Frantic SF action

Rating: 10/10 (24 February 2016)

I like all Terminator movies (especially the first three, all for different reasons and different qualities) and the prematurely cancelled TV series The Sarah Connor Chronicles, as well. It took a couple of years for the first one to reach me, but I did see The Terminator in a movie theatre and before Terminator 2 came out. I was actually surprised how well it worked, and having seen it countless times since then, I can confidently say it is just as effective now as it was back then.
The effects look a little dated today, the synthesizer-based music is pretty laughable, and the movie has an overall cheap B-movie feel (which I usually don't like), but these are minor deficiencies that do not lessen my enjoyment. The greatest virtue of The Terminator is its relentless pace, and in this respect, it surpasses all the other instalments in the series. It truly makes you feel the machine is unstoppable and allows you no rest, no breather. And the final showdown in the factory, when the terminator presses on even when it's nothing but a legless torso, is genuinely scary and suspenseful.
Great story, tense, chilling action, a perfectly cast, iconic character (Arnold Schwarzenegger) and one of the best pacing ever – The Terminator is a fantastic SF/action movie and a great debut for a great director.