The Terminator

Rating:
Summary: Possibly the Best Action/SciFi Film Ever!
Review: I remember going to this movie thinking it would put me to sleep. After all, back then Arnold was just a muscle guy who had made Pumping Iron and then the not too good, Conan the Barbarian. Boy was I wrong! This movie hooked me from the opening scene and even Arnold's stiff sounding dialogue was perfect for the cyborg he was playing!

The chase scenes and narrow escapes had my heart pounding throughout the film!

There were many scenes in this film that were firsts for movies such as Arnold removing a damaged robotic eyeball, seeing how the robot mind decided on what dialogue to say and having a robot disguise their voice to sound exactly like a dead human!

The other Terminator films may have had the computer enhanced special effects, but they could not match the storyline of this action/SciFi classic that is probably the best all time of its genre!

Rating:
Summary: Message to MGM and Amazon: UP YOURS!!!
Review: BEWARE!! This DVD is not as advertised! It isn't a double-sided "special edition". Lies! The features listed above are not here. I have a DVD-ROM player and could find no such hidden menu features. I've bought this DVD EXPECTING these features. er....???? A waste. MGM is a complete screw-up company. Their package designed is half-arsed. This looks completely hacked together by Photoshop. You can clearly see where the original picture was cropped, and they cropped the laser sight. ???? Also take a look at their ridiculous "modern" redisign of To Live and Die in LA. I hope somebody there is reading this. You've made the LIST. A complete waste of a classic.

Rating:
Summary: A SCI-FI / ACTION CLASSIC
Review: "The Terminator" is the first installment of one of the best Sci-Fi franchises, but this movie not only is one of the best Sci-Fi movies that you can find, it's also one of the best action movies as well. The story in this movie is so clever that it doesn't matter if some of the visual effects look outdated today, or if some music tracks sound kinda silly, because the plot of this movie must be the most intelligent story about machines.

The main characters have a lot of depth, specially when we are talking about robots. Arnold Schwarzenegger is just perfect for the role of a killer cyborg that travels from the future whose mission is to kill Sarah Connor, the woman that eventually will give birth to John Connor, the leader of the humanity in an apocalyptic future. Sounds cool, doesn't it?

Linda Hamilton plays the role of Sarah Connor, a young woman living a simple live, and overnight she becomes the target of Arnie. At the beginning of the film she is kinda sweet and shy, but at the end of the day she becomes a survivor, fighting for her life and for the life of her unborn child. Sarah Connor is one of the toughest movie heroines that you will ever see (specially in the sequel).

Michael Biehn is also great as Kyle Reese, a warrior that travels from the future to protect Sarah from Arnie. And of course Schwarzenegger found the role of a lifetime in the Terminator franchise, nobody else could fit in this role like Arnie. James Cameron also built a strong reputation with this film, Cameron is one of the best directors in the Sci-Fi or action genres, also he knows a lot of stuff about technical aspects like visual effects and action sequences.

The action sequences are jaw-dropping and thrilling, check out the high speed chases, and of course, the final battle. "The Terminator" is one of the best Sci-Fi movies, it doesn't matter if some visual effects look dated, because the story will test the proof of time, like the good wines.

Rating:
Summary: Unstoppable Arnold!
Review: "The Terminator" (1984) is just a new Classic Thriller. When I first saw this film at the theater I was enthralled. Such a good sci-fi movie is just a treat for buffs like me. Usually the genre provides lots of second rate stuff or in the other hand when they try to be "serious" they end "pretentious".
In my own ranking "The Terminator" stands side by side with "Blade Runner", "Alien", "Brazil" and "The Matrix".

The story is now, well known. An almost indestructible android is sent to the past to kill the "will be mother" of a future human hero-liberator. At the same time, humans send a hardboiled soldier to protect her.
The film follows this wild chase with unfaltering skill giving place to high voltage anthological scenes as the irruption of The Terminator in the police station and the motorcycle pursuit.

Arnold Schwarzenegger gives his best interpretation, of his early actor's career. His stolid unflinching personification of deadly android is paramount and it will remain a trade mark for him. Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor, the fleeing girl, is very good.
Director James Cameron carved a name for himself with this "hit", allowing him a successful career that includes "Aliens" (or "Alien 2") and "Titanic".
Recommended for sci-fi and action film's fan.
Reviewed by Max Yofre.


Rating:
Summary: Future meets present. Jury still out on the outcome...
Review: There are several reasons why the first Terminator was and still is better than its sequels.
First of all, even if one sees it now, 20 years after its original release it still holds its ground with particular tech-noir ease. It doesn't look dated and it actually gains charm as time goes by rather than lose any.

Then it's also the "feel" this film has. It still retains this unmistakable "indie film" quality allthough for its time back then it was definetely high budget. All the dark, industrial superbly edited scenes contribute to that feeling, and J.Cameron did a memorable job creating a film that was expensive but kept you watching not because of ultra-flashy effects, but because of an intriguing storyline, great directing, good to very good performances, and cool visuals.

Speaking of the storyline, in T1 it happens to be more consistent and solid than in the following Terminator installments. It's a solid script deserving of a classic sci-fi film, one that puts the T1 in a pantheon of great futuristic films.

Its superiority lies also in the fact that T1 is dark and ominously threatening in its entirety. The coldness and the relentlessness of the cyborg is its trademark sign and that's what sets its unique atmosphere. If it has lost something is that fact that the back-then not so famous protagonist has since become a megastar and a governor on top of it. This takes somewhat away from the charm of not being familiar with the actors but it's ultimately not enough to harm the film.

Cameron kept the effects at a minimum and yet managed to give his film a dominant aura of technological-doom. He used more industrial visuals of the present than of the future to achieve this and he was succesful by a good margin. It was after all one of his very best films.

The Terminator's machoism is well disguised underneath its fake skin and Arnold was a perfect cast for this role. He wasn't consumed enough back then to be taken in as funny even if he delivered lines like "I'll be back" or pronounces names with a German accent (Sarah Cannah anyone?).

One of the top 20 sci-fi films of all time.