Others say...

"Is this really a `classic'?"
I think it's safe to say that you aren't watching an Arnold movie for the acting, right? You want to see things blow up and people get shot, right? Well, if that is what you are looking for than this is probably the best way to get that fix. `The Terminator' is one of those cult films that every `guy' in America, and quite possibly all over the world, has seen and has loved. I personally saw it for the first time about a month ago.

What...a whirlwind.

I was totally in the dark going in, so the fact that Arnold actually plays a bad guy was like a big "whoa" moment for me, but whatever, I'm in the minority and I accept that.

The film takes place in the present (well, the 80's) but the real story is what happen in the future, the year 2029 to be exact. The world is overrun by the machines. These machines devise a plan to change the future by altering the past. In other words; they send a robot to the present to kill off the mother of humanity's savior before she has a chance to birth him. That woman is Sarah Connor. In order to save humanity a man named Kyle Reese travels back in time to save Sarah from the Terminator.

The film is riddled with bad dialog and bad acting, all except Linda Hamilton, who actually turns out a very respectable performance as the conflicted and confused Sarah. Arnold is, well, Arnold and Michael Biehn is horrible as Kyle, but like I mentioned earlier, the acting is far from the point of the film.

Some of the effects and CGI are a little weak, especially as the film draws to a close and the Terminator is reduced to his metallic shell, but the film is an 80's gem and so its technical flaws are forgiven. Personally though, I couldn't help but draw comparisons to the vastly superior `Matrix' film, which carries a similar storyline yet executes it much better. I know that a lot of devoted fans may hate me for saying that, but I'm just trying to be realistic here.

This brings me to my point mentioned in my title. Is this really a classic? I mean, looking at the film for what it is, a sci-fi action film, and then looking at where we have come in terms of special effects, acting and direction, I can't see why one would want to watch this when so many other options are much better. `The Matrix' for example is much smarter, much sleeker and constructed much better. Sure, Reeves is not the greatest actor in the world, but `The Matrix' may be the one film where his breed of apathetic deliver is desired. `The Terminator' just doesn't stack up to modern spins on the genre and so it baffles me that so many stick by its side. Sure, sometimes we have a special fondness for the films we grow up with, but honestly, this is generic and decent at best, but there is much better to be found elsewhere.

"Easter Eggs"
I thought this was a really good dvd. My only concern really, was the fact that the picture quality as people have said is a bit grainy, but on the positive side, I find this movie with the grainy picture adds some character. Most of the old movies looked this way, and adds a bit of creepiness to the movie.

But onto easter eggs. They're kind of cheesy, but are entertaining. If you're on I think the special features page, and I think the sound page? if you keep clicking the curser around in all directions it will jump up to a little square that is up above the words that says things like Trailers or whatever. If you keep clicking this same little box it plays a few different short interviews. Even after you watched the short interview, click the same link again, and it'll play a different interview. Not sure how many there are in total.

It's kinda cheesy though because it's just a still picture of whoever they're interviewing, and the sound is rolling. So it's mainly an audio interview, but with still pictures thrown in. They interview James Cameron I think, as well as Michael Biehn, and a few of the effects guys.
It's really cool. I mean it's not much as far as extras, but at least it's something, so I can't really complain. So anyone who has this dvd, and hasn't found the Easter Eggs, definitely fidget around with it, and you will find em.



"Our Future Is In His Hands..."
With the new television season in full swing I find myself bombarded with a plethora of new shows vying for my attention, few will actually succeed in gaining it in the end; however, as many new shows try to become new favorites of mine, I still remain loyal to the ones I've enjoyed from previous seasons. One such show that became a favorite of mine last season was the Fox network's mid-season replacement "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles". Now that the new season of this show has gone on for a few episodes, I recently found myself wanting to re-watch the original movies that spawned this entertaining weekly sci-fi series. So, I got out my Blu-ray copies of the Terminator trilogy and had myself a thrilling, action-packed, sci-fi weekend of machines bent on destroying humanity.

"The Terminator" is set in the year 1984 where a young woman named Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) is trying to make a life for herself; however, that life may soon be cut short as a deadly cyborg, called a Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger), arrives from the future to kill her. As it turns out, Sarah is to eventually give birth to a boy who will one day grow up to become humanity's last great hope for survival against the onslaught of these seemingly unstoppable killing machines. Now, Sarah is in a desperate struggle for survival for not only her own life and that of her unborn child, but also for the future of all mankind.

Science-fiction movies when done well can be extremely entertaining pieces of cinema that on occasion become important facets of our popular culture. Prior to 1984, the Star Wars and Star Trek movies were the two biggest science-fiction franchises ever to be made. That is, until a little known director named James Cameron released a movie starring a former Austrian body builder that would become the first true blockbuster for both men's careers, and cement Arnold Schwarzenegger as a cinematic icon, causing his character to become one of the most quoted and recognizable characters of all time.

The story for "The Terminator" is a blend of both present day (well, back when 1984 was present day) reality with that of a dark, bleak future where humanity's days could very well be numbered. The concept of having a cybernetic killer come back from the future to end the life of an innocent woman and her as yet unborn child was an intriguing one. It was made even more intriguing by the introduction of her protector (Michael Biehn) who was sent back in time by Sarah's very own son to protect his mother and prevent the Terminator from succeeding in its mission. Talk about a mind-bending storyline. An interesting element within this movie is that the future may not be set in stone, which introduces some really interesting consequences into the story depending on what happens; therefore making the movie feel a bit more unpredictable and original than one might expect from the genre. It was nice to see that even back in 1984, long before the recent crop of sci-fi/superhero films set against a realistic, modern day backdrop, writer/director James Cameron was smart enough to create a fairly realistic world for his characters and his far fetched idea (although it doesn't seem nearly as far fetched with today's technology) to exist within. Thus, allowing us in the audience an easier time of relating to these characters who find themselves in this bizarre situation.

Leading the cast for "The Terminator" we have Arnold Schwarzenegger, who found great success as one of Hollywood's new action heroes in films such as, "Predator", "Commando", and "Total Recall", and all of it was due to his star making performance in this movie. The fact that Arnold became such a big star from this movie is actually somewhat surprising to me given the fact that he barely speaks in his role, shows zero emotional range (which is appropriate given that his character is a cyborg), and isn't exactly challenged in a physical way either. Regardless of all of this, Arnold still managed to create a villain that instills fear by being this ultimate killing machine, not to mention the eerie way in which he systematically scans a room is perfectly robotic and creepy at the same time. All the while you'll find yourself wondering is this possibly the future of our machines with the way A.I. is becoming more and more advanced these days. Just a little bit strange to think about, isn't it.

The supporting cast led by Linda Hamilton and Michael Biehn was surprisingly solid, providing intriguing characters that were easily accessible, allowing for us to quickly begin rooting for their survival and ultimate success against the onslaught of the Terminator. Linda Hamilton ("Dante's Peak") was given the most to do out of everyone within the cast. Over the course of this movie we see her character run through a wide range of emotions; from happiness to fear, from fear to surprising romantic bliss to an eventual undeterred resolve. Linda proved in this movie that she was definitely star material, by creating such a three-dimensional character that began the movie as a virtual nobody and ended it poised to become this virtual warrior-like woman determined to raise her son to be the one man that could save humankind from extinction. Along with Linda, actor Michael Biehn ("Aliens") created a very human, yet at times almost superhuman hero in Sarah's protector, Kyle Reese. His devotion to not only his mission, but also to Sarah, was a nice twist to the character, because it made him into a much more realistic hero. Normally in movies like this the hero is one that knows exactly what to do in every situation, and nine times out of ten Kyle was very much like that, but there were those moments where he clearly was flying by the seat of his pants, and just hoping for some miracle to occur to save both him and Sarah from the machine hunting them; it was this very human aspect to his heroic character that made him stand out more than what your typical action hero would have in any other movie.

Lastly, writer/director James Cameron did an excellent job of creating a visually thrilling science fiction experience with a significantly smaller budget than anything produced in movies or television today, and yet still his visuals hold up better than most from that time. That is as much to do with the excellent work on behalf of James Cameron and his crew as it is with the talented people working with Stan Winston to create the stunning, yet sometimes frightening images of a future where machines rule over the humans with an iron fist. Granted there are moments within the film where it definitely shows its age, and the practical and visual effects definitely look dated; however, given the time at which the film was made the results are still impressive even by today's standards if you really stop to think about it. It would be nice (and I'm sure purists will disagree with me on this) if some of the weaker moments in the visual effects area could be tweaked/redone similar to what George Lucas did to his original Star Wars trilogy. I'm not saying to tweak the effects to the extent that George did, but there are definitely places where if an improvement could be made the movie would definitely benefit from it, and would feel more in line with the technological advancements made in between this first movie and its sequels.

Overall, "The Terminator" is an excellent science fiction thrill ride that grabs you early on, and only occasionally slows down long enough for you to catch your breath before quickly rushing forward once more. With an outstanding story, a surprising cast, and mostly solid visual effects work, this is a movie that kicked off one of the greatest sci-fi movie series' of all time, and should definitely be on everyone's must see list!

"The Terminator" is rated R for violence, language, and nudity/sexuality.

"Immortal!!"
Some films age like wine: the older they get, the better they get. It's hard to believe that the Terminator's pushing 25 years old. Terminator's lean script, staccato editing and direction, and its human driven storyline are what allows it to survive amongst modern films that benefit from superior technologies like CGI, motion capture, and now 3D-motion photography. Everything's relative and, in 1984, Terminator's special effects were extraordinary. For instance, there's a scene in a motel where the Terminator attends to some gunshot wounds he suffered. Using a box-knife, he opens a vaginal gash on his forearm to readjust a broken piston rod. Then, he stabs the box-knife into his eyeball and plucks the soft gelatin organ out of his head. In the ragged and empty mouth of his eye-socket, a hard shiny light zooms in and out. This was scary back in 1984. Today, a five-year old could see through these transparent effects.

Distilled to its essence, the Terminator is a cyborg from the future that travels back in time--forty years--to kill a woman, a waitress, whose unborn son will save mankind in near the future. This is the magic of the Terminator: it's a human story. The action, the special effects, the camerawork, the actors---the special effects in Terminator takes a back seat to its human storyline.

Terminator is James Cameron's best movie. It has the perfect atmosphere; most of the action is at night. The big `70's cars in the Terminator's chase sequences are reminiscent of the big cars in The French Connection's chase sequences. Unlike T2, where there's a lot of exposition between action scenes, Terminator's action scenes erupt out of nowhere. I could go on and on but the bottom line is that Terminator will be around long after most of today's science fiction rip-offs are obsolete.

author of Gotta Be Down!


"Don't get the Blu-ray version."
Terminator is one of the most important sci-fi/action classics in American film history. I am a big fan. I want to warn every potential purchaser of the Blu-ray version, however, of the fact that it does not provide anything close to HD imagery as a result of the deterioration of the original film stock over the past 25 years. In fact, the picture is so fuzzy that it is not even DVD quality. Save your money and get the DVD version instead.