Great Storytelling: A Little Bit Of Everything

Rating: 9/10 (1 March 2017)

Time-travel. Science fiction. Visions of the future. Action/Adventure. You name it, and "The Terminator", one of the most genre-diverse films ever made, probably has it.
For a basic plot summary, this movie begins in the year 1984. Out of thin air, two individuals suddenly appear and are searching for the same woman: Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton). One man, Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn) wants to protect her. The other, a machine simple known as The Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) wants to kill her. As the story unwinds and the chase continues, we are introduced to an intriguing storyline involving time-travel and the fate of the planet.
Simply stated, this movie remains a classic to this day because it tells such an engaging, interesting story. It balances the time travel and sci-fi aspects with real-life drama and action. There is a little something for everyone.
This was the movie that made the name James Cameron famous, and one can tell that he put a lot of effort into this undertaking. He tells a story that is actually too big (technically-speaking) for it's britches, as it is now obvious that copious amounts of either CGI or plastic were used to create some of the effects. Instead of dating the film, though, these little anachronisms actually give it a bit of gravitas. It was as if Cameron wanted so badly to direct this story, but had to rely on sub-standard equipment to "get the job done".
Overall, "The Terminator" is an 80s classic. It is now kind of stereotyped as "I'll be back" and "just a shoot-em-up" chase film, but that couldn't be further from the truth. Go back and watch it again, and I promise you'll be equally impressed with the storytelling ability. That, at it's core, is what makes this movie relevant 30 years later.