Terminator

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

Many people look back at the films of James Cameron and suggest that the smaller, the budget, the tighter the limitations, the better the end product. Films like Avatar, Titanic and True Lies had huge budgets and drew in even bigger box office but many still yearn for the Cameron that gave us The Terminator and Aliens which were huge movies but packed a far bigger punch artistically. My feelings all these years on are that Cameron has earned the right to make those huge movies but i have to admit to preferring his earlier body of work. The Terminator is a nightmarish, time travelling science fiction film told at a breakneck pace and delivered with confidence and style. The film has a very gritty, underground look to it and does a great job of telling its story amid the frenetic action. There is also a huge slice of horror and suspense thrown in, an impression that has diminished in the years since it's release due to inferior sequels. Viewed as a standalone piece however, The Terminator is fine piece of work from a director with a very clear vision.Everyone knows that The Terminator is the film that gave us Arnold Schwarzenegger but when i look back at the film, it has heart and its the Michael Biehn character, Kyle Reese, that provides it Artistically speaking,Cameron might be well advised that less is more.

The Terminator (1984) is a masterpiece, the best sci-fi action classics horror movie that started all the Terminator movies. This is Schwarzenegger's best movie and my personal favorite action film. I love this film to death it is my childhood film I grew up with it. Arnold Schwarzenegger was The Terminator T-800 Model 101 indestructible killing machine cyborg. This movie is brilliant, it has brilliant story, brilliant plot, excellent additional cast, brilliant director and writers, good special effects, it is mixed with sci-fi, action and horror. This movie deals with the war that was set in the future but the battle will be fought in the present. It deals with paradox travel trough time.

"It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop... ever, until you are dead! "

This is the perfect action film of all time and still even today over 30 years it is a cult classic. The plot and the script provides excellent dialogues. Why it is brilliant? Imagine someone did something in the future and didn't know about it and becomes a primal target for extermination from a killer cyborg from the future now in the present. That is brilliant and excellent idea and story.

Two naked men appear in different locations in los Angeles trough flash blue light and electricity they were both set in time from the year 2029 to the present year 1984. One is a human the other is an indestructible cyborg reprogramed to find and kill Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) the woman whose unborn son will become humanity's only hope in the future war against the machines. The other men is a human being a soldier from the future who has to find Sarah Connor and protect her at all cost. That's the basically plot for this film.

James Cameron writes and directs this film with his than wife Gale Anne Hurd who also produced this film and they both does that brilliantly. The script with the story provides a perfect action entertainment trough whole film.

Brad Fiedel does a wonderful music theme for The Terminator character and action sequences, car chases and does a drama in which Sarah and Kyle have sex together in the motel room. That's how John was later in the sequel born. Great music score for the film. I love the soundtracks from this film: Photoplay and Burnin' in the Third Degree by Tryanglz.

Arnold Schwarzenegger was at the top of his career. This movie bring his career at top of the action stars. Arnold is excellent and he performs excellent and acts brilliant as The Terminator. At one time his agent pursued Schwarzenegger to play the action hero, but Schwarzenegger wasn't interested to be an action hero he was interested to be The Terminator and he played brilliantly well and believable enough.

Before Sarah Connor was a tough bad-ass gun guerilla squad in the sequels, here she was a scared victim. A beautiful young woman who was a waitress at the diner and was just a human being leaving a teenage normal life in Los Angeles. Linda Hamilton is the only Sarah Connor no else can replace her. She is beautiful and smart and it is my favorite Linda Hamilton movie. She acts very realistic, brilliant and perfectly as the scared victim. Linda Hamilton is the best of the film.

Michael Biehn is the only Sgt. Kyle Reese no one else is or can replace him. He is excellent and brilliant I still prefer Corporal Dwayne Hicks but Kyle Reese is my favorite character from Michael Biehn he is a perfect action hero. I love Kyle Reese because he doesn't kill any human being.

Lance Henriksen from Aliens and Hard Target is in here and he plays Detective Hal Vukovich and he is very good and realistic as the detective.

Paul Winfield is Lieutenant Ed Traxler first he doesn't believe Kyle Reese story but later he witness it him self. I wish there wouldn't be deleted scene in which Kyle and Sarah finds Traxler dying and he gives Kyle a gun.

This movie has ton's of action: You see a lot of automatic weapons, shotguns and handguns used in this film and they are used well. You have a car chase between The Terminator and Kyle Reese with Sarah and both men are shooting at each other. Terminator has a stolen Police car and Kyle fires his shotgun and hits twice the Terminator once in the eye. The Terminator than crashes with the car in the wall. In the next scene you see Terminator's eye bloody. You have a great car chase by the end of the film Terminator with truck tries to kill Sarah but Kyle put's a pipe bomb in the truck and you see a huge explosion the truck explodes great special effect. Terminator shoot's with an IMI Uzi in Tech Noir night club. Killing bunch of people in which Kyle stops him with a shotgun. Terminator crash with the car in the police station and kills almost 19 cops.

When we see The Terminator been all burned out without flesh with only been endoskeleton covered with steel with his red eyes glowing that is scary when he chases Sarah is scary when I was 6 years old I screamed when I saw that skeleton cyborg attacking Kyle and Sarah.

The Terminator is a 1984 American science-fiction action film directed by James Cameron.

10/10 Bad-Ass Seal Of Approval The Terminator is a masterpiece a science fiction action horror film, a film I love to death and it is my personal favorite Schwarzenegger film. This is Schwarzenegger's best film with Predator and Terminator 2: Judgment Day I highly recommend those three films.

This movie is a solid action movie. Not all of the dialogue is great and some of the effects are a bit dated - but this movie is still effective. The acting is great. The plot is great. This movie is well-shot and worth watching. I can't really come up with many things that are bad about it that don't have to do with it being old. This is just a fun movie with good action, time travel, and robots. I'd definitely recommend this movie. Its worth watching if you're looking for a good time.

For the gift of `Aliens' and `The Terminator' I am willing to forgive Cameron's `Titanic'. The key plot concept is beautifully simple - machines take over the earth in the future. Machines are eventually over thrown by one man. Machines travel back in time to kill man's mother, thus preventing him being born and stopping their own defeat. One human also travels back to stop the machines from killing his leader's mother.

`The Terminator' is a classic good versus evil struggle, with little in the way of greys clouding the issue. The terminator is an unstoppable brutal remorseless killer, and it perfectly suits Arnold Schwarzenegger's limited acting abilities. His few lines, including the infamous `I'll be back' are all well judged and timed, and give a great feeling of precision and inhumanity to his character. Coupled with his chiselled features, he's the best choice for the role. Michael Biehn is playing a character type that he'd reprise two years later in Cameron's `Aliens' - the human tough guy: he's got the fight, but still the ability to love and care for people. His features are well chosen for this and although his delivery of lines is hardly exceptional - they tend to come out in the same tone of voice - he's able to carry his part. Linda Hamilton is the woman-thrown-into-chaos, somewhat reminiscent of Sigourney Weaver's Ripley character in `Alien', although Hamilton doesn't have Weaver's strength of presence. All the actors are, for an action science fiction, above average and so never distract.

It's the script, with Cameron's force behind it that lifts the movie from mediocrity. Yes, there's a certain amount of corniness - the `we loved a life time' element for example - but the movie has a real sense of conviction present. The movie believes in itself and, through its passion, will make you believe too. There's a general sense of darkness in the movie - rarely do we see daylight, and, when we do, it's often the soft light of dawn. There's a nice sense of tension in the action scenes, helped not only by Cameron's camera work but also by an excellent electronic score (including a fantastic brooding credit sequence). Sure some of the SFX look clunky in these days of `Attack of the Clones' and `The Fellowship of the Ring', but they still work. There's a certain sense of inevitability, intertwined with hope, permeating the picture that creates a mood I particularly enjoyed and that's harder to find in the current crop of science fiction movies.

`The Terminator' is not a perfect picture. The movie lags in some parts, and the romance element is fairly contrived. Despite all that the movie brims with energy and promise, a script that mostly delivers, characters you can enjoy, and the ultimate Arnie role. Well worth catching. 8/10.