Review of The Terminator (1984) by Jeff B — 26 Aug 2015

Still slaying audiences with as much dramatic precision and visual panache as it did 30 years ago, this classic piece of sci-fi-horror reveals to filmgoers from frame one why it's one of the most influential flicks of the last century. Terminator is, at its core processor, an expert level slasher movie. Think about it: Unstoppable killer pursues girl; ill-fated boy helps girl; girl renders killer stoppable. Better than even the best of this monstrous bunch without even technically being in the same genre (The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Halloween), the film also boasts a strong whipsmart heroine, instantly iconic villain, and (then) revolutionary time-traveling post-apocalyptic assassin hook. Tautly edited, the story itself is a heart-stopping killing machine of precision-a ridiculously efficient scaremaker.

In this legendary R-rated flick, an indestructible cyborg - a Terminator (Schwarzenegger) - is sent back in time to kill Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton), the woman whose unborn son will become humanity's only hope in a future war against machines.

Even if he never made anything else, Schwarzenegger's laser-sighted steely cool in Terminator makes him a superstar monster for the ages on the level of Lugosi and Karloff. Even in an age when photo-realism has nearly been achieved via computers, look at Stan Winston's brilliant special effects (those are models, people, not all 1's and 0's). Nearly perfect, the wow factor of this film isn't going anywhere. Both star and SFX wizard got hired for their respective roles by writer/director James Cameron, however, which makes their inclusion all part and partial to this visionary's genius-level gamemanship.

Bottom line: Pumping Iron Fists.