Classic film from James Cameron!

Rating: 9/10 (28 November 2009)

I have seen this film a few times over the course of my life. The first time happened when I was still in lower primary; the second time from a heavily edited videotape in a library. By now, I have lost count of how many times I've viewed this horror science fiction classic. But one thing is sure, it will never fail to amaze and shock (especially for new viewers it would make a real treat), standing the test of time as one of the cinema's most popular and successful trilogies, and for me, most favorite! I have to confess I enjoy T2 Judgment Day as well, but it kind of drags in the middle and the violence isn't as ferocious, partly maybe because John Conner is still a kid then. But in T1, it's a roller coaster, full-blown ride of non-stop action with not a single boring moment, every scene is crucial to the story and the violence is bared for all to see the kind of urgent and desperate situation our heroes are in.
Everybody who goes to cinema and not living under the rock all these years will know the storyline in their sleep: Skynet, a computer system, nearly wiped out the entire human population in 1997. It has found a way to send its cyborg- Cyberdyne system model 101, a T800, also called the Terminator, back to 1984 to search and terminate the mother of John Conner, who would ultimately lead the human's victory against the machines, before she could give birth. In return, the Resistance sends a warrior, Kyle Reese, to protect her.
'The machines rose from the ashes of the nuclear fire. Their war to exterminate mankind had raged for decades, but the final battle would not be fought in the future. It would be fought here, in our present. Tonight....'
You get to see the bleak, skull-littered future landscape, army of terminators armed with lethal machine guns as their heads swirl and red laser-beamed eyes scour for any Resistance soldiers.
'Don't you understand? It can't be bargained with; it can't feel pain or mercy, and it will stop at absolutely nothing until you are dead.' I still get the chills down my spine every time I hear Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn) seethes, 'Come with me if you want to live.' As Sarah Connor (Linda Hamiliton) looks on, feeling the impact of the serious danger she is in.
Both Kyle and Sarah are tough characters who also brings out the vulnerability as human beings, where most people can relate to, a couple of refugees on the run from a deadly, sophisticated machine programmed to destroy them. They have no other help, only finding strength and comfort in their love for each other, burden from the pressure of carrying the weight of the future on their shoulders.
And let's not forget the brilliant killing machine itself- the T800- Arnold Schwarzenegger's most iconic role in his career. He may have only uttered 74 words (including the unforgettable catchy phase: I'll be back) in the entire film, but his presence more than compensates for it. The scene where he self-repairs facing a mirror definitely leaves an impression on me. Plucking out and dropping his human eyeball, with blood dispersing the sink's clear water, is fascinating to see. Then, before you can even hold your breathe, he cuts open his skin as if it is merely made of rubber, and you get to see the complicated endoskeleton underneath.
The last climax mounts after Kyle sacrifices himself to save Sarah, but the Terminator isn't dead. So it is man, or woman, versus machine, as she crawls in her injured leg, struggles not only for her life, but for the entire human race. With a 'You are terminated, f**ker,' it is crushed to a lump of scrap metal. The nightmare is over, for now. And you just know that there's got to be a sequence, because this is one cyborg/machine/terminator that no one will ever get tired of.
The Terminator succeeds and excels in action, horror, romance, adventure and in every way any science fiction fan could possibly ask for. And it will definitely remain as one of my most favorite movies of all time.