Terminator

There are actors,and there are movie stars.Arnold Schwarzenegger is without question a movie star,because every time he is on screen, he is,well,Arnold.There is a different Arnold in this film,and this is what I like about it.He,for once,is playing the villain,and to perfection,I might add.He makes for one of the best screen villains ever in cinema history.It's a pity that his "good guy" image won't allow him to play the bad seed more often,but that's Hollywood, I guess.Aside from the thrilling sequel,this is perhaps Arnold's best work.

I don't like action movies generally, and had to be coaxed into seeing this one by a friend. It was a major and pleasant surprise to me, and I left it with questions beyond the scope of the film, which always happens with the ones I really like (ie, Did John know who Reese was/would be when he sent him?). Most of all, I left it a Michael Biehn fan; he is great in this movie.

The Terminator, created after another one of James Cameron's reaccuring dreams (Abyss was another one.) A true beginning in sci-fi movies. As Schwarzenegger said to his friend when he was picked to play the part as the Terminator, "they want me to play as some robot from the future in this weird sci-fi movie." His friend said, "take it." Schwarzenegger is perfect as the Terminator, merciless, no fear, no love, no pity, no remorse, no emotions. None could have pulled it off as well as he did. Even his eyes showed no emotion with still showing true evil. Michael Beign is just the opposite. A man sent from the future to stop this machine. He plays his part as perfect as Schwarzenegger plays his. A perfect cast of characters for an all star movie! Plenty of action, story line, plot, character interaction, love story, and romance. Everything is tied into this movie that possibly could be, making it a 3 star movie. Only drawback is it's a little dragged out at parts and gets slightly boring from time to time but it's so minor that one would have to think about it to care. A truly awesome movie.

I just saw a horrifying, touching, very good movie again; it's The Terminator. Now to talk of it as great film, to compare it with American Beauty might seem idiotic--it's an almost unrelentingly dark, violent, frightening action movie, after all--but strip away the relentless action, strip away the technophobia, strip away the blatant dislike of cops and modern youth, strip away the poignant love story and, at its core, it's about an immature, essentially mindless girl becoming a strong, determined woman. That's a theme more movies should have if we want girls to have strong role models.

In the course of a few hours during which Sarah Connor realises that she is running for her life from a soul-less machine in human flesh that is implacably and violently determined to kill her, she transforms from a girl who can't balance her cheque book to a woman who can order a wounded, beaten man to "get on your feet, soldier." She is clear-headed, not panicky, focused in crisis and incredibly courageous. And it's not that she has lost her essential femaleness but that she's grown up.

It's relentless, heartless violence appals and fascinates me. It's gritty depiction of our society as a prelude to an even more horrific one in 2023 darkens my heart. It's quickly developing love story touches me. Its humor makes the dark places in me smile. But most of all I am touched and fascinated by Sarah's precipitous transformation. As a good life exercise, ask yourself this: Would you have the courage to do what she does?

9.5 out of 10.

It was funny to read that this film nearly avoided coming to our screens. With many number of studios rejecting the script and story, Terminator was nearly terminated before getting of the ground. However, one company, ORION pictures, the last resort for this movie, loved the premise of a robot running around as a man, trying to kill the mother of the savior of planet earth. Thank goodness they saw that it was a good script, because it become one of the great films of the 1980's.

In 2029, giant super computers dominate the planet, hell bent on exterminating the human race! And to destroy man's future by changing the past they send an indestructible cyborg – a terminator – back in time to kill Sarah Connor, the woman who's unborn son will become mankind's only hope. Can Sarah protect herself from this unstoppable menace to save the life of her unborn child? Or will the human race be extinguished by one mean hunk of mutant metal?

Well this film is a real blast. The cast is extraordinary. This is probably Arnold Schwarzenegger's most popular role. I cannot see why it isn't. He was great as the Cyborg that was walking around, as a killing machine. His facial expressions are sketched in my memory for life. I love the scene where see a close of his face in the police car, it was brilliant. Schwarzenegger, originally a body builder, he has had a wonderful career in the movie industry. His other great films include Predator, End Of Days, Total Recall, Eraser and was impressive in his role as Mr. Freeze in Batman and Robin. His career was on hold for sometime a while back, due to injury, but he is back and I hope we get to see more of his acting talents.

Then you have the others in the cast. The other stand out in this film for me is Linda Hamilton. She was suited perfectly to the role of the feeble Sarah Connor, who is going to be the mother of the child who is going to save the world. Hamilton has had a mixed career, with her filmography including the enjoyable Dante's Peak. The good guy in Terminator was Michael Biehn, who played out the role of Sarah Connor's protector, Reese Kyle. He was very good in his role. His other movies include Aliens, The Rock, Crash and an uncredited role in the great musical, Grease.

The director of Terminator, namely James Cameron, did a great job with this film. Considering he thought up the idea from a sick bed, had it rejected that many times, it is a great credit to him. Most directors would have given up on it, but he stuck with it till he got to our screens. Thank goodness he did. The story of the Terminator is an interesting one. It has a very biblical feel to it. One man sent to help save the world, with the initials J.C., fascinated me immensely. Cameron and Co writer Gale Anne Hurd did a fantastic script for this film.

There are some unbelievable scenes in this movie. None more so then the vision we see of the metal Cyborg walking from the truck fire. The vision we see from this scene is one of the main reasons why we have the Terminator. James Cameron explained that he wanted a scene in a movie that has a machine walking from a fire in menacing fashion. He got this spot on, if you ask me. Then there are some other great scenes such as the tense stand offs that the evil cyborg has with all the humans he comes into contact with, including the first confrontation with Sarah, in addition to the meeting he has with Reese. I also enjoyed the scene where he goes through the police station. Of course this scene has one of Hollywood's most famous lines in it, that of Arnie's 'I'll be back', a classic. The final confrontation between Sarah and the Cyborg is another tension filled scene of this great movie.

So, what more can I say about this movie? It is simply brilliant. I have asked many people their opinion on this film. One such response about it was, that is too 'eightish', and that comment is fair enough. If you have the chance, grab a copy of Terminator on DVD, as it is a great 2 disc set. I must admit the first time I saw it, I did not appreciate Terminator like I do now. Perhaps I found it a tad violent, but that is to be expected of a film that is called Terminator. This movie was a great success and deserved to be with all the great work that was put into it. However more was to come, a film that was to become one of the greatest sequels in movie history. Arnie was to deliver on his promise of 'I'll be back'!

Rating: 4.5 stars or 9/10