Movie Reviews: The Terminator

Movie Review: The Terminator

Cast:

Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator
Michael Bien as Kyle Reese
Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor
Earl Boen as Dr. Silberman
Paul Windfield as Lieutenant Ed Traxler
Lance Henriksen as Officer Hal Vulkovich

Directed by: James Cameron

Country: USA

Distributed by: Orion Pictures

Genre: Sci-Fi, Action, Horror, Drama, Thriller

Year of Release: 1984

Synopsis: In the near future, the world is devastated by a nuclear holocaust, and mankind struggles desperately in a war against machines controlled by the rogue Artificial Intelligence known as Skynet. And from this future, a powerful and seemingly unstoppable killer robot called a Terminator is sent back through time to the year 1984. Disguised to look human on the outside, he has been programmed to kill a young woman named Sarah Connor, whose destiny is to give birth to the leader of the resistance. To prevent the machines from accomplishing their goal, the resistance sends back a lone soldier named Kyle Reese to protect Sarah from the deadly killing machine and to ensure the birth of her unborn son.

Personal Comments: The Terminator is a popular long running franchise that has spawned countless sequels through the decades, and other media which range from comics to video games. My first experiences with the series started with the sequel, "Terminator 2 Judgment Day", which was tremendously popular back in the early 90s and was one of the most talked about films at the time. And I can clearly see why, because back when the movie first hit theaters in 1991, it became such a huge hit and a cultural phenomenon which is still remembered and cherished by fans to this day. Unfortunately, I did not see the first movie back in the 80s because it was never broadcasted in Arabia were I once lived. And no tapes of it were available there. But I did get to see it somewhere in the 90s when I was a teenager. 1996 to be exact. And I have to say that as the film that started the franchise, it's really quite a spectacular movie. And its had me coming back to it again and again. Since the series' inception, countless merchandise has been made for it, including action figures, video games and comics. Though, the comics I recommend more because they do the series better justice. The toys can be nice to collect if you're a toy collector though.

Originally released October 26th, 1984, this was the first film in the franchise that James Cameron worked on. And as a result of its success, many sequels would to follow in the years ahead. The most popular being the second film, which came seven years later. First thing I want to go over are the actors. The makers of this movie did a great job with their choices for "The Terminator", casting Arnold Schwarzenegger as the killer robot, and Michael Bien as Kyle Reese, the soldier sent back in time to protect Sarah Connor, who was played by Linda Hamilton. And I think the actors all did quite well in their roles as far as acting and characterization is involved. The thing about the Terminator, is that it's become the one role that Arnold is most famous for. Of course, Arnold has played in a number of different movies including "Conan the Barbarian", "The Running Man", "The Predator", "Total Recall", "Last Action Hero", and "End of Days". But out of all the films he's played in, his role as the Terminator is the one role that most fans remember him by to this day. Just as Mark Hamill is most remembered as Luke Skywalker from Star Wars, and Sylvester Stallone is best remembered as John Rambo.

Both Kyle Reese and the Terminator are sent back in time to 1984 Los Angeles in different locations around the city. But what's funny about this intro is that they arrive naked. So, they obtain weapons and clothing, but they both have two different objectives. The Terminator was sent back in time to kill Sarah Connor, while Kyle must protect her. After killing two other people named Sarah Connor, the Terminator eventually tracks down his target at the Tech-Noir nightclub and attempts to kill her, but Kyle arrives just in time to save her from her would-be executioner. And this is where things really get intense. After a desperate car chase, Kyle explains to Sarah that an artificial intelligence will become self-aware, turn against its masters, and seek to wipe humanity off the face of the Earth. Now, let's talk about the story, characters, and overall atmosphere of the movie. I always thought that the Terminator series had an interesting and engaging story about a future war that has ravaged the world, and one man leads whatever is left of humanity against the renegade program Skynet, which has an army of over thousands of robots and computers at its command. Having such an intricate and complex story, I always believed that there are many different ways on how the saga could be explored, as indicated in the comics released in the early 90s by "Dark Horse Comics". The comics take on a totally unique spin on the franchise with its own stories and characters, while still revolving around Sarah and her son John in both the present day and the future.

But in the movie, we focus on the relationship between Sarah Connor and Kyle Reese as they spend half the film trying to avoid the nearly unstoppable Terminator whose hot on their trail. Arnold's performance as the killer robot was quite convincing and intimidating. I think he really nailed it with his performance. The Terminator is a cold, emotionless, persistent and merciless killer that murders whoever messes with him or gets in his way. He doesn't let obstacles stand in the way, and his sole purpose is obeying his program and getting the mission completed, making him a force to reckon. Not to mention he's pretty durable and hard to destroy. When he gets shot, he just keeps on going. In fact, any injury he sustains, he just brushes it off like nothing ever happened. This is mainly due to his inability to feel pain since he's a robot. One of Arnold's best scenes is just after the second car chase scene, where he crashes his car. And after Sarah and Kyle are taken into custody, the Terminator sought refuge in an abandoned hotel, where he opens up his arm with an exacto knife to reveal the mechanism inside, and repairing the hydraulics that control his finger movement. And then there's this one part where he removes his damaged organic eye to reveal an electronic eye inside his socket. That was both creepy and awesome at the same time. And for 1984, these special effects have withstood the test of time. One interesting thing about this movie is that it's one of those stories that touches upon the age old theory of time travel. And this was a year before the equally successful "Back to the Future", which is also still praised and loved to this day. It's worth mentioning that in this movie and the two sequels that follow, the concept of time travel was a reoccurring theme that was very commonly touched upon. However, the time machines that are used to transport the characters from their time into the past are machines built by Skynet, meaning that the humans don't have immediate access to them, and must somehow get by the defenses in the facilities from where they're built in order to have access to them. Or at least that's how it works in the first two films in the series from what I know.

The relationship that builds up between Sarah and Kyle is pretty dramatic and at the same time its pretty complex. In Sarah's point of view, she is understandably terrified when she learns that she's being stalked. And the terror elevates even further upon learning that the killer who wants her dead is a robot from the future. But as time goes on, she accepts that she is destined to carry a large burden which is to give birth to the leader of the human resistance, which she herself is a part of in some way. The funny thing I've learned over the years, is that in the future where the war takes place in, her son John Connor is actually older than his father, Kyle Reese. And yet, Kyle Reese becomes John's father upon traveling back in time to 1984 to protect Sarah from the Terminator. So I guess when we take this story all the way back to the beginning before any of the events in the films ever took place, I guess we could say that John's original father was an entirely different person who had little to no significance to the saga. Meaning that there was someone else who was John's biological father. But sometime during the war, Skynet decides to erase Connor's existence by sending one of its machines back in time to kill his mother and thus prevent his birth from ever occurring. So as Connor sent Reese back in time to act as Sarah's protector, the whole story of John Connor is changed as Kyle became his biological father through the course of time, erasing any biological ties he might have had with his original father. I know that sounds confusing. But that's my theory of what might have happened before the whole concept of time travel had a major part to play in this movie. And I guess it's also safe to say that John was born somewhere in between the early to mid 80s, while Kyle was most likely born somewhere in the late 90s or the 2000s. Another interesting thing I noticed in this movie is that John would have been called John Reese if Kyle had survived the film. But since he dies towards the end just before Sarah destroys the Terminator with the hydraulic press, it was destined that their son would be called "John Connor". The dialogue is especially well written. And one of the best lines in the entire film is where Kyle tells Sarah "Listen! And understand! That Terminator is out there! It can't be bargained with, it can't be reasoned with, it doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear, and it absolutely WILL NOT STOP! EVER! Until you are dead!" I have to say, the way he says that line just sounds thought provoking and convincing. It just goes to show that he's serious about what he's talking about, that there's a killer robot on the loose that wants her dead. And for me, this is one of the best lines ever in the entire film.

One thing I really like about this movie is the soundtrack. And as you guessed since this is a film from 1984, its very 80s type music. The background music really helps a lot with the film's overall atmosphere concerning the dark futuristic world with the war against Skynet, along with some of the chilling and suspenseful moments in the film. In fact, a lot of the background music in this movie is pretty creepy and suspenseful, which in my point of view gives the movie it's name as a Sci-Fi/Horror film, and it really works well with the movie's dark atmosphere. And then there's the vocal tracks in the soundtrack which don't really fit the movie's atmosphere, but are still pretty catchy songs that are fun to listen to nevertheless. Two of my favorite tracks from the entire soundtrack are "Photoplay" and "Burning in the Third Degree". "Photoplay" was played in the scene where Sarah Connor makes her way into the nightclub after she becomes anxious and suspicious of someone stalking her. And "Burning in the Third Degree" as most people probably remember, was played in the part where the Terminator finds Sarah in the nightclub just before being shot down by Reese, leading to the first chase scene. And of course, the tension that builds up from the hot pursuits really brings up the flair in this film. Especially the track that plays in the part where the Terminator breaks into the police station and searches for Sarah as he kills a number of police officers. It's a bummer though that track was omitted from the Soundtrack Album. But overall, the music from the soundtrack is quite spectacular and memorable to this day.

Another thing I love about this movie was the special effects. It's nothing compared to the special effects we have now. But considering the year it came out it, that's perfectly acceptable. Besides, based on what I've heard from a number of reviews, a lot of people prefer the old fashioned ways over the new fashioned ways. And I think the special effects still look fantastic to this day. Anyway, continuing with my review on the special effects, they're really quite spectacular and enjoyable in my humble opinion. I really like how they animated some of the future sequences with the HK robot tanks and hovercrafts with models and props. In fact, even the settings were well executed with the ravaged desolated cities and the dark sky. Even now, it still looks quite convincing with the realistic movement and special effects for the lasers and explosions. And I also like how they animated certain parts in the scene where the Terminator opens up his arm and fixes the mechanism inside, and later takes out one of his organic eyes to reveal an electronic one inside his socket. I always thought those parts were chilling, yet well executed. What I've learned is that the arm and the face that were used in those two parts were props that were modeled to resemble Arnold. So when they shot the scene where the Terminator takes out his eye, the face with the electronic eye inside was actually a prop that was designed to look just like the actor. But from the time I first saw the film, I asked myself; "How did they do that?" because it looked so convincing to me at first. And everything about this movie is so well done. And I think the special effects hold up wonderfully today.

I would also like to go over some of my favorite scenes as well. From the very beginning where we see the robot tanks running through masses of human skulls in the future, to where the Terminator makes his entry in the city of Los Angeles, to the first chase scene where Kyle and Sarah first meet at the nightclub and run as far away as they can from the Terminator and from the police cars chasing them, to the shoot out at the police station. Those are only some of the best scenes that come to mind when I see or think of this movie. Though, there's one scene which I thought was quite interesting. In the scene where Sarah has a dream about the future, which is probably also one of Kyle's memories, we see a different terminator who has infiltrated one of the bases of the resistance, and taking out its personnel and the civilians alike. To my understanding, some people assumed that this guy was Arnold. And I guess I can see why some people made that mistake. Because the lighting in that scene was a bit too dark for anybody to clearly see the faces of the actors. So it was kind of hard to tell that was a different actor playing as a different character in that particular scene. In fact, I learned that the actor who played in that scene is an Italian actor named Franco Columbu. Not many people know who Franco Columbu is, but in the past, he was one of Arnold's closest friends, and in the 80s, he's made several other cameo roles in some of Arnold's other films. He also had brief cameo roles in such films like "Conan the Barbarian" and "The Running Man", and had even starred in his own films such as Baretta's Island. He has also done TV commercials, most notably, Vitalis ("the pump"). His other TV appearances include "The Streets of San Francisco" (1977) and "Dead Lift" with Arnold Schwarzenegger.

And last but not least, I want to discuss the last part where they made great usage of special effects; the final chase scene. As most people know by now, computer technology wasn't as advanced as it is today, so a lot of special effects back then were done either using camera effects, models, puppets, props, and costumes. The final chase scene where the Terminator is completely burned out of his flesh and pursues Kyle and Sarah in an automated factory was done using stop motion animation with a well designed puppet of the robotic endoskeleton. Of course, the first few minutes of the scene didn't look too convincing with its jerky sort of movement. But later as we approach the end, we see the robot moving more fluently after losing a portion of his body to an explosive. I'm guessing it was either done with remote control, or maybe they used some other means of animating the puppet. But anyway, the whole sequence from beginning to end was quite enjoyable. Needless to say it was actually quite convincing and suspenseful the first time I saw it. Cuz the first thing that came to mind was; "Whoa! Imagine being chased by one of those things!" It's probably nothing compared to what can be done today. But again, the special effects were awesome for the time this movie was released. And it deserves a great deal of my respect. After all, it's a classic. Eventually, Kyle stands face to face with the Terminator endoskeleton by hitting him repeatedly with a pipe. But the Terminator beats him senseless, and knocks him down. But Kyle, in one last ditch effort, blows the Terminator up with a pipe bomb. Sarah survives the explosion, but then she discovers that Reese was killed as she comes across his lifeless and bloody corpse. The Terminator, still with its CPU intact, chases Sarah through the factory, until she lures it in just the right spot, where she crushes it with a steel press. Sometime after Reese is dead and the Terminator is destroyed, Sarah moves on, but is understandably left with a few mental scars from her experiences. Driving down the road in her jeep with her unnamed German Shepherd, Sarah reflects on the craziness she lived through, and ponders about what the future will bring. She now realizes that she has a huge responsibility as a mother, as she is now pregnant with the soon to be born John Connor. As she prepares to tackle motherhood and the future war with Skynet, she records tapes for her son to listen to when he becomes of age (this would later be seen in Terminator Salvation. The best part is where a Spanish kid says "Mira! Mira! Aya! Viene una tormenta!" to which Sarah asks "What did he just say?" and an old man tells her "He says there's a storm coming in." To this, Sarah replies "I know." And then she puts on her dark sunglasses, and drives away into the desert. And that's the end.

Overall: The Terminator is without a doubt one of my top favorite Sci-Fi movies of all time. It's probably not as popular as the sequel "Terminator 2: Judgment Day", but it's still quite a spectacular and enjoyable film. Packed with a dark intricate story, great actors, thrilling action scenes, great dialogue, excellent editing, and suspenseful music, it's certainly a must have not just for Terminator fans, but for fans of Sci-Fi in general. And I must admit that despite the years that have come and gone, it's influence is still felt to this day and continues to motivate me in a number of ways. In fact, such influence has been used and referenced in a number of other franchises as well. Two of the most vivid examples that comes to mind that uses such influence are the two anime titles; "Ghost in the Shell" and "Battle Angel Alita" with the whole robot and cyborg mythology. In fact, a number of different anime shows and movies seem to have been inspired by this movie considerably. Anyway, being the one film that set the standard for robot/cyborg movies including the 1987 film "Robocop", "The Terminator" is certainly one of the most memorable films in the history of cinema. An absolute classic that definitely deserves 5 stars.

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