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Rating: 6 out of 5
I have been waiting to write this review. The excitement is high because this film is AWESOME! If you haven’t seen James Cameron’s The Terminator, you have been missing out. Directed by James Cameron, written by Cameron and Gale Anne Hurd, and produced by Hurd, this is one of the BEST and GREATEST sci-fi films ever made. Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator, it made him a global star with his one-liners and intimidating look.
Cameron’s epic film has an AWESOME storyline. In the year 2029, Los Angeles, Humans and Skynet, aka self-aware AI, are at war. The humans are on the brink of extinction after Skynet dropped nuclear weapons on the world. One man stepped up and formed a resistance to fight the humans. His name is John Connor. Cameron’s fantastic film actually is set in 1984. Skynet programmed that the best way to get rid of John Connor is to send an android assassin called a “Terminator” (Schwarzenegger) back to 1984 Los Angeles with the program to hunt down and kill a woman named Sarah Connor (Hamilton) who is not even pregnant but is the mother of the future leader of the resistance. John, aware of Skynet’s plan, decides to send a human soldier, Kyle Reese (Biehn), with the sole mission of stopping the Terminator and protecting Sarah at all costs. Come with me if you want to live! Kyle must race against the future killing machine to protect Sarah and the future leader of the resistance.
I know I keep saying this, but this film is AWESOME! I remember watching this film as a kid and being blown away and a little scared at the same time because the Terminator is a straight-up beast, and who would want to be hunted by him? The reason the story is incredible is that it is a straight-up action-packed, intense chase that seems to never end. You see the Terminator look at a phone book and track down and kill all the Sarah Connors in the city. You also see Kyle jack a police man for a gun and his ride. The two come ahead in a bar when Kyle blasts the Terminator, but soon gets up and starts hunting them.
Cameron made sure to keep the intensity up because you don’t know if they can survive against the killing machine. The police shoot-out scene was mind-blowing. The Terminator dropped the famous “I’ll be back” line before driving its car through the building and going on a killing spree to find and kill Sarah Connor. Cameron added a chef’s kiss at the end, when shit went way off the cliff, with the Terminator shedding its skin and revealing its true form. Watching the machine walk around, stalking Sarah and Kyle in a construction facility, is terrifying, but you can’t look away.
I also want to say that the story was WAY ahead of its time. In 2025, AI has become a forefront technology, and technology has been rapidly evolving. It is quite scary as the world watches AI become increasingly needed. ChatGPT and others are the new norm worldwide. Cameron and Hurb seemed to see the future many years ago with the rise of AI. It is scary to see now because in the film, AI becomes self-aware, calculates that humans are straight up shit, and the only way to rid the world of them is to do a nuclear holocaust and wipe them off the face of the earth. If we are not careful, we might be wiped off the face of the earth soon. Shit just got real, and the Terminator tried to warn us.
The special effects of this film are out of this world for the time that it was made. The lightning when Kyle and the Terminator make when they arrive in the past was one thing, but Cameron seemed to say Hold my beer, because you haven’t seen anything yet. The scene where the Terminator was in its room, looking at the mirror while repairing itself, was out of this world. You could tell it wasn’t Arnold, but damn, it looked good with the robotic movement, and the close-up of the eye was perfect. The special effects hit another level at the end with the true form of the Terminator. You can see this is where the CGI came in, but damn it looked good. The mix of computer-generated imagery and actual props was on point.
I want to give major props to Cameron. Cameron thought of this film in a fever dream he had during the making of his first film, Piranha II: The Spawning (1982). If you have seen Piranha II, you know it is straight-up ass and terrible. Cameron sure did come back and redeem himself with this film. Cameron made sure this one would put him at the top of other great directors. Cameron’s vision and eye made this film work with its story, tone, and pacing. I want to give Cameron all the credit in the world because he started a franchise that would have multiple sequels, but this one was the best of them.
This film goes with the acting of the fantastic cast. First, Arnold Schwarzenegger as The Terminator was AWESOME and the perfect choice for this role. It was said that O.J. Simpson was up for the role. I’m glad Arnold got it because it wouldn’t have hit right with OJ. Arnold didn’t say much, but his presence and intensity were priceless. He made this film go because he looks like a Terminator. He didn’t even show off his muscles. His intense pursuit set this dude on another level, and when he uttered the “I’ll be back” line, it would forever change the way he was viewed.
Michael Biehn as Kyle Reese was equally great. Playing as a member of the resistance against Skynet and coming back in time to protect Sarah, he was wild and all over the place. He entered a world that wasn’t completely dead, but he knew what the Terminator was capable of. When his PTSD was calm, he seemed cool and levelheaded, but he did have outbursts at Sarah that would make you scared to be around him.
Finally, Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor was another great choice. Playing as a young diner waitress, she becomes the target of the Terminator. Hamilton played Sarah as a woman who didn’t know why she was caught up in the world of the Terminator and didn’t believe that she was the future mother of the great John Connor. I liked her in this role because she went from a scared little person to a person who told Kyle to get his ass up and fight. She did make a bone-headed move by calling her mother, but we will let that go.
The Terminator is one of the best all-time greatest sci-fi films ever made. Big up to James Cameron for presenting a future and intense film that might soon resonate with everyone. Schwarzenegger, Hamilton, and Biehn are all excellent in their roles as they showed what will happen if a literal killing machine comes after you. Watch this film because you will have zero regrets. If not, “I’ll be back.”
BONUS CLIP!!!
