The Terminator

RATING: B+

So here's the beginning of a franchise that has lasted almost 35 years now... but has only had five movies during that time (with a sixth and possibly final upcoming). The first Terminator movie is regarded a classic, and it is not difficult to see why--it is also difficult to not enjoy. But it is also easy to see why they waited seven years to make the next one.

You see, this is a movie with tons of ambition that is limited by its time. Luckily, they made it work quite well regardless. This is a movie about an artificial intelligence robot that is sent back in time from an apocalyptic future to kill the mother of an unborn future resistance leader. Now how would they pull that off without it being campy or looking ridiculously dated in just fifteen years? Well, you create a robot that has human tissue on it--and thus, it's technically a cyborg. And you make Arnold Schwarzenegger play that cyborg. Problem solved--well, at least most of your problems anyway. (I guess Arnold technically is a little campy himself, but it's the good kind of camp--and hey, it worked for basically everyone.)

Although we've gotten to five movies now in this franchise, this first installment is actually fairly simple. It focuses pretty strictly on just a few characters: Sarah Connor, the hunted; Kyle Reese, the guy who comes to save her from the future; and the Terminator himself. The only other actual characters who are on screen longer than two minutes are Sarah's roommate and her boyfriend, and some cops. The only info we find out about the terrible future ahead comes from Reese's mouth--plus a couple of scenes in that future that are technically flashbacks for Reese now. (And those scenes--with battles between the resistance and the machines--are one of the things that haven't held up well.) 

Despite the simpleness of the whole thing, it's pretty exciting/intriguing for most of the way through. It's a little slow at first (save for a couple scenes of Arnold doing Arnold things), but after Reese saves Sarah for the first time, the thing basically never lets up. It's basically relentless chasing and action and when we're not watching that, other important stuff is happening--such as Reese giving info on the future he came from. 

Though most of the film holds up okay (save for some of the 80's tropes--hairstyles and the like), there is one thing that kind of glaringly stands out--and that's when the Terminator loses its human flesh near the end and is just a robot. (Not really a spoiler--even if you haven't seen the movie, you'd probably expect it to happen anyway and it's not really plot related.) This is why it's a good thing they waited until 1991 to make another movie, because 1984 was not ready for that robot--the thing moves so stiffly and awkwardly it's difficult to take seriously despite the creepy eyes. I understand why they had the robot there despite that, and I'm glad they had the sense to limit it to the very end especially since Schwarzenegger is far more threatening. But it still kind of sticks out. 

Beyond that, the other main issue is a key plot twist near the end--which is honestly more weird than anything and will have you scratching your head a little bit about how the time/space continuum is getting a little screwed with. Despite that, The Terminator is still undeniably quite an exciting and often fun piece of work and is probably the quintessential "AI robot" movie of its time. And it probably never would have worked as well as it did without that one critical casting choice. Funny how that works...