Review of The Terminator (1984) by Freddie K — 07 Aug 2016

"I'll be back".

Finally got around to watching this one!!!

And I have to say it lives up to being a great Science Fiction Action blast.

Right off the bat, you can see that the future proposed in the movie is obscenely bleak. Humans are low and vulnerable as the machines tower above them. The subtlety in Terminator is absolutely excellent. Details that not only foreshadow events in the film, but expected events in the future.

The action scenes aren't anything amazingly intense. But they are pretty damn groovy. The surprisingly wonderful soundtrack gives massive benefit to the just plain cool chase scenes around American roadways and tunnels. This, combined with Arnie's outstanding performance as the pitiless robot annihilator creates an atmosphere which is not only lined with tension, but is also just...well..cool.

So many quips in this film, and lingering moments on the terminator as he progresses with abilities. But don't worry, he saves the coolest visual for last!

There are a few gripes I had with my experience however. One would be that the acting wasn't anything noteworthy or memorable, each actor did their job well (Apart from Arnie who excelled, though more physically than character wise). In addition to this, the lack of dialogue mainly for the first portion of the movie leaves wide spaces of depth for anyone. This includes Sarah Connor which should have had deep characteristic traits for essentially, 'war' earlier than I saw them develop. I guess you could argue that Reece had some emotional impact on that, but with only a few days to develop her reflective mindset from knowing he could just be batshit crazy is a little questionable.

To conclude though, Terminator is the default 80s action film to go to. Not perfect, but it is solid in pacing, visuals (for the time), action and the concept of man vs machines in a bleak and hopeless future. One definitely for a film-makers handbook.

A-.

81/100.