James Cameron's "Terminator" is a complex blend of classic science fiction, high octane action, and immense terror, glazed with style and deep with story.

Rating: 9/10 (6 March 2009)

The Terminator(Arnold Schwarzenegger), a seemingly indestructible and emotionless cyborg, is sent from the future to kill young Sarah Connor( Linda Hamilton), who holds the key to a future war. Kyle Reese( Michael Biehn), a young man who has grown up in the ruins and ashes of a destroyed world, is sent from the future to warn and protect her. Both The Terminator and Kyle have no intentions of failing their missions, but only one can succeed...
James Cameron's "Terminator" is a complex blend of classic science fiction, high octane action, and immense terror, glazed with style and deep with story. There are so many little things that make this movie great. I love the irony of the opening scenes: The Terminator, who has come to seek, to kill, and to destroy, does just this, all without alarming the local police. Kyle Reese, who has come to protect and serve, is soon being chased and hunted thy the police. Not long after, there is a scene where the ruthless Terminator steels a police car and adopts an officer's voice, essentially joining the police ranks, all to hunt down Kyle, who has become a wanted criminal. It's this helter skelter social commentary and pessimistic irony, that comprises the film's dark, gritty tone. It is interesting to note that this is a dark film, and the "Terminator" series has increasingly become more mainstream and child-friendly over the years, with a 'good guy' Terminator, child actors, and a possible pg-13 rating for the fourth film, Terminator: Salvation. The first film however, remains a dark and gritty little thriller.
The thing that makes "The Terminator", "The Terminator", is Schwarzenegger's performance as The Terminator. This is without a doubt the greatest performance I have ever seen from Schwarzenegger. Though some may mock and say " He's only playing a robot, and he's only doing a good job because playing a mechanical being requires no acting", Schwarzenegger does an incredible job that few top notch actors could pull off. In a word, The Terminator is scary, and most of what creates that sense of fear is Arnold's presence: his hulking, looming body, his mechanical gestures, his soulless facial expressions, his cold, emotionless voice. The Terminator is ruthless, cold, impossible to reason with, heartless. He feels no pain nor pity. He is a man made force that dedicates all to the mission at hand. When watching the film, I was reminded of the character of Michale Myers in John Carpenter's slasher "Halloween". Cold, ruthless, always in the shadows and ready to strike. Truly The Terminator is the Michale Myers of action films. And it is Arnold Schwarzenegger that makes us believe: makes us believe that he's out there, and he will find you, because thats what he does. That's all he does.
Opposing the one man(Err, machine?)army Terminator is a great cast of Jame's Cameron favorites. Michael Biehn does a knock out job as the scarred war-child from the future, I absolutely love his performance in this film. He has a sense of urgency and child like confusion emitting from him that fits not only his character and his development, but the story has a whole. When Kyle speaks, all listen. Linda Hamilton is a blast to watch as the sweet waitress who finds herself thrust into chaos and bloodshed. She's believable, what an I say? Also, for the screen time they receive, Paul Winfield and Lance Henriksen as Lieutenant Ed Traxler and Detective Hal Vukovich respectively, are a blast to watch. They have excellent chemistry and work off each other excellently.
The effects are also quite good. Sure there are some cheesy lazer beams here and there, but overall the special effect where really good. The future war scenes/flashbacks are nicely crafted and disturbingly juxtaposed into images from our own society. The Terminator effects are also very well done.
There are just so many great scenes and so many great lines littered throughout this film. The scene in the Tech Noir club, the explosive police station scene, the scene with Linda and Kyle under the bridge. The Terminator has a very limited vocabulary, but he knows how to use it: When he leans in to tell the police receptionist that "I'll be back", you want to cheer. And the musical score by Brad Fiedel is just great.
The ending scene is probably one of my favorite scenes in the film. It ties everything together and leads perfectly into what is yet to come. It gives you a thirst for more, and sets the stage for an even more large scale Terminator adventure.
Which came in 1991
9/10