The Terminator

1984

2.5/4 Stars

James Cameron’s “The Terminator” tells the tale of a robot sent from the “distant future” (2029) to “present day” (1984) LA with the task of killing the mother of a future commando who leads a rebellion against the robot hordes who come to dominate earth. His target, Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton), has to rise quickly to the occasion of not only preserving her own life, but ultimately defeating this “terminator”. Aided by the mysterious Kyle Reece (Michael Biehn), Sarah’s character evolves from a clumsy waitress to a cold-blooded cage fighter in the course of 107 minutes.

In perhaps his most famous role, Arnold Schwarzenegger is perfectly suited to play the emotionless robot killer as he punches through car windshields and even cuts out his own eyeball. (“I feel no pain.”)

The movie is undeniably based in the 1980s. The hair, the clothes, and the music are all on full display here, giving it a dated feel. While this is not necessarily a knock, it is clear that the special effects technology is also decidedly 80s. There is more than one occasion where this shows – the aforementioned “eye cutting” sequence looks fake and when the Terminator is stripped down to his steel skeleton the animation is reminiscent of “Jason and the Argonauts”.
The film also has some decidedly cheesy dialogue. “Come with me if you want to live!” or “I came across time to save you Sarah… I LOVE you.” It is worth noting that some of these lines have since become classics- obviously- “I’ll be back.”

Overall though, the movie holds up. Most of the action is intense and up-tempo. The overall flow of the movie keeps the viewer on edge as one action scene flows into the next. The police station shootout is classic. While the “machine” theme can be heavy-handed and tedious at times, this is still a solid action movie and gets a thumbs-up.