A landmark moment in sci-fi/action cinema.

Rating: 10/10 (8 November 2011)

A big, bad-ass cyborg (Arnold Schwarzenegger) travels back in time to try and kill Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton), mother of the man who will—in forty years time—lead the human race to victory in a war against computers. Only one man, Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn), a soldier from the future, can help her her to stay alive...
The Terminator, the film that rocketed James Cameron to A-list director status, and gave Arnie his most iconic role (the one which saw him coin his catchphrase "I'll be back"), is such an accomplished piece of action/sci-fi in almost every department that, even after 25 years and many, many viewings later, it never fails to impress me.
A top notch cast (which also includes Cameron regulars Lance Henriksen and Bill Paxton), excellent Stan Winston effects, and a terrific score by Brad Fiedel, combined with Cameron's flawless handling of his material and Schwarzenegger's suitably mechanical performance, all adds up to one of the finest movies ever made. Whereas many time-travel tales invite the viewer to search for paradoxes, I find that this film moves at such a cracking pace and delivers all the adrenaline-pumping action I'm after, that I never stop to worry about such trifling matters.