9 Ways To Break Out Of A Time Loop (According To The Movies)

9. Kill Yourself (Looper)

In the year 2044, 'looper' Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) works for a crime family who send targets back in time for he and other loopers to execute. Only, one day, Joe is sent his future self (Bruce Willis, in his second turn at bat for the time loop sub-genre) as a hit; instead of killing each other like it's some warped Greek tragedy, the two separately attempt to unravel the mystery of why Joe would be sent back as a target for himself. This leads both the younger and older Joe to young mother Sara (Emily Blunt) and her son Cid, who it turns out will grow up to send loopers like Joe back in time to be eradicated as a direct result of the older Joe killing Sara in this present. So, in a moment of clarity, young Joe simply takes himself out of the equation, killing himself, and therefore also the older Joe in the process, saving the lives of both Sara and Cid. Rian Johnson's Looper is one of the quintessential time loop movies. It's (relatively) straightforward in its own time loop logic, smartly utilising the butterfly effect and presenting time travel as an almost mundane practice used for financial means. But if killing yourself seems the easy way out of any loop, it's actually a time loop lifestyle choice that works only rarely. Sadly, fractured internal movie logic means things only get more confusing from here on out.