1984 and Beyond ...

Rating: 10/10 (12 May 2016)

This quintessential marker of the decade may be modest in terms of its budget. But it's certainly epic in terms of its ideas. A piece of action-packed "tech stuff" on the surface, "The Terminator" comes a very long way from simply being a stylish noiresque chase movie with some time travel elements thrown in to spice it up. Because, first and foremost, this stuff is thoroughly rich in meaning. In essence, it's a superbly told tale of a lone warrior on a doomed mission who is given only a fleeting moment to share with the only one of his life. While desperately trying to protect her and everything human in human beings from forces so overwhelmingly destructive that they seem to be on par with the will of the gods in Greek tragedies. And the powerful background, permeated with a sense of impending fate, against which this drama is unfolding, apart from helping to deliver a serious and convincing message, somewhat unexpectedly turns it into one of the most poignant and poetic love stories – where love conquers time and space and the moment becomes eternal. So this picture should be named among very few actually substantial and emotional fables produced by the department of mainstream entertainment – as it sets off on an infinite journey far beyond the confines of a genre  and beyond the infinite.