Review of The Terminator (1984) by Nicholas A — 06 Jun 2015

James Cameron's science fiction masterwork is still thrilling 31 years on (we're now closer to the movies bleak future of 2029 than 1984 which is crazy) it's not only perfectly paced, it's concept is still fresh and exciting, the action sequences muscular and the story is more mournful and sad than you remember, with it's sense of doomed fatalism hanging over the movie.

And Arnie is flat out scary here, he truly seems creepily, frighteningly inhuman and relentless and the iconic actor plays it with far more nuance and detail than he's really given credit for, his Terminator really is a frightening force.

Also never quite as highly rated as it should be, Brad Fidel's fantastic score. Im still undecided witch of these first two terminators is the best, I love the huge ambition of the second but I think I prefer the darker, low budget gritty energy of this one if im honest.

What a great movie.