'Looper' Trailer Puts Joseph Gordon-Levitt in a Tough Spot: Killing Bruce Willis (Video)

Can one get hired to kill oneself -- and still enjoy the payout?

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The space-time continuum, and its cause-and-effect vs. free will and alternate timelines, is an urgent debate pulsing in the background of the new trailer for Looper, director Rian Johnson's latest twist on the modern (and post-modern) noir.

Joseph Gordon-Levitt (who starred for Johnson in Brick) features as a hit man in the near future, who is assigned by a mob in a further time to take down various nuisances, criminals and turncoats. His existential and metaphysical dilemma: when his future self, played by Bruce Willis, is sent through a portal for execution. It takes plenty of makeup to make the pair look alike (albeit two decades or so apart in age), but the young gun and the classic action star seem matched up well when it comes to the chase that starts following Gordon-Levitt's hesitation.

The film also co-stars Emily Blunt (who gets to play with plenty of guns herself), Paul Dano and Jeff Daniels, who takes a break from his noble quest to find the truth in politics on HBO's Newsroom to find the fugitive Willis.

Watch at your own discretion, however; Johnson tweeted Wednesday that, "If you're already set on seeing Looper, I'd avoid any trailers from here on out. They don't ruin the movie, but they tip a few little things," before adding, "Just to clarify - I approved all the trailers, they're great an they won't ruin anything big. But the small things they tip are fun to discover in the movie."