masterpiece

Rating: Null/10 (14 June 2004)

I just watched the second half of this movie on my cable channel - and although I had seen it before years ago, watching it again, in light of Terminator 2 and 3 having now been released, you realize that a) although it didn't have the budget or the special effects of the two sequels, it is still an extremely tense and watchable chase movie and b) the 3 films put together compliment each other and the whole Terminator story snaps nicely into place.
T2 was a great movie, and I've seen that many more times than T1 - probably just because of the fact that it's shown on TV more often. It's interesting now to be able to comment in retrospect on the movie that led to the making of one of my favorite action films.
The most noticeable thing about this movie, I thought, was how different Linda Hamilton's Sarah Conner was compared to the battle-hardened road warrior she was in T2. It's really weird to see her all frail, distraught, and FEMININE even, in this movie. 'Are you sure you got the right person?' she asks Kyle Reese, at one point in the movie - 'I can't even balance my cheque book!'. But of course, it is this first Arnold Schwarzenegger and this first Terminator that eventually turns her into the warrior she will be. This movie, because of its lower budget, is less glossy and less polished than its sequel. However, there is more 'grit' in the original as a result, and the effect is a darker, more atmospheric movie. Whereas T2 is an action-thriller, you could probably say that T1 is more of a horror movie - the make up they used on Arnie in the movie certainly wouldn't put him out of place in a Hellraiser, or Nightmare on Elm Street movie!
As for Michael Biehn and Linda Hamilton, I think these two were truly excellent - the acting is top notch - much, much better than in either Judgment Day or Rise of the Machines. The Terminator movies are, of course, mainly about a Robot/machines, but human characters never play second fiddle in the story line - indeed, I think it is the personal relationships formed by the humans which make the movies so good - in T1, it's the passion between Kyle Reese and Sarah Conner. When they fight for each other and desperately shout encouragement at each other, it propels the move forward and gives it a certain intensity. You find yourself rooting for Kyle and Sarah, you want them to survive, and god damn it - you want Kyle to break off the Terminator's metal skull with that iron rod in the final scene! In T2, the human aspect is John Conner teaching Arnie how to 'be' more human. The moral of T2 is that if a machine which is designed with the sole purpose of killing, can be taught the value of human life ('you can't just go around killing people!') - then why can't us humans also learn this? The relationship formed between John and the Terminator is what grounds this movie, and gives it the weight needed to elevate the quality of this sequel above that of the usual hum-drum, mass-produced by the movie studios on an almost weekly basis. In T3 - well, actually, I think the 'human aspect' in the film was actually missed, and it paid the price - it's definitely the weakest in the Trilogy by a long way. While watching T3, I didn't really care what happened to the characters, and it all felt quite lightweight and superficial compared to the first two movies.
Well, I guess this 'comment' has really turned into a spiel on the Terminator movies as a whole - but nevertheless, the original is arguably the best movie of the three - it's got the right atmosphere, the better characters, the Terminator theme played on a keyboard (as opposed to a synthesiser), 'I'll be back' said without a knowing verbal wink at the audience, and of course, if it wasn't for this movie, Governor Schwarenegger wouldn't be where he is today, signing graduation diplomas for the students of California.