Released in 1984, The Terminator was only the second film
directed by James Cameron, yet his visionary storytelling skills would prove to
be well polished even with this, his sophomore effort. A cyborg assassin (Arnold
Schwarzenegger) from the future travels back to the past-our present (or, rather,
the present of twenty years ago)-to kill Sarah Conner, a young woman (well
played by Linda Hamilton) who will soon be the mother of an influential
resistance leader. By killing Connor before her son is born, he will not grow
up to lead the resistance that will defeat the machine-dominated rule known as
Skynet. The future resistance group sends back one of their soldiers, Kyle Reese
(Michael Biehn) to protect Sarah from this robot, known as a Terminator. With a
super strong metal endoskeleton that's covered with live flesh and blood (and
which happens to look and sound like an Austrian bodybuilder) the Terminator is
truly an unstoppable force with a single-minded resolve to accomplish his
murderous task.
The film moves at a brisk pace from its opening scene, but once Sarah, Reese
and The Terminator have their fateful (and bloody) encounter at Tech Noir, the
movie then switches into hyper-drive as it literally becomes a nonstop chase
film with Sarah and Reese always on the run. Watching The Terminator, even
twenty years after its initial release, is still pure exhilarating fun. The
effects hold up quite well, as does the entire movie. Thanks to the smart
script, with its touch of poignancy (including a twist involving a photograph at
the end that is just sheer cinematic poetry) The Terminator successfully stands
head and shoulders above the rest of the action movie pack. And while Arnold
Schwarzenegger may not be known for his acting skills, he is a shrewd enough
entertainer to know what works for him and what doesn't. The Terminator was a
part that was tailor made for him, and he wears it extremely well. The rest of
the cast is filled with such character actors as Dick Miller, Paul Winfield,
Lance Henriksen, and a then-unknown Bill Paxton as a punk.
The DVD, from MGM video, may not be one of these anal-retentive mega editions
that are loaded with features on every aspect of the film, but it is still very
well done. "The Terminator: A Retrospective" features an interview session
between Cameron and Schwarzenegger talking about the making of the film. But it
is the documentary called "Other Voices", which has interviews with the entire
cast and crew on the Terminator's production, which is really worth watching. It
is an hour long, and covers every aspect of The Terminator from the original
story idea by Cameron to the completed film. There is also an extensive collection of
deleted scenes, along with optional commentary by Cameron, a DVD-ROM script to
screen feature, original storyboards, trailers, and TV spots.
All in all, this is a marvelous edition of a now classic science fiction movie
that can be enjoyed over and over again, giving new meaning to Arnold's famous
line, "I'll be back." --SF