During my many viewings I have noticed that Looper has many similarities to The Terminator (1984). That is not really an issue for me, as The Terminator is one of my favorite films of all-time. I have had a great time comparing these two great films and figured it would make an interesting page…..so here we are.
Warning Warning Will Robinson! Spoilers spoilers spoilers everywhere, so if you have not seen Looper yet or you are that person from North Dakota that has not seen The Terminator ….be forewarned major plot elements including the endings will be talked about in this page. As much as I would like you to read my page, I would rather you watch Looper or The Terminator first.
Basic Plots: Terminator vs Looper
The Basic Plot of The Terminator: A cyborg (Arnold) is sent from the future to kill a seemingly innocent women. Also sent from the future is a soldier (Michael Biehn) sent to protect the woman from the cyborg.
The Basic Plot of Looper: Future Joe (Bruce Willis) comes from the future to kill a seemingly innocent child. Younger Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) is a looper who is trying to kill Future Joe while protecting the child and his mother from Future Joe.
Things That Are Very Similar Between Arnold/Terminator and Bruce/Old Joe.
2. The mission of the bad guy. Arnold/Terminator is sent by Skynet to kill Sarah Connor before she gives birth to her son, John, who will lead a revolt against Skynet in the future. In Looper, Old Joe/Bruce comes back in time to kill Cid, a child that will grow up to be an evil criminal that kills Old Joe/Bruce’s wife in the future.
3. What the time travelers do when they first arrive. Arnold/Terminator steals some clothes and a jacket from some thugs and gets his guns and ammo from a gun shop. He kills the shop owner. In Looper, Old Joe/Bruce goes to a gun shop steals a gun, ammo and a jacket but does not kill the shop owner.
4. The list of possible targets: Arnold/Terminator goes to a phone book and finds three Sarah Connors in the listings. Old Joe/Bruce has a list of three baby children born at a hospital where Cid was born on the day of his birth. In both cases they do not know which of the three possibilities is the target. Arnold/Terminator kills the first two Sarah Connors on his list without remorse….he is after all a cyborg. Bruce/Old Joe kills the first boy on the list and is emotionally devastated when he realizes he killed an innocent child. It takes Bruce/Old Joe some time to recover before he goes after the second child on the list.
5. Demonstration of their killing potential: In The Terminator, Arnold/Terminator attacks a police station where Sarah Connor is under protection. He pretty much wipes out the entire police station but Sarah gets away. In Looper, Bruce/Old Joe attacks the mob headquarters where he pretty much wipes out the entire mob headquarters.
6. Relentless pursuit of their target: Both Arnold/Terminator and Bruce/Old Joe never stop in their pursuit to kill Sarah Connor or Cid. This pursuit will ultimately cause their own demise. This is a good thing for the Terminator but somewhat sad for Old Joe.
Things That Are Similar Between Kyle Reese and Young Joe
1. Both become guardians. In the Terminator, Kyle Reese(Michael Biehn) volunteers to go back in time to protect Sarah Connor and is the only thing standing between the Terminator and Sarah Connor. In Looper, Young Joe (Joseph Gordon-Levitt) stands between Cid and Old Joe.
2. Knocking boots. In the Terminator, Kyle Reese and Sarah Connor have sex which results in Sarah getting pregnant. In Looper, Young Joe and Sarah (yep that is her name in this movie too) have sex and who knows if she got pregnant.
3. Getting medical attention. In the Terminator, Kyle Reese has his injuries nursed by Sarah Connor. In Looper, Sarah nurses Young Joe back to health.
4. Giving the ultimate sacrifice. In the Terminator, Kyle Reese continues to battle the cyborg even though he knows he will eventually die defending Sarah Connor. In Looper, Young Joe kills himself so that he could stop the “loop” and Sarah and Cid can survive Old Joe.
5. Explaining what is going on to the heroines. Both Kyle Reese and Young Joe are required to explain to their respective Sarahs what is going on. Reese has to explain why the Terminator is hunting Sarah and Young Joe has to explain why Old Joe wants Sarah’s son dead. Imagine how confusing the sorry would be without their explainations.
Other Things That Are Pretty Similar: Terminator vs Looper
1. Both mothers are named Sarah. In the Terminator, John Connor’s mother’s name is Sarah. In Looper, Cid’s mother’s name is Sarah.
2. Both have upside down truck scenes. In the Terminator, Kyle Reese and Sarah Connor end up in a truck that gets in an accident that flips the truck. The Terminator approaches the truck as they struggle to get out. In Looper, Sarah and Cid end up in a truck that gets flipped over. We see Old Joe/Bruce approach the truck as they struggle to get out of the car.
3. Father figures. In Terminator 2 (ok I know this is from the sequel) the Terminator becomes a father figure to John Connor. In Looper, Cid starts to view Young Joe as a father figure.
4. The Sarahs: Looper’s Sarahs and The Terminator’s Sarah both can handle guns. Both Sarahs protect their sons. Both Sarahs take care of and eventually knock boots with their protectors. Both Sarahs are the ones that instigate the sexual congress. One of the possibilities of Looper is that maybe Young Joe got Looper Sarah pregnant just like Kyle got Terminator Sarah pregnant.
5. Which comes first the chicken or the egg? Both movies ask the same question about time lines. How could Kyle Reese be John Connor’s father if this is the first time Kyle went back in time. Looper presents the question of how could Cid become so evil if this was the first time Old Joe went back in time? Let Old Joe answer that.”I don’t want to talk about time travel because if we start talking about it then we’re going to be here all day talking about it, making diagrams with straws. This time travel crap, just fries your brain like a egg”.
Conclusion: These are just some of the things I noticed while watching Looper. I think both movies are excellent and should be viewed more than one time.
If you do a comment….please ignore the email address and website section.
Thanks for the movie tip for Looper. I’ll have to look this up and take a look.
Thanks for stopping by easy learning web
You certainly can write film critiques…better than any I’ve read. It’s as if you are a PROFESSIONAL! Seriously. I enjoyed reading this, although I am not a movie goer……and if I was….these types of movies are not my choice. I follow several hubbers who do a wonderful job of providing their readers with outstanding critiques…..one HP writer in particular….I’m sure you’ll be bumping into them in your travels….Good luck. I feel like you are a “friend,” already.
Hey fpherj48….thanks for the very fine words and compliment. My father is probably one of the ones you are talking about. As he is helping me start this process.
I found this movie page so interesting as you compared the two movies so well. I have not seen the Bruce Willis latest movie but it certainly sounds good…..have to put it on my list. Nice HUB – will be looking for more. THANK YOU
Hey Bern1960….thanks for the visit. I think you will like this movie whenever you get a chance to see it.
There is no comparison between Bruce and Arnold! Yippee Kay Yay all the way!!!
Hey Sunshine625….I agree Bruce and Arnold have no comparison. Thanks for the nice words.
They don’t specify that its three boys in the film as you put in the paragraph about targets
Hey jscott757…..good point I will have to change that wording