An acquired taste, but a brilliant one

Rating: Null/10 (13 August 2004)

In the modern day of high-tech special effects and digital sound, a film like "The Terminator" can seem a bit outdated and even cheesy. I must admit that I only really started to appreciate it after watching it the third time. (Mind you, the first time was when I was 12, before I was old enough to appreciate anything, and the second time was one week after I saw "Terminator 2: Judgment Day," which somewhat spoiled me with its awesome CGI effects.)
What gives this film greatness is not its action or effects, both of which are representative of the style of the 1980's, a style that is not as effective today. The greatness of "The Terminator" comes from its ingenious storyline. Sure, any fool could create a story about a robot from the future coming back to kill someone. But that is a serious oversimplification of this film. The storyline that it develops about the nuclear war that will occur in our future and the machines taking over and all of that are all sci-fi genius. The basic elements that are laid out in this film are later elaborated on and solidified in "Terminator 2" (and, to a lesser extent, in "Terminator 3").
This film not only set Arnold Schwarzenegger's career on its course but started a new era of science fiction and initiated the saga of a bleak and not-so-impossible future for humanity.