Frightening thriller that defines a genre for a new era.

Rating: Null/10 (28 February 2002)

I don't care much for Schwarzenegger and actors of his kind. His attempts at light comedy, for example, have been little short of embarrassing. This genre is his forte. His lines are thankfully kept to a minimum and even I have to admit that the sight of the Austrian with his gun and shades is one of the most striking images of modern cinema.
We gather right from the start that Schwarzenegger, newly arrived in LA from thin air, is a dangerous proposition when he rips the heart from a punk who dares to challenge him. However, elsewhere in the same city, another figure arrives in exactly the same way and proceeds to steal the clothes from a tramp and then gets chased by the police. If the first man is the Terminator, who is the second? And what will follow?
What does follow is one of the most exhilarating rides a cinema audience could ever wish to be taken on. A pleasantly attractive girl's very ordinary life is turned upside down. Schwarzenegger is right for the role of emotionless killer and Linda Hamilton is brilliant. A criticism that might be levelled at the film is that it is slightly sexist, but it could have been worse. Cameron could easily have fallen into the trap of casting a Bruce Willis type to play her guardian, but instead went for the little known Biehn, who hardly fits the tough guy image and in fact portrays a very human and bruised hero, armed with a police rifle only, who clearly contrasts with the enormous Terminator. A great dramatic device.

The Terminator is not the first screen cyborg but he overshadows his predecessors. His superhuman strength, mechanical advance against everything and complete lack of restraint is horrifying. He is just a programmed computer with a clear motive and does not kill everybody he encounters. There are many times in the film when he ignores people, brushes them aside or causes them damage but lets them live. Kyle and Sarah have to cope with the fact that he can turn up at any time. Perhaps the most frightening scene in a very scary movie is when they are in police custody, with Kyle in isolation because he is believed to be schizophrenic, and the Terminator turns up, systematically kills every cop in the station and it is simply a case, for the second time, of who will get to Sarah first.
The film does have a plot, which is simple and effective for a thriller, but also has a human message which it does not let you forget. The film has one of the most meaningful sex scenes in a film (how often do you see a sex scene in a film that actually, shock horror, turns out to be the conception of a child, and one that is wanted) and a great twist is that we find Kyle is the father of the man who will become such a threat to the Terminator and the machines that are set to take over the world.
A scary movie with hardly any cheap shock moments, a fantastic theme tune and soundtrack and a story less about a murderer and more about a couple of good people. A film that must really frighten Americans, who seem to think (and this movie confirms it) that bullets are the answer to problems. Well, not this one. The Terminator is not a boo-hiss pantomime villain, just a machine that has a task. He doesn't dwell on anything and when he kills does it quickly and efficiently. Just what will stop this creature? There is a little comic relief, provided mostly by Winfield, Henriksen and Boen, but it isn't the annoying comedy its sequel often is.
Viewing the film is certainly a disturbing experience, but it is difficult to tear away from. A film which must be seen by fans of the thriller or sci-fi genres.