A great TERM for the guv'nor
 Mar 7th, 2004
(Mar 10th, 2004)
Advantages:
Uncommonly good storyline for an action film, super special effects, imaginative design, excellent value DVD
Disadvantages:
Many won't enjoy it for its occasionally - graphic violence
Recommendable:
Yes
Detailed rating:
Did you enjoy it?
Story
Characters / Performances
Special Effects
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  tom1clare
About me:
22, live in North Wales. I've done quite a few reviews that aren't on Ciao here: http://www.gamesboo...
Member since:19.06.2003
Reviews:221
Members who trust:151
Review rated by 52 Ciao members on average: very helpful 
Last Christmas I was perusing the virtual-shelves of play.com trying to find the ideal present (a DVD) for my Dad. As I was scanning the bargains, I spotted the 2-disc Special Edition DVD of Terminator for only £7.99, and if there is a film out there that makes a more apt present for a father, then I’ve yet to find it! James Cameron’s first outing as a film director may at first glance appear to be your typical action film; its got good guys and bad guys, guns ‘n’ gore, and a large dollop of explosions thrown in for good measure. But Cameron is a very clever man – his ability as an art-director allowed him to design an intricate and detailed account of what he wanted everything to look like, and the film-making process effectively brought his drawings to life.
The Terminator is a sci-fi/action thriller that was first released back in 1984. For its time (and considering the relatively tight budget), the special effects and make-up design were fabulous, and as the film unfolds at a terrific pace, it becomes all too easy to overlook what is also an extremely impressive storyline, with a great deal more to it than many of the no-brainer action films that had gone before it and have appeared since. Things kick off in very BladeRunner-esque fashion; the future, 2029, is portrayed as a dark, murky, distopian existence with huge mech-robots stomping around firing off lasers at the handful of human survivors left on Earth, who appear to be living in poverty. We are given only a fleeting view of the post-apocalyptic 21st century however as before you know it, it’s back to the present (1984 I assume)…
Sarah Connor (Linda
Hamilton) is a nice enough young lady; she enjoys the company of her friends and is in fair spirits despite her rather trying job as a waitress, though it seems her life is drifting along rather insignificantly. However, in typical Hollywood-blockbuster style, she is soon to find out that her very existence is paramount to ensuring the survival of the human race. Life is about to get a whole lot more dangerous for Sarah, as at the beginning of the story, we discover what appears to be a man emerging out of a portal - it is in fact a ‘Terminator’ (Arnold Schwarzenegger). The Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is a cyborg constructed of living tissue and blood so as to look perfectly inconspicuous among humans, though has the guts of a machine; robbing it of any emotion, granting it astounding power and a shell that is seemingly indestructible. This relentless, formidable machine has but one objective; to kill Sarah Connor.
The Terminator is quick to show off its fearsome power, slaughtering a trio of knife-wielding youths after walking up to them stark-naked and uttering the immortal opening line; “Your clothes – give them to me,”. At this stage, the odds don’t appear to be in li’l Sarah’s favour. However, the joker in the pack comes in the form of Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn) a human soldier who has also been sent back in time from the war-ridden 2029 to counter the intentions of the Terminator, and at all costs must protect Sarah. So why has the life of a seemingly ordinary (and dare I say it, inconsequential) waitress become such a factor? Well, when Kyle eventually catches up to Sarah, he explains that after the machines of the company Cyberdine had evolved to become so clever that they decided to go on the offensive and wage war against their own creators, near-annihilation of the planet had followed. Even so, in 2029, the humans were on the verge of victory, but in one last-ditch effort to turn things around, the machines sent back a Terminator to kill Sarah Connor and therefore her unborn son John, who would prove to be the human’s main driving force in the forthcoming battle. No Sarah would mean no John, and no John means no future for mankind…
Under normal circumstances, Kyle would surely have had a bit of trouble convincing Sarah that he had travelled back from the next century. However, the proof of the pudding is in the eating as they say, and when the soldier blasts the Terminator to the floor with six or seven shotguns shells, only for him to get straight back up, Sarah is someway to being convinced. The story-telling is very cleverly delivered in this film, as though the storyline itself is quite involved, the main bulk of the plot is actually left up to Kyle to explain, usually whilst he and Sarah Connor are hiding/running from their assailant. It is all done in such a way that the stream of action scenes is almost constant, though the plot is also digestible. It is very tense stuff – you know that there will come a point whereby Reese and Connor can run no more, and yet there must be someway to defeat their ‘indestructible’ pursuer.
Generally speaking, The Terminator is very well cast – Arnold Schwarzenegger is of course perfect as Terminator; in his lead role he only delivers eight lines of dialogue, though honed many robot-like qualities, including the camera-styled movement of his eyes (whereby his eyes move first and then his head follows) and the way he shifts his entire body around when turning; small but nice little touches that add greatly to his on-screen presence. Both Michael Biehn and Linda Hamilton serve up quality efforts as the hero/heroine of the piece, and there are some nice cameos from, among others, Lance Henrikson. It is exciting from the word go, and Schwarzenegger’s cyborg has to go down as one of the most watchable villains in cinematic history. The Terminator is ruthless, emotionless and calculated, though possibly its most frightening trait is unwaning focus and relentless pursuit – making for some truly nerve-jangling scenes, particularly towards the end. There really isn’t a dull moment to speak of; if there isn’t some vicious gunfight, then there is a breathtaking highway chase, and even when the action abates for a moment, there is usually some witty pun thrown into the conversations – for instance, upon hearing on the news that a Sarah Connor had been murdered, a friend of the ‘important’ Sarah appropriately says; “You’re dead honey!”.
I could go on all day about some of the more memorable scenes but the fact of the matter is that everything ultimately comes together to form a truly terrific package. It’s a film that can be watched many, many times as it packs so much fun in to the hour and 43 minutes that it runs for, that time simply flies by. Great, though the 15 certificate is there for a reason – Terminator may be a cyborg, but he likes to have a bit of fun with his victims, not to mention the rather nasty ‘self-surgery’ scene - yuck! *DVD Extras*
The DVD is only £7.99 on play.com, and yet it is absolutely loaded with additional footage and goodies; in the ‘video’ section it features several Deleted Scenes that interestingly may have lead the film (and indeed the series) off down a slightly different path. There are a handful of rather cheesy trailers that are clearly from the era known as the nineteen-eighties, as well an hour-long programme made up of in-depth interviews with members of the crew and the cast, which is a must-see for fans of the film as it provides a superb insight into how the film came about.
There is a ‘stills’ section to the DVD also with tonnes of production photographs and visual effect pictures, though easily the most impressive of the sections on offer here is James Cameron’s own artwork stills, which reveals several very futuristic-looking aircrafts (used in the ‘2029’ scenes of the movie) and his original vision of a memorable part in which the Terminator’s exoskeleton rises out of a fireball.
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by (4%):
06.07.2006 22:42
T2 is much better and by far the greatest sequel of all time Robert Patrick is phenomenal ha the previous comment piranha 2 was actually pretty good from the 11 oscars winner Cameron great review hope to see a T2 review in the future(-:
03.06.2004 18:10
Another excellent review - one thing though, The Terminator is Cameron's second movie as director. His first was Piranha 2: The Spawning! I'll take my nerd hat off now! Alboy
24.03.2004 01:23
Good review....but not my sort of film, Heatherx