Review of The Terminator (1984) by Popcorn55 — 05 May 2018

One of the finest science fiction films of all time. In its originality, its chilling relentless drive, it moves us steadily from an innocent, cheerful 1980s world into an utter nightmare, with the looming spectre of nuclear extinction and the end of humanity.

The sweet young waitress finds herself in a fight to the death with an enemy that just will not die, that can't be killed, that will never stop its pursuit. Perhaps unintentionally, this film rises to the level of prophecy; it's a real warning, about the real future dangers facing the human race (AI, autonomous robots, and nuclear war), and it's possibly affected enough people over the decades to have had some actual historical effect.

This film and its sequels has affected our culture, and our point of view, at a deep level, making us more skeptical regarding these emerging technologies. And that is a good thing. "Not for about forty years," says Reese in the film -- but now it's been 34 years, and there actually are walking, talking autonomous robots.

That nightmare future... may be very close now.