Classic

Rating: 9/10 (19 August 2008)

"The Terminator" is a classic 80s action movie. Yes, it's a bit cheesy, the special effects are obviously fake now, and there isn't a huge amount of character development in this film, but it's still the best of this series, in my opinion. This is considered to be a low budget film, as most of the stars were unknowns at the time. Now that Arnold Schwarzeneggar is a huge star (as well as governor), the film can be looked at somewhat as the beginning of a career. Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) is rescued from the Terminator by Kyle Reese, a man from the future who knows that Connor's son John will lead the rebellion against the takeover by robots in the future. The rest of the film consists of the two of them trying to escape this Terminator and the events that will result in John Connor's birth. It's still a great film, and the best of this series so far, even though it doesn't have great visual effects. There are good performances from the entire cast, and there are tons of humorous bits throughout the film that lighten up such a suspenseful, frightening story. "Terminator 2" is an impressive sequel, but because I feel it is overly violent, I'm not going to rate it higher than this film.
***1/2 out of ****