Classic horror/thriller/action hybrid

Rating: 9/10 (8 March 2016)

A classic Blockbuster, The Terminator plays more like a horror film than the action film franchise that it spawned. Schwarzenegger owns the whole movie with his minimal dialogue and enormous presence. Its amazing that with only fourteen lines of dialogue he became one of the most quotable characters of all time. He carries all of his weapons like extensions of his own arms and remains completely deadpan at all times.
The acting of the movie is carried by Michael Biehn and Linda Hamilton, both of whom do an excellent job of their roles. Hamilton is a sweet but scared young woman on the run from something she doesn't understand. Biehn is a young soldier from a time far from now, with PTSD licking at the edges of his consciousness. The way Reese looks at heavy machines with apprehension is a tiny thing that speaks volumes, as is the non-existent reactions to deaths of his fellow soldiers in present day.
Cameron's screenplay is a marvel, full of incredible dialogue and one of the best plot twists in cinema history. Whilst most of the visual effects are quite dated, they far from ruin the movie and the animatronic head of Schwarzenegger is certainly impressive for its time. The way Cameron cuts the movie around R-rated violence and unavailable visual effects (putting sunglasses on, brilliant!) actually contributes to the film's cult thriller status. I don't know why Schwarzenegger was given a posh combover at the start, but it is quickly messed up, and the film's score has lots of impressive horror moments but is probably better suited to this film than the very action-heavy Terminator theme we are used to today.