Everything that defines a sci-fi/action film

Rating: 8/10 (4 May 2007)

"I'll be back." Uttered by the Terminator just before he launches into a murderous rampage as he looks for Sarah Connor, a woman who will give birth to the savior of humanity in the future. The Terminator is not simply an action film. The Terminator is not simply a sci-fi film. It is both rolled into one. However the Terminator breaks away from the norm of all flash and no show.
Sarah Connor is a regular woman living in Los Angeles. She's normal until someone attempts to assassinate her and then protected by a man claiming to be the future. The story is pretty much this stranger attempting to protect Sarah from this assassin who says very little. However the assassin is not human, he is a cyborg and the man claiming to be from the future actually is from the future sent back in time to protect the mother of the future savior of humanity against the machines who will attempt to destroy it.
When I first read the plot for this I was so confused I was uncertain I wanted to watch it. Finally I did and I loved it and go back to it for a good story. The film could have been terrible. Everything could have gone wrong but Cameron was the driving force behind the film. He makes everything work how it should from the action to the plot to the acting. Everything flows as it should. It showed how much skill Cameron had even in his younger days of directing. (Remember this is 13 years before Titanic would come out)
The acting is nothing great. Yes Michael Biehn and Linda Hamilton give convincing performances. Michael Biehn in my opinion was one of your top actors in the 80's and he pretty much disappeared. In The Terminator he is cool, bright, sexy, and all else convincing as a soldier turned bodyguard. Linda Hamilton shows how true actresses should act. She convinced me she had no idea what was going on when she first had that gun pointed in her face. Both leads give strong and worthwhile performances.
Of course the most famous of the film is Arnold. Cold, cunning, and silent he portrays the Terminator. I really must comment that Arnold barely does any acting whatsoever except for walking, shooting, and a rare word or two. However, it doesn't mean he is a waste on the screen. Arnold, when he found out how little acting he was going to have to do made sure he was using the weapons correctly and acting as much a machine as he possibly could.
The story is actually very strong. Instead of no evidence being given of the future a ton of information is given including flashbacks (or would it be flash forwards) of battles Reese has gone through in his life. Nothing is set directly, many things have to be figured out on your own but nothing is really difficult to understand. The plot line is complex and an amazing world is painted around the story
The action scenes are some of my personal favorites, especially the showdown in the police station. Cameron got exactly what he wanted when he directed the film. He wanted darkness, rage, violence, a story line that worked. However, the film isn't all about action and violence, it is about humanity and how it is destroying itself. He wanted to show what the future could hold for humans with the possession of nuclear weapons and advancements in technology. He got exactly that. Cameron wanted to make as dark a film as he possibly could with top action sequences of the time and a sci-fi world only outdone by Star Wars in a film.
4/5 stars