A Must-See Film With One of The Most Iconic Characters of All Time

Rating: 9/10 (26 February 2016)

The Terminator is directed by James Cameron and stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as the title character. In the future, 2029, to be exact, a nuclear war has passed. Any remaining humans are struggling to survive against the machines, endoskeletons that are near indestructible. The leader of the resistance is named John Connor. When the machines figure this out, they send one of their own (played by Arnie) back in time to 1984 (of course) to find and "terminate" John's mother, Sarah Connor, played by Linda Hamilton. John realizes this, and sends his best soldier, Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn) back to '84 to protect his mother form the invincible machine. Kind of a confusing plot.
Now, as most of anybody knows, James Cameron is one of the best directors today. He's done amazing films, such as Aliens (1986), Titanic (1997), and Avatar (2009). However great those movies are, The Terminator franchise is his best idea, much like Spielberg and Jurassic Park (1993). Although Judgement Day may be slightly better, the original is still a great film, with awesome action and break- through special effects, that still hold up.
Being James Cameron, the movie looks great. His shots captivate all of the car chases, shoot outs, and explosions beautifully. The cinematography, done by Adam Greenberg, makes the film look fantastic. The acting is also truly amazing. This film was Arnie's first big role, followed closely by Commando (1985). He definitely deserves the great reputation he has today, thanks to this considerable role. Linda Hamilton also does very good, and portrays the character arc from a helpless girl to a very powerful woman that doesn't need a man next to her 24/7, unlike nowadays female characters in cinema. Alongside Hamilton, Michael Biehn also does substantial, despite the difficulty of his role.
The next thing I have to mention is the dialogue. The dialogue in this film is so good. There's tons of memorable quotes extracted from this movie, including "come with me if you want to live," and "I'll be back." The lines between Sarah and Kyle is great. Their friendship is somewhat rushed, yet it doesn't feel as though it is. It feels as if we missed a point in which they got to know each other better.
Although it may sound as though this film is flawless, but it's not. However, it was very hard to recognize said flaws within the movie. But, I did find one. And a quite big one. It's going to be a bit difficult to explain this issue without giving away a major plot point, but it's possible. Now, having to deal with a subject as time travel, any movie is going to have an unexplained or impossible paradox. This one has to do with the existence of John Connor, prior to the events in this film. That's all I'm going to say. However small this drawback may seem, it prevents the movie from being perfect.
Overall, The Terminator is an astounding film, and anybody and everybody should see it sometime in their life. Just don't watch any of the sequels, besides Judgement Day. I'm going to give The Terminator an A, or a 9 out of 10.