The Terminator, the film that launched the careers of Arnie and James Cameron, and one of those films that i was always a little embarrassed to admit i had never seen. I’ve heard it described as being one of the greatest of all time, so i thought it was about time.
In the near future the planet is ruled by machines and supercomputers intent on wiping out mankind, but a human uprising led by an inspirational fighter named John Connor is threatening their power. The machines, in an attempt to alter history, send a cyborg Terminator back in time to try and kill John’s mother Sarah Connor before she can give birth to their future tormentor. But the humans send back a fighter of their own, Kyle Reese, with the mission to protect Sarah from the Terminator, and ensure John Connors existence in the future.
As Reese attempts to track down Sarah, The Terminator begins systematically killing all Sarah Connor’s listed in the phonebook. But with a bit of inside knowledge Reese manages to get to Sarah first, and the Terminators hunt begins. Its ruthless efficiency and intelligence reminded me a little of Anton Chigurh from No Country For Old Men. It kills whoever it needs to without the slightest hint of emotion. There are some dark, heartless killings and the action never stops as a succession of car chases and shootouts rage through L.A.
Schwarzenegger is the perfect choice to play the Terminator, a role ideally suited to his limited acting ability, physical attributes and voice. We don’t have to watch him awkwardly try and express emotion or deliver lines with any intonation. He can just concentrate on walking about looking mean, shooting people (he must kill about 20) and delivering the occasional badass zinger, which to be fair he does very, very well. If ever an actor was born to play a role, this is it. It wasn’t Brando in ‘On The Waterfront’ or one of the other great Oscar winning lead performances, it was Arnie in The Terminator.
Despite this though it’s Michael Biehn as Reese, the resistance fighter sent back to protect Connor, who has the more important role. He’s the storyteller here, explaining everything to the audience as he tries to convince Connor that he’s a time-travelling freedom fighter and not a manic loon. It’s not an easy role to play, the explainer, and still come out looking good. It’s therefore a credit to Biehn and the writers that he pulls it off without looking ridiculous.
As the chases, shootouts and running and hiding continue the film seamlessly slips between the present and future. As Reese looks at a JCB or machine he is reminded of the war torn, desolate future he has come from and slips into a flashback…to the future. The shots of a war torn L.A. in 2029 are fairly impressive, but they lack scale. It does look as though the war is taking place in a studio, not the remnants of a vast city. We see human survivors living like rats in underground complexes and hear stories of the machines keeping teams of humans alive to work as slaves at body dumping grounds. It somehow manages to be very dark, very grim and also quite cheesy all at the same time.
As you’d expect looking back on an 80’s action film there are some very contrived moments and at times the dialogue is pretty clunky. An example is the final scene, which I found pretty painful. It’s a real shame because the preceeding 20 minutes is action filmmaking at its best, exciting, tense and fun. There is the iconic scene of the Terminator, reduced to its robotic skeleton, rising from the flames with its red eyes piercing through the darkness. Some of the effects are genuinely brilliant and seem to have defied the ageing process. Others, namely the stop motion model sequences of the Terminator following Sarah, do look pretty dated. I do believe though that these non-CGI 70’s and 80’s films such as Alien, Aliens, The Thing, The Terminator and Labyrinth are going to age a lot better than the CGI reliant films that are released today. ‘Aliens’ in particular is a testament to the power of models, elaborate suits and human puppets, but that’s an article for another day.
Overall The Terminator is an impressive action film that also requires you to think a little and can generate some discussion. Is it one of the best films of all time? Absolutely not, but it’s damn good fun. I’m looking forward to seeing the sequel which i’ve also heard described as one of the best of all time. All I can say is that if it’s anywhere near as good as Cameron’s third film ‘Aliens’, i’ll be happy.
FILMDRIVEL 
Excellent.
I am glad you finally watched this and enjoyed it so. It is a classic and actually holds up a lot better than Judgement Day in terms of effects.
Great write up my friend!
Thanks Scott, yeah i definitely pleasantly surprised by the effects, good to one get off the embarrassed not to have seen list as well.
A nice one to scratch off the “Must See” list.
The sequel is one of the correct answers to the “Sequels that are better than the originals” question. The kid may annoy you (he annoys everyone), but the plot is great, and the special effects are 1,000 times better.
Not even the famed “Morphing” effects that the movies so famous for. I’m the biggest fan of the practical effects in the movie. When you see some of the stunts and real explosions they create, its impossible not to be impressed.
Yeah it seems to be considered one of the best sequels ever made, it’s going to have to go some to surpass Aliens for me though. Need to try and catch it soon so this one’s still fresh in my mind.
Aliens is very good, too, but yeah, T2… one of the greatest sequels ever.
Be interested to hear your thoughts once you check it off.
Yeah, I have heard pretty good things about this, but I just can’t get interested in it! Arnie really gets on my nerves….
Good review!
that’s understandable!
A great one if a bit dated. I think that “police station” is what had me totally terrified of Arnold when I was a little kid because I didn’t feel safe anywhere I went. Good review.
I love this film, though I cringe every time I see the head from hell as the terminator digs into his eye socket. I have a tender spot for the stop motion animation used to show the full body of the terminator in exoskeleton form during the climax.