Terminator A Good Sci-Fi Film With Some Flaws

Rating: 7/10 (12 June 2009)

The Terminator is a good sci-fi film with some flaws but it does have a compelling story, plenty of action, character development, suspense, great special effects especially for that time, and solid performances by the whole cast. I did prefer T2 and most recently Terminator Salvation over this one but the original is still a good film. Writer/Director James Cameron the man behind films like Titanic, True Lies, Alien 2, and the upcoming Avatar showed a real talent as a filmmaker with this movie which was his second one back then. Cameron is one of the best writer/directors out there and he continues to prove just that with every one of his movies. The cast are great in their roles bringing to life these imaginary characters Cameron created for the film. Arnold Schwarzenegger is fantastic in the title role. He may not have many lines and his screen time is cut a little short near the end well sort of Schwarzenegger still proves to be an effective villain. He was born to play The Terminator a ruthless cyborg from the future that will stop at nothing until it's mission is complete. Michael Biehn is equally impressive as time traveler Kyle Reese from the future. He gets just as much screen time if not a little more than Schwarzenegger and Biehn makes the best of his role as the hero in the movie. He brings an intensity to his performance which makes his believable as a time traveler whose mission is to protect Sarah Connor played by Linda Hamilton. She's also very good in the role of Sarah an ordinary woman who must find the strength within herself to stop the Terminator before he kills her. The rest of the cast are okay in their roles but they're not given much to do and really any screen time to leave an impression. The whole story of the film would take me forever to fully explain so I'm not going to get into it. It's better to just watch the Terminator before knowing too much what the movie is about before any spoilers could ruin the experience. The action is pretty much non-stop making the film move at a steady pace as the main characters are introduced and the chase begins to get to Sarah Connor first. All the crashes, explosions, chases, fights, and narrow escapes are well executed most of them looking very realistic. The special effects are state of the art especially for movies back then considering they didn't have the technology available today. The few flashback sequences with Reese showing a post Judgment Day are just as good. The world is an apocalyptic wasteland overrun by machines bent on annihilating the human race. Despite some flaws with the dialogue occasionally, answered questions, and somewhat rushed love story although it had to happen or else John Connor wouldn't exist, The Terminator is still a solid sci-fi film. It's much better than other ones out there like Ultraviolet, Babylon A.D., or Aeon Flux to name a few no offense. Overall The Terminator is an entertaining sci-fi adventure definitely worth watching with plenty of action, great special effects, thrills, suspense, drama, some humor, a little romance, and terrific performances by the cast.