Insights into The Terminator *** SPOILERS ABUNDANT ***

Rating: 10/10 (30 December 2001)

WARNING: I will be going into the plot in great detail, so if you haven't seen the film, please do not read this, it will spoil your first experience.
Having said that, I regret not being able to see this movie for the first time again. Seeing how you're still reading this, I'm assuming you've seen the film. So I won't have to tell you that it's a gritty horror film rather than the action movie which is the second installment, or that it's far superior in plot.
Personally I regret the fact that the film opens with a brief plot outline. I would have preferred it if the film would have just explained this along the way, but that's my only gripe.
This has to be one of the best science fiction/horror movies of all time. A real classic. Though the aforementioned outline tells us there is a terminator and a protector, you don't know which is which (even though it's pretty easy to guess). Furthermore, it's never mentioned that the Terminator is a machine. If you would look at this film with a sceptical, yet open, mind, you'll get one of the best first film-experiences ever. Assuming that you don't know what the Terminator is, you'll see it do things that are just not logical. This guy is being gunned down in a bar, but manages to stand up again. What is going on here. It's not until after this scene, that you'll get a Terminator Point of View (POV) which explains we're not dealing with a man, but with a machine. Later in the movie, after Kyle Reese has explained that the Terminator doesn't feel pain, you'll see it limping after being run down by a truck. If the Terminator doesn't feel pain, then why is it limping. Again this is explained later, when the flesh is burnt off, and you see it sustained damage to the foot mechanics. It's stuff like this that I live for.
Next, and I think this is the most important part, is the magnificent elliptic storytelling. This is easiest explained if we start in 2029. SkyNet is on the verge of losing the war, and sends back a Terminator to kill the mother of the leader of the resistance, John Connor, before he is born. In order to protect her, a protector is sent after the Terminator: Sergeant Kyle Reese. Ultimately Kyle Reese and Sarah Connor fall in love, make love, and Sarah becomes pregnant of John Connor. Thinking this thing through: If SkyNet hadn't sent a Terminator back through time, Kyle Reese wouldn't have been sent, John Connor wouldn't have been born, there wouldn't have been a resistance and SkyNet would have won. Which means there basically is no beginning, unlike for instance in Back To The Future, where the past is altered which has it's effects on the present. Though the Terminator has been sent back in time to alter the course of history, all it really does is perpetuate it. (Twelve Monkeys worked according to the same principle). There is still the implication that your actions shape the future, but that changing the course of history is impossible, since changing the past will create the present that is.
Accuracy is also one of the strong points of the film. After Sarah has completed a plastic explosive device, Reese mentions "Six more of those and we'll be done". Counting the number of bombs used you will notice that only 7 bombs are being thrown. Having been in the army for 2 years with the Uzi as a personal weapon, I can tell you that there's a maximum of 30 rounds that go into the clip (actually 32, but to prevent jamming 30 is the maximum). If you would count the number of rounds being fired before the Uzi must be reloaded, you'll find that no more than 30 rounds are fired (unlike for instance Red Heat, where Schwarzenegger fires 13 rounds from a Magnum.44 which only holds 6).
Also the reality of the violence is magnificent. I love movies which portray violence for what it is: Horrible. Don't get me wrong, I like movies where you can cheer when a bad guy is shot, but I believe realistic movies to be superior (if you agree, you should check out Platoon and Schindler's List).
Lastly, though there is a significant amount of terror, there's also some wonderful comic relief. The two police officers: "That coffee is two hours cold." "Uhuh" (takes a sip). "I put a cigaret out in it." Or the answering options the Terminator has when he's asked: "Hey buddy, you got a dead cat in there." which include "Yes", "No", "Go away", and "Please come back later" until he finally selects "F*** you, a**hole."
All in all a true classic in every sense. An absolute must see.
Rating 10 out of 10