Entertaining sci-fi action-drama

Rating: 7/10 (10 May 2014)

Entertaining sci-fi action-drama.
Revolutionary special effects are what makes this movie special. The effects, from 1984, are still good even by today's standards.
The plot is not bad either. Unlike most of James Cameron's movies, which are purely style over substance (yes, I'm thinking of Titanic and Avatar in particular), this movie has a decent plot. Not entirely watertight, but it exists and is reasonably coherent and plausible and not merely a medium for linking action scenes.
Though he had done the two Conan movies before this, it is this movie that made Arnold Schwarzenegger a star. Not there for his acting abilities, or linguistic skill, he was every bit the action figure (not quite action hero...).
Linda Hamilton was solid in her role (though her hair style shows this movie was made in the 80s...). Michael Biehn was OK, though sometimes came off as too over-the-top in his performance.