The Terminator succeeds on many levels

Rating: Null/10 (8 May 1999)

Those of you who have not seen the movie, stop reading here and go rent or buy the video, since I allude to the ending. The Terminator succeeds on many levels, many of which have been commented on by other viewers. In general, I think this movie is distinguished by one of the most original and compelling story lines to ever come out of Hollywood. An aspect of the Terminator that has always fascinated me is how it presents the idea of machine against human and machine against machine, and on a deeper level, how humans can both benefit and suffer from the machines they create. The most compelling aspect of the film for me is how the Terminator is presented: a machine with only one main function, that of killing Sarah Conner. Even though the robot needs to utilize a number of complex maneuvers in order to carry out its function, its sole purpose boils down to that one thing. That's what Kyle Reese means when he tells Sarah that the Terminator doesn't feel remorse and absolutely will not stop, ever, until she is dead. How fitting, then, that the only thing that Sarah is able to use to stop the Terminator is another machine that is even more remorseless than the Terminator, an industrial hydraulic press that knows only two commands, "up" and "down", and, like the Terminator, "absolutely will not stop, ever", until it is down. There are many additional fascinating aspects to this exceptional movie that have been amply covered by others on this site. I rank "The Terminator" among the top five science fiction movies of all time.