Few filmmakers working in mainstream Hollywood have a track record as pristine as that of Rian Johnson. The filmmaker is looking forward to the release of the third film in his Knives Out franchise of murder mysteries, Wake Up Dead Man: A Knives Out Mystery, which has already received critical acclaim. In fact, none of his movies so far hold a “rotten” rating on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes; most of them are sitting in the 90s. His breakout mainstream hit was the science-fiction title Looper, which proved that Johnson knew his way around a studio budget. He had previously directed the cult classic indie hit Brick, starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt. Over a decade after its release, Looper is witnessing a bump in viewership numbers on the streaming platform Starz.
According to FlixPatrol, Looper was among the 10 most-watched titles on Starz on November 5 and November 6, when the leader board was topped by Hostile Takeover, a Starz hit if there ever was one. Looper reunited Johnson with Gordon-Levitt, and also featured Bruce Willis. Both stars play the same character but at different ages. The film also featured Emily Blunt in a supporting role, and saw Johnson reunite with his regular collaborators, editor Bob Ducsay, cinematographer Steve Yedlin, and composer Nathan Johnson. Looper followed a contract killer who is tasked with killing his older self.
‘Wake Up Dead Man’ Is Gearing Up to Be a Massive Hit
Looper was a critical and commercial hit, and is often ranked among the best time travel movies of all time, certainly of the 21st century. Produced on a reported budget of $30 million, the movie grossed over $175 million worldwide. It paved the way for Johnson to score his biggest-ever gig, directing Star Wars: Episode VIII – The Last Jedi, which grossed over $1.3 billion worldwide. He followed it up with the first Knives Out, which made more than $300 million globally. Looper holds a 93% score on the aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, where the critics’ consensus reads, “As thought-provoking as it is thrilling, Looper delivers an uncommonly smart, bravely original blend of futuristic sci-fi and good old-fashioned action.”
Wake Up Dead Man, which is slated for a December release on Netflix, is currently sitting at 95% score on RT. You can watch Looper at home, and stay tuned to Collider for more updates.
- Release Date
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September 28, 2012
- Runtime
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118 minutes
- Director
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Rian Johnson
- Writers
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Rian Johnson