The Terminator

Rating:
Summary: One of the greatest science fiction-action films ever
Review: "The Terminator" is one of James Camerons earlier films, and one can say his earlier movies were more "personal." The Terminator is a masterpeice on film, especially considering the incredible low budget it was filmed on, $6 million. The special effects can't hold a candle to the sequel, but the story is stronger here, and the characters are more easily identified with.

Here is the basic plot (although I don't want to say too much). In the future, a supercomputer starts a nuclear war to destroy mankind. The resistance is led by John Connor, so the computer sends the Terminator (arnold) back in time to kill Johns mother before he is even conceived. The John from the future sends Kyle Reese back in time to protect his mother.

Arnold is perfect in his role, even though his screen time and his lines are limited, his impression is easily made. The acting here is superb, and the mood of the relentless killing machine makes this an incredibly thrilling movie to watch. The chase scenes are incredible, as well as the other action segments, including the ever famous police station shoot-out (I'll be back...). But along with the great action is the whole mood of this film, especially the relationship formed between Sarah and Kyle (resulting in a suprising plot twist that you'll have to watch the movie to find out). You connect with these two people, and feel their emotions, their fear; and that element is perfectly combined with the thrilling suspense of the story. Also thown in is a little bit of black comedy to lighten the veiwer from the intensity of the film (including one scene cut from TV. For years I only watched the copy I taped off of TV, when I saw this one scene after I finally bought the tape, I laughed for minutes on end).

I don't own this movie on DVD, but from what I've read the sound is supposed to be fairly poor. In my opinion, though, this film is so good that even if the sound doesn't take full advantage of the DVD system, it is still an incredible movie experience nonetheless. I first saw this movie when I was 11 years old (I'm 16 now), and since then it has been my favorite. If you enjoy this movie, I suggest these movies as well, and vice-versa. Aliens, Terminator 2, The Matrix, Blade Runner.

Rating:
Summary: A Schwarzenegger Movie Even a Film Geek Can Love
Review: Though I'm no fan of Arnold Schwarzenegger films, I must confess an admiration for this 1984 science fiction thriller. Tautly directed by James Cameron, The Terminator mixes time travel, cyborgs, romance (however brief) and action sequences without getting bogged down by lengthy, contrived dialogue. Cameron manages to squeeze a great deal out of a miniscule budget: the special effects are good but do not overpower the story (something that almost derailed the sequel). Schwarzenegger is perfectly suited to play a relentless killing machine, exuding quiet but deadly menace in every scene, particularly the police station massacre. Biehn and Hamilton are also good fleshing out the typical hero/heroine roles without needless exposition. Like the Terminator itself, the chase sequences are unrelenting and gripping; Cameron takes advantage of night shooting, harsh fluorescence and a 1980s electronic music score to add to the tone of endless pursuit. The new Special Edition DVD is a dazzling, remastered print--I have never seen this film look and sound so good--and the bonus features (deleted scenes, interviews, documentaries) are welcome treats. Despite its low budget, The Terminator avoids being a cheap, by-the-numbers sci-fi/action flick (a pity many of my fellow film geek friends stick up their noses at this "action movie")and proves James Cameron has the talent to create intelligent, exciting popcorn films (Titanic notwithstanding) that appeal even to film geeks.

Rating:
Summary: Resurrected Arnold¿s career
Review: This low-budget film single-handedly resurrected Arnold's career. This story is much better than T2 or (especially) T3.

[DW]

Rating:
Summary: Though not up to its sequel, this is an excellent movie
Review: NOTE: The movie I watched was a cleaned-up version that deleted swear words, sex scene, and any of the very gory violence without compromising the story line, so I cannot vouch for the content of the actual film--I would strongly advise looking into the content before seeing it. As a Christian I would advise against watching an unedited version.

Now for the actual review:

Few people haven't heard of the Terminator, and with the 3rd of its series having hit theatres several months back, the cyborg thing is in fashion once again.
And it's famous for good reason. From the first chilling images of a charred and ruined Los Angeles to the same metropolis some 45 years earlier, this film is thoroughly excellent.
The plot is intrisically simple, and therefore chilling and effective for that very reason. Computers had developed artificial intelligence and, in the year 1997, caused a nuclear holocaust that destroyed 3 billion human lives. Those humans who survived became locked in an epic battle for survival against nearly indestructible enemies, led by one man: John Connor. Eventually they get into a position where the defeat of the machines is imminent, and mankind will be restored to its proper place.
In a bid to reverse the tide of the war, Skynet, the computer system responsible for the war, sends a machine back in time--a Terminator, a computer system with a metal skeleton and surrounded by human tissue created for one thing--death. It's mission is to kill John Connor's mother, Sarah, at all costs, and thereby indirectly depriving the human resistance of its leader. Lacking human emotion or remorse, this terminator, perfectly played by monotonal Arnold Scharzenneger, sets out on its mission with relentless purpose.
The humans, knowing of the machine's plans, manage to send one of their own back through time--a human soldier named Kyle Reese, who has been ordered to defend Sarah from the terminator.
They both reach the year 1984 at approximately the same time, and from there begins an epic struggle for Sarah's survival.
The plot is helped immensely by the directing of James Cameron, which is quite superb. He uses slow motion extensively, but for such a film this is no problem, and it turns out to be quite effective.
Everything about the terminator itself is done quite realistically--it has no sudden relapses into remorse. The only time is spares people is when its purposes are foiled by external circumstances. And, of course, Schwarzenneger is the perfect choice for such a role. It would be hard to make the case that he is a good actor--but he doesn't need to be for this role, and he can exude such a sense of cold, thoughtless machinery that few if any other actors could have taken his part and equalled or improved it.
The terminator is the center of attention, but Sarah Connor is the lynch-pin of the film, for her death would, at least in the confines of the movie plot, spell the end (or termination) of the human race. A good actress is important for such a key role, and Linda Hamilton certainly does a good job, even though she, at about 28, was playing a 19 year-old. It is completely natural for Sarah to be incredulous and disbelieving at the notion of a machine like a terminator, and Hamilton protrays this well.
The digital effects obviously are not completely up-to-date, since the movie was made in 1984, but no movie can be expected to upgrade itself for the changing times, and for the time they were quite good. The only part that comes across as fairly corny is when the terminator loses his outer skin to show himself as he is underneath--a creepy looking metal skeleton. However this was done on the film, its movement comes across as rather shaky--the the sheer effect of a skeletal terminator still pursuing his mission even after being in the middle of a semi explosion is good enough, and the failings of the special effects can be overlooked.
And certainly the action sequences are tremendous. Reese's desperate defense against the blazing guns of the terminator--who, caring not a whit for human life, kills whoever stands in his way--makes for a wide array of tense and suspensful scenes.
All-in-all a superb film, except for the fact that Reese and Connor end up producing John illegitimately. I didn't see it in the cleaned-up version, obviously, but even knowing it's there doesn't please me. I can't prevent anyone from seeing it as it is, of course, but I do give them my word of caution that there is a good deal of bad content.
But if you see it edited, it's an superb film!

Rating:
Summary: CLASSIC SCI-FI SUSPENSE
Review: Arnold Schwarzenegger is perfectly cast as the cold-blooded Terminator is this, the template for all science fiction action movies since. Though the FX weren't exactly innovative even in 1984, they're good enough to make the futuristic sets and high-octane action scenes more than believable. But James Cameron's story of heartless cyborg murderers and an expendable humanity isn't built on FX pyrotechnics anyway, and that's why in many ways it compares favorably to its generally bigger and better sequel, Judgment Day. Cameron and co-scripter/producer Gale Anne Hurd created a story around a skeleton of realistic characters and some clever twists on the traditional time travel plot, which Cameron himself then molded into a masterpiece of cinematic suspense. Highlights include: a peak ahead to an apocalyptic future where humans live like rats and cybernetic assassins stalk the earth; a sensitive love scene between the mother-to-be of mankind's eventual savior and her protector; much clever dialogue ("Come with me if you want to live," "I'll be back," etc.), and a closing shot that turns the traditional riding off into the sunset ending on its head as the female lead drives off down an uncertain road beneath hovering thunderclouds that are harbingers of the nuclear storm to come. Odds are if you're interested enough to be reading this review, you've probably seen it already--hasn't everybody? But if somehow you've managed to escape The Terminator this long, don't worry: HE NEVER STOPS.

Rating:
Summary: Classic Sci-fi
Review: So this DVD is finally coming to the US (after being out in the UK for some months now). It's a worthy companion to the T2: Ultimate Edition double disc. While it may not have quite as many special features as it's sequel, for a slightly older movie like this, the features are most impressive, particularly the deleted scenes (I especially like the scene of Reese's inability to cope with the greenery of our world, and the final pull out which shows that the final battle between Sarah and the Terminator in fact occured in a CyberDyne factory). The 1.1:85 widescreen transfer is also excellent, and the movie has been remastered into 5.1 sound which adds to the considerable atmosphere.

As for the movie itself, well what's to say that hasn't already been said? A surprise hit on release, it's not difficult to see why now. The story is simple in execution, yet complex in theory. In the future machines take over a post-apocolyptical world, but are finally beaten by the humans. In a last ditch attempt to defeat the humans, the machines send a killer cyborg, the Terminator (Arnie), back through time to kill the human leader John Connor's mother, Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton), before he is even born. The humans get hold of the time travelling device, and send a commando, Reese (Michael Biehn), to protect Sarah. The movie is set in the 80s (the present as it were) and follows Sarah and Reese's attempts to keep themselves alive and flee from the relentless Terminator.

Unusually for James Cameron the movie is very tight and economical. Everything which was not crucial to the main narrative of the Terminator chasing Sarah and Reese was stripped away, and that really is the making of this movie. The atmosphere of the movie is like the mindset of the Terminator - relentless, inexorable. Unlike most sci-fi movies this doesn't bog you down in tiny details of imaginary future technology, it just gets on with the story. The pace is extremely quick, and the tension rarely lets up, and added to that is the ending which tricks you into thinking that the movie is over 3 or 4 times before it actually is. It's a great movie, and one that every sci-fi or thriller or action fan should own.

Rating:
Summary: This is not a special movie....
Review: Today of course, You hear James Cameron wanting to do movie using tons of CGI and special 3D cameras, and he talks and talks about the technology. Well this machine attitude of his started with the Terminator, a 1984, fairly low budget movie that had no script, terrible acting by Arnold, Michael Biehn, Linda Hamilton, and the rest. Lots of fake effects work and the Terminator effects was a fake looking stop motion model and that was it. What made anyone think this movie was special, it along with Alien was the fore runner for all these other Matrix/genre junk movies. There is no humanity in these movies at all. Thanks for nothing, Jim.

Rating:
Summary: No remakes, please - ever.
Review: James Cameron once said to remake this movie would cost him around five times as much now, as it did when he originally produced it. Which begs the question - why would anyone want to remake the Terminator?

It's first and foremost a gothic love story, with a remorseless amount of terror and tragedy. Sarah Connor, a waitress living a happy but uneventful life, is destined to have a son who will change the world, turning the tide in a human war against a terrible race of machines. (Anyone spot where the Matrix got its plot from?) But the machines have mastered time travel, sending back a ferocious cybernetic life form, merciless and unstoppable - the Terminator. However, the human rebels steal the technology and send back a single soldier, Kyle Reese, to defend Sarah against the Terminator.

The struggle to survive or kill is perfectly portrayed, without being overly sentimental or do-goody. Sarah, played by Linda Hamilton, is a powerful heroine on a par with Ellen Ripley, and just as tough. Her counterpart, Reese, played by Michael Biehn, manages to be intense, frightening and human all in one fell swoop. It isn't easy to play a killing machine and make it look authentic, but Schwarzenegger does the job and makes it stick. Between the three of them they lift this movie up and make it something special.

Rating:
Summary: Brilliant!!!
Review: All the James Cameron's films contain a big disaster of some kind. Although it may not look it, The Terminator is his most nightmarish work. Three billion people perish as a defense network computer, the SkyNet, initiates a nuclear war that leaves Earth in ruins. Even though we do not witness this nightmare-come-true on screen, it emanates from every part of this frighteningly atmospheric masterpiece. Remnants of the human population battle a desperate war against SkyNet's army of sophisticated war machines, under the leadership of John Connor. As SkyNet realizes that its days are numbered, it sends a human-looking mercenary back through time to assassinate the mother of John Connor so that he can never be born and not lead the human resistance to its victory. John Connor is able to send a protector for his mother, Kyle Reese, but can he stop the evil cyborg before it's too late? Although The Terminator is not as much action-packed as T2 or Aliens, and the action sequences are not the best I have seen, it doesn't damages the movie at all. On the contrary: time is devoted to character and story development and I quickly realized that its primary purpose is not just to entertain, but also to warn: to warn against the power that we possess and how it can be misused to destroy its creator: humans. Attention to detail, that would become the director's signature, is amazing. And also there is romance; although I admit one sexual scene lasting for one and a half minute does not make a romantic film, it was never intended for that purpose. Rather, it serves as an enrichment of already brilliant story and characters. Acting is superb, I think this is Swarzenegger's most convincing performance. Linda Hamilton and Michael Biehn are excellent, too. Music is so good it makes my skin crawl. The Terminator is one of only three movies which I consider nearly perfect.

Rating:
Summary: Darn Glad I Have This Video
Review: I got hundreds of 'em. VHS tapes, collected over the years when VHS was cool. I was digging through them the other day and, to my delight and surprise, rediscovered THE TERMINATOR, a great action thriller that put director James Cameron and "Ahnold" on the superstar map.

Schwarzenegger is absolutely perfect as an unemotional cyborg that travels back in time to 1984 to "terminate" a young woman (Linda Hamilton) destined to give birth to a man who ultimately will lead humans against the machines of the 21st Century. Arnold brings his "A" game to this role, effectively portraying a brutal, stoic, ruthless killing machine that will stop at nothing to achieve its mission. Hamilton as the constantly running victim is very good at screaming and looking terrified, while Michael Biehn is solid as her futuristic "protector."

As entertaining as this movie is, the special effects are dated and quite laughable by today's standards. Equally as laughable are the hairstyles, including a brief appearance by a spike-haired Bill Paxton. Yet the flaws are overcome by the action and nonstop thrills, as Cameron showed the world he is a filmmaker to be reckoned with. And I reckon I'm darn glad to have THE TERMINATOR in my video collection.
--D. Mikels