FILM: The Terminator (1984)

[SteveMc 2,674]

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The Terminator (1984)

  I really think this is cinema stripped down to the essentials.  Cameron had an idea, and the passion and confidence to make it work.  He wasn't going for lofty blockbuster or human goals, but the pieces managed to fall into place in a movie that is a blockbuster and is remarkably human.  The movie does look and feel like the low-budget affair that it is, but Cameron's direction is so to the point that it definitely rises beyond that.  As appropriate for the plot, the film feels both a product of its time and existing in its own time.  There's the usual 80s trappings: action, sci-fi, dry character humor, slasher/horror tropes, and big hair.  But the treatment of these elements is unique.  The action punctuates and adds to grittier human moments.  The setting is ordinary, everyday, with the sci-fi elements completely antagonistic or dystopian.  The horror tropes (and the flat photography) bring to mind the way Spielberg treated similar things in Jaws.  The humor integrates seamlessly with the darker overall texture.  And the 80s cultural trappings are not primary in the movie.  The main characters are literally or at least somewhat removed from the setting.  Sarah is not as over the top as her roommate, for example.  Cameron marks her as different, and thus we identify with her.

But the movie also feels distinctly modern, a (superior) progenitor of the darker toned films that have cropped up in the past 20 or so years.  The resolution of the movie's themes and character arcs are rather bleak.  Reese is not exactly a broken man, because he was never quite whole.  He lives in a constant PTSD state.  Only Sarah keeps him going and in his desperation he travels back in time, both for her and for him.  And, of course, when he becomes whole and happy he summarily dies. 

And Sarah herself is quite a modern protagonist, but one who is done well.  At the outset, she's a more grounded version of a damsel in distress.   She has to be forced to safety by the call to action that is Reese.   She's attractive, but not some unrealistically radiant princess.  She is not sexualized, which actually makes the romantic and sexual subplot feel more real.  When her sexuality is revealed, it is shown to be a strength that gives her power over Reeses's vulnerability.  And, at the end, she's literally forcing him to go on, and it is she who finally defeats the Terminator.  But, the ending is not neat.  The call to action sounds on, leaving Sarah in an isolated and lonely existence.  The denouement sets up Cameron's sequel very well in content and tone.

The movie has weaknesses, but they are mostly forgivable.  The time travel circular consequences are best not given too much thought.  The set up of the climax is a bit clumsy (that motel ends up being much closer to the city than previous scenes suggested).  And maybe it is because Schwarzenegger performance and presence is so titanic (no pun originally intended), but Biehn's performance as Reese is a tad on the "just there" side.  I mean, he sells the average guy element very well, but I can't help but feeling someone like Mel Gibson could have given the part more flair.  But maybe too much flair, taking some of the limelight off of Linda Hamilton, so the casting choice may have been the right one after all, financial considerations or no.     

They don't make them like this anymore.

4/4

[Jay 37,336]

Nice review, I really enjoyed reading it!

[SteveMc 2,674]

19 minutes ago, Jay said:

Nice review, I really enjoyed reading it!

Thanks!

[Jurassic Shark 12,051]

I prefer T2.

[JoeinAR 1,949]

Yes nice review. Excellent film as is T2. 

[A24 4,331]

On 6/12/2020 at 5:51 PM, Jurassic Shark said:

I prefer T2.

 

Me too! With T2, Cameron's cinematic vocabulary has grown considerably. I can watch it without even paying attention to the story. However, the long version has a dip somewhere in the middle.

[gkgyver 1,645]

T3 is really fine for what it is. 

[Henry Sítrónu 494]

I think to appreciate T2 to the fullest you really need to embrace the first film too. Not just because of the story, but to see and feel the development of Sarah. And the most terrifying scene in T2 to me is Sarah's assault on Mike Dyson, which mirrors the attacks and murders of the Terminator in the first movie. 

[Henry Sítrónu 494]

On 10/18/2020 at 10:18 PM, lemoncurd said:

I think to appreciate T2 to the fullest you really need to embrace the first film too. Not just because of the story, but to see and feel the development of Sarah. And the most terrifying scene in T2 to me is Sarah's assault on Mike Dyson, which mirrors the attacks and murders of the Terminator in the first movie. 

 it rhymes. ;-)

[Naïve Old Fart 9,511]

On 6/12/2020 at 4:51 PM, Jurassic Shark said:

I prefer T2.

 

On 8/7/2020 at 4:11 PM, AC1 said:

Me too!

Nah. THE TERMINATOR wipes the floor, with T2.

It "low down and dirty" look is what gives it its charm, and its credibility. Subsequent Terminator films are just parodies of the first. T2 is THE TERMINATOR writ large, T3 is just silly, and the less said about the next three, the better.

I'm not sure if it improves the film or not, but the remixed, 5.1 soundtrack for THE TERMINATOR sounds great.

 

Ps, nice job, @SteveMc.

 

[Jurassic Shark 12,051]

On 6/10/2020 at 10:31 PM, SteveMc said:

They don't make them like this anymore.

 

Just wait for the gazillion Avatars that soon are on our doorsteps!

[JoeinAR 1,949]

On 2/22/2021 at 6:38 AM, Naïve Old Fart said:

 

Nah. THE TERMINATOR wipes the floor, with T2.

It "low down and dirty" look is what gives it its charm, and its credibility. Subsequent Terminator films are just parodies of the first. T2 is THE TERMINATOR writ large, T3 is just silly, and the less said about the next three, the better.

I'm not sure if it improves the film or not, but the remixed, 5.1 soundtrack for THE TERMINATOR sounds great.

 

Ps, nice job, @SteveMc.

 

I disagree. Terminator and T2 are a two headed coin. They are truly complimentary of each other. T2 is remarkable for its extraordinary effects and its use of twins.