The Terminator (1984)
Average Rating: 8.6/10
Reviews Counted: 47
Fresh: 47 | Rotten: 0
With its impressive action sequences, taut economic direction, and relentlessly fast pace, it's clear why The Terminator continues to be an influence on sci-fi and action flicks.
Average Rating: 7.5/10
Critic Reviews: 7
Fresh: 7 | Rotten: 0
With its impressive action sequences, taut economic direction, and relentlessly fast pace, it's clear why The Terminator continues to be an influence on sci-fi and action flicks.
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Average Rating: 3.6/5
User Ratings: 685,301
My Rating
Movie Info
Endlessly imitated, The Terminator made the reputation of cowriter/director James Cameron -- who would go on to make 1997's titanic Titanic -- and solidified the stardom of Arnold Schwarzenegger. The movie begins in a post-apocalyptic 2029, when Los Angeles has been largely reduced to rubble and is under the thumb of all-powerful ruling machines. Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn), a member of the human resistance movement, is teleported back to 1984. His purpose: to rescue Sarah Connor (Linda
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Cast
-
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Terminator -
Michael Biehn
Kyle Reese -
Linda Hamilton
Sarah Connor -
Paul Winfield
Traxler -
Lance Henriksen
Vukovich -
Rick Rossovich
Matt -
Bess Motta
Ginger -
Earl Boen
Silberman -
Franco Columbu
Future Terminator -
Hugh Farrington
Customer -
-
Ken Fritz
Policeman -
Philip Gordon
Mexican Boy -
Bruce M. Kerner
Desk Sergeant -
Harriet Medin
Customer -
Dick Miller
Pawn Shop Clerk -
Leslie Morris
Customer -
Marianne Muellerleile
Wrong Sarah -
Bill Paxton
Punk Leader -
David Hyde Pierce
Tanker Partner -
Patrick Pinney
Bar Customer -
James Ralston
Customer -
Brad Reardon
Punk -
Shawn Schepps
Nancy -
Chino "Fats" Williams
Truck Driver -
Brian Thompson
Punk -
Joe Farago
TV Anchorman -
Norman Friedman
Cleaning Man -
Hettie Lynne Hurtes
TV Anchorwoman -
Barbara Powers
Ticket Taker -
Stan Yale
Derelict -
-
Tony Mirelez
Station Attendant -
William Wisher Jr.
Policeman
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All Critics (47) | Top Critics (7) | Fresh (56) | Rotten (1) | DVD (42)
As for Schwarzenegger, he nicely fleshes out the convention of a soulless gun for hire. With his choppy hair, cryptic shades and state-of-the-'80s leather ensemble, he looks like the Incredible Hulk gone punk.
An efficient, cold-blooded sci-fi splatter movie that never makes the mistake of forgetting that on some level it is deeply ridiculous.
As a souvenir of a kind of B-grade action cinema that has all but vanished, The Terminator should find a small place in the heart of every movie addict.
More than enough violence to make it a profoundly moral film; and Arnold's a whizz.
This is a monster movie, and the monster's role fits Mr. Schwarzenegger just fine.
The Terminator is a blazing, cinematic comic book, full of virtuoso moviemaking, terrific momentum, solid performances and a compelling story.
Top CriticStill a toss-up between The Terminator and Aliens as to which James Cameron picture ranks as his best, this propulsively exciting yarn about a murderous cyborg has long staked its claim as a classic -- science fiction or otherwise -- for the ages.
Still one of the most harrowing science fiction films in James Cameron's repertoire...
The Terminator remains one of the best science fiction movies ever made and I doubt that'll ever change.
Schwarzenegger said he'd be back, in the line that defined his career here. Truth be told, he really didn't need to: it couldn't get any better than this.
Remains a surprisingly meditative work, its concentrated visceral bursts not unlike punctuation marks among something more brooding, even prayerful.
Save your cash, keep your DVD. Eventually we're sure to get a proper Blu-ray release of this film, probably around the release of Terminator V.
Throughout his extraordinary, legend in his own time career, James Cameron has done very little that cannot be legitimately considered well ahead of its time.
I remain perpetually amazed by how magnificently Cameron keeps the tension up... there is not a single moment that isn't operating at 100%.
A cyberpunk picture that flirts with emotional resonance but mostly focuses on the gut...testosterone-fueled, estrogen-boosted action melodrama.
A brilliant sci-fi film that cleverly combines strong storytelling with suspense and killer set-pieces.
James Cameron's fast-paced, downright propulsive directorial sensibilities ensure that there are few lulls within the narrative.
"TECH%u2022NOIR" indeed. He's a futuristic machine and this movie is pitch black with menace.
The original and best film from the franchise -- iconic, heady, dark and exciting.
It's a work of pulp art to see the future guv of California rip out someone's heart.
Gritty, clever, breathlessly paced, and dynamic despite the dark shadow of doom cast over the story, this sci-fi thriller remains one of the defining American films of the 1980s.
Audience Reviews for The Terminator
Super Reviewer
Super Reviewer
-
- Kyle Reese: The Terminator's an infil-tration unit. Part man, part machine. Underneath, it's a hyperalloy combat chassis,mircoprocessor-controlled, fully armored. Very tough. But outside, it's living human tissue. Flesh, skin, hair,blood, grown for the cyborgs.
-
- Kyle Reese: Listen. Understand. That Terminator is out there. It can't be reasoned with, it can't be bargained with. It doesn't feel pity of remorse or fear and it absolutely will not stop. Ever. Until you are dead.
-
- Terminator: I'll be back.
-
- Sarah Connor: Move it, Reese! On your feet soldier! ON YOUR FEET!
-
- Terminator: Get out.
-
- Punk Leader: [the Terminator arrives naked and encounters some punks] Nice night for a walk, eh?
- Terminator: Nice night for a walk.
- Punk: Wash day tomorrow! Nothing clean, right?
- Terminator: Nothing clean. Right.
- Punk Leader: Hey, I think this guy's a couple cans short of a six-pack.
Discussion Forum
| Topic | Last Post | Replies |
|---|---|---|
| 100%...We'll see. | 40 days ago | 2 |
Latest News on The Terminator
January 17, 2013:
Screenwriters Hired for Terminator 5Laeta Kalogridis ("Shutter Island") and Patrick Lussier ("Drive Angry") are collaborating to...
October 12, 2012:
Next Terminator Reportedly Delayed IndefinitelyRumor has it that producers are trying to reunite the original cast.
June 7, 2012:
Arnie-Led Terminator 5 Rumored to Film in 2013Supposedly, there's a sixth film already being planned too.
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Foreign Titles
- Terminator (DE)
- The Terminator (UK)


In viewing the film now, almost 30 years later, one can't but notice the cinematic conventions used to get around things like budget constraints, the lack of blue screen and of course, ironically, CGI. That James Cameron succeeded so well in showing us things that hadn't been seen before is a testament to his filmmaking craft, (like the very first Star Wars film, which from the opening sequence was one big Wow, ain't seen nothin' like THAT before).
So, does this iconic film still stand up? Overall, yes, even though the story, the pace, in fact the entire genre has been done to death - but yes, so much of it stems from this fountainhead of a film. Note Cameron's use of close up and focus on an item, like a gun or knife, so that he can cutaway from the action without having to try to show you things that couldn't be generated yet. His editing and pacing are superb here, and funny thing - as much as I dislike car chase scenes, so much of the film is just that (probably some of the weaker moments, really) - and it is within these car chase scenes that the film shows its age. The squeeling tires as police cars burn rubber - all so very dated now, just as the sound effects of same (obvious film "sweetening" done in post production, and again a budgetary and technology issue). Also, look at how Cameron used a shot of the skeletal cyborg's feet as he climbed the stairs in pursuit of his prey - pretty nifty, you only had to place the fake feet on the steps and move them from above camera - instead of creating CGI to show you the action... this is yet another example of how a true filmmaker gets around his limitations.
But regardless, the film is just like its main character: relentless. So very little time to catch your breath (like Aliens in that regard).
Of course there are a few picadillos to consider - first and foremost is why a cyborg is speaking with a heavy Austrian accent - but who else would you have cast for the part? Arnold is so perfect, and this is the film that gave him iconic status - even though he only says about 100 words in the entire piece. This is Arnold's film, make no mistake, even though the heavy lifting is ably done by Michael Biehn (who later showed up in Aliens) and Linda Hamilton. On the side you have the perfect minor role of Lt. Traxler (Paul Winfield), the tired and yet still sharp policeman who puts together that someone is systematically killing off all the Sarah Connors. His interplay with Lance Henrickson (who later went on to star in the wonderful and underrated TV series Millennium, as well as playing Bishop, the cyborg in Alien; another Cameron film), is so effortlessly acted that it's a joy to behold. (Another interesting side note: Henrickson was originally tabbed to play the title role, but then Arnold came along...).
And talk about flashbacks - those hair styles! Yikes! Then the technology on display - clunky phone recorders, pay phones, huge video machines - wow!
In viewing this now, 30 years later, and since I knew the story and how it all played out, I had time to think - which I didn't back at the U.A. 6 in 84. Things that make you wonder - how a computer AI wouldn't have been more imaginative in trying to achieve its goal. I guess that is part of the charm, and again, a product of the non computer world of 1984 - assuming that a machine would simply take the immediate goal in front of it instead of processing the information and reaching a better conclusion (although Cameron did display a certain algorhythm in the scene where the landlord asks if there's a dead cat in Arnold's room - Arnold's HUD shows "possible responses" including the priceless "fuck off". However, it occurred to me that while Arnold was chasing Connor and shooting the hell out of the back window etc., that a cyborg should have been aware that the best way to disable a fast moving vehicle would have been to shoot the tires!!!!! Dumb machine!!!!
Anyhow, this was a nice trip to the past - and while some of my warm and fuzzy memories of this film were tripped up, and the film hasn't aged as well as I would have hoped, it still entertains. If I were to go back in time and review it in 1984 it would surely have gotten a 100 rating, but here in my jaded present, an 80 is still nothing to sneeze at.
Oh, and before I forget - here's an interesting tidbit; during the credits it states that Cameron and producer Gale Ann Hurd wrote the screenplay - and then there is a disclaimer that some of the "concepts" for the film were provided by Harlan Ellison. This made me take notice as Ellison will always be in my memory banks as the writer of perhaps the best Star Trek episode "City On The Edge of Forever", as well as the cult classic film A Boy And His Dog. Turns out that Ellison really had nothing to do with Terminator, but sued Orion claiming that some of his short stories outlined the concepts used in the film - the solution of course was a settlement and inclusion of the little disclaimer - hooray for Hollywood attorneys!