T Is For Terminator

Preamble: This is the movie that made me an unabashed Sci-Fi fanatic. If you don't love The Terminator, you're wrong. The Terminator is one of those films that no matter if you've seen it or not, you've heard of it and I can almost gaurantee that you know at least one or two lines even if you haven't. This is the movie that skyrocketed Arnold Schwartzeneggerr's to fame and made James Cameron a household name.
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Year: 1984

Rated: R

Summary - Disguised as a human, a cyborg assassin known as a Terminator travels from 2029 to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor. Sent to protect Sarah is Kyle Reese, who divulges the coming of Skynet, an artificial intelligence system that will spark a nuclear holocaust. Sarah is targeted because Skynet knows that her unborn son will lead the fight against them. With the virtually unstoppable Terminator in hot pursuit, she and Kyle attempt to escape.

Director: James Cameron

Written by: James Cameron

Starring:
Arnold Schwarzenegger as The Terminator
Michael Biehn as Kyle Reese
Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor
Paul Winfield as Ed Traxler
Lance Henriksen as Hal Vukovich
Earl Boen as Dr. Peter Silberman
Bess Motta as Ginger Ventura
Rick Rossovich as Matt Buchanan

The Review
This movie has everything: action, romance, horror, sci-fi, and even some dark humor. The Terminator is one of those films that started something massive.

At the core of this film is a pretty simple good vs. evil plot with very few grey areas. There's a nice sense of tension in the action scenes, helped not only by Cameron's camera work but also by an excellent electronic score. While it's not a perfect picture (rhe movie lags in some parts, and the romance element is fairly contrived)the movie brims with energy and promise.

I tend to forget because I was so young, that the Cold War was still am actual thing in the 80's and I think that's kind of why this movie sticks with me, the message. The entire message of The Terminator is an anti nuclear war message.

All-in-all this is a highly enjoyable, well-directed, and evenly scripted movie about the nature of time and what could happen if earlier events were tampered with in the future. There are plot holes but honestly, they're super easy to gloss over and enjoy the ride.

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Grade: B+

Aces for Acting
Linda Hamilton

MVP
Michael Biehn

Favorite Character
Ginger Ventura

Best Character Interactions
The Terminator and Sarah Connor

Best Scene
Sarah Connor: Reese. Why me? Why does it want me?
Kyle Reese: There was a nuclear war. A few years from now, all this, this whole place, everything, it's gone. Just gone. There were survivors. Here, there. Nobody even knew who started it. It was the machines, Sarah.
Sarah Connor: I don't understand.
Reese: Defense network computers. New... powerful... hooked into everything, trusted to run it all. They say it got smart, a new order of intelligence. Then it saw all people as a threat, not just the ones on the other side. Decided our fate in a microsecond: extermination.
Sarah Connor: Did you see this war?
Kyle Reese: No. I grew up after. In the ruins... starving... hiding from H-K's.
Sarah Connor: H-K's?
Kyle Reese: Hunter-Killers. Patrol machines built in automated factories. Most of us were rounded up, put in camps for orderly disposal.
[Pulls up his right sleeve, exposing a mark]
Kyle Reese: This is burned in by laser scan. Some of us were kept alive... to work... loading bodies. The disposal units ran night and day. We were that close to going out forever. But there was one man who taught us to fight, to storm the wire of the camps, to smash those metal motherfuckers into junk. He turned it around. He brought us back from the brink. His name is Connor. John Connor. Your son, Sarah, your unborn son.

Notable Quotable
Kyle Reese: Listen, and understand. That terminator is out there. It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are dead.

Most Memorable Moment
The Terminator: I'm a friend of Sarah Connor. I was told she was here. Could I see her please?
Desk Sergeant: No, you can't see her she's making a statement.
The Terminator: Where is she?
Desk Sergeant: It may take a while. Want to wait? There's a bench over there.
[points to bench]
The Terminator: [looks around, examining the structural integrity of the room, then looks back at him] I'll be back!
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Did I whet your appetite to watch The Terminatorfor the first time or maybe just the first time in a long time?

Be sure to come back tomorrow because I'm discussing Unbreakable.

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