Fellman's Movie Reviews

The Terminator is a 1984 sci-fi/action movie starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Biehn, and Linda Hamilton. It is about an unstoppable cyborg travelling back in time to kill the mother of the resistance that is fighting the robots in a dystopian future where robots have taken over and are hunting humans into extinction. The Terminator is credited for launching the careers of both Arnold Schwarzenegger and James Cameron into superstardom, even though they had both done projects before this movie.  

For being made in 1984, The Terminator is surprisingly well done. I mean, the special effects look like they were made in 1984. You can tell when practical effects are being used that Arnold Schwarzenegger isn’t really cutting his own eyeball out. If it were 20 years later, they could’ve used CGI for that, and it might have looked almost real. But this was the 80s. You gotta work with what you got.  

And one of the things that you have to give to this movie, is that it’s fast paced. It hardly slows down. He’s always just one step behind them. The Terminator truly is a relentless, thoughtless, killing machine. It has one goal. One job. It will never stop. It will never be distracted. It has one mission. And it shows it, right until the end of the movie when it literally has to get crushed before it stops trying to kill her. It tried to kill her until it literally couldn’t. 

That’s why Schwarzenegger was such a good pick for this role. He’s such a big guy. He’s intimidating and no-nonsense when he isn’t talking. Because he only talks a couple of times throughout the entire movie. He’s just moving forward, looking for Sarah Connor, and killing anybody that gets in his way. He has a job to do, and he’s going to do it. 

I also think this movie is much better than the second one is. Or any of the other sequels for that matter. I think this movie gets straight down to the point of what the Terminator is. It has one motive. And Reese explains it to Sarah Connor, and she starts to understand that there’s no dealing with them or bargaining with them. It’s kill or be killed, because they’re mindless machines.  

So, yeah. Go and see The Terminator. It’s one of the most classic sci-fi movies of all time. It’s been voted into the National Film Registry for preservation because of its cultural significance. And if you like car chases and explosions, have I got news for you. And as always, keep on watching, with a smile on your face…