one of the main reasons why this 2049 Oscar winning Blade Runner is still on many people’s list of favorites.
This science fiction movie is known for its visual treat, as mentioned earlier and can also make the fans wonder, whether there is any other movie that has been able to match up to its level. The dystopian and utterly breathtaking cinematography, plot and photography is bound to blow your minds away.
Blade Runner 2049 still has a long journey to overcome before it gets to enjoy the kind of status the original one does. But, there is no doubt that this modern favourite stays comfortably in the heart of cinema fans all over the world. The cinematography and visual style are inspired by sci-fi movies of the classics from older days.
Predestination
Available at Amazon Prime
Predestination is based on a short story written by Robert A. Heinlen. It is a thriller science fiction that is bound on exploring and unraveling a chunk of similar hypothetical concepts, just like Looper. Hence it has made it to the top 10 best movies like Looper. Looper and Predestination share the same fixation for paradoxes
The story opens with Ethan Hawk, who plays a time traveling agent. His mission is to travel through time and diffuse or prevent the explosion of a deadly bombing. However, the series of events shift away from the simple plot mentioned above and move to something that is more complex.
Conclusion
Here we are at the end of the list of best movies like Looper. So wait no longer. If you loved Looper, then we are sure that you would have a gala time binge watching these as well. Let us know which one you liked the best!