RottenTomatoes.com
Log In | Register | What is RT?
Check out the new RT Community
  • Home
  • Movies
  • DVD
  • Celebrities
  • News
  • Critics
  • Trailers & Pictures
  • CommunityBeta
  • Box Office
  • | In Theaters
  • | Opening
  • | Upcoming
  • | Best Of
  • | Certified Fresh
  • | Showtimes
RT Search Powered by Google
help icon Enhanced RT
searches on Google
Click here to turn on enhanced search results from RT on your Google searches.
 
Movies / On DVD / The Terminator
The Terminator

Rate this Movie Help Icon

  • Write a Review
  • Read Reviews
  • Add to List
  • Get this Movie
  • Buy Poster External Icon
  • Bookmark and Share

The Terminator (1984)

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
100 %
Tomatometer

How does the Tomatometer work Help Icon

Reviews Counted: 40

Fresh: 40

Rotten:0

Average Rating: 8.5/10

Consensus: 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.

Runtime: 1 hr 48 mins

Genre: Science-Fiction/Fantasy

Synopsis: James Cameron's THE TERMINATOR is one of the tightest, tensest sci-fi films ever made and a landmark in the genre. In the year 2029, battles rage between the superintelligent machines that rule the... James Cameron's THE TERMINATOR is one of the tightest, tensest sci-fi films ever made and a landmark in the genre. In the year 2029, battles rage between the superintelligent machines that rule the world and the last vestiges of humanity. In late-20th-century Los Angeles, Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) suddenly finds herself stalked by an unstoppable killing machine--a Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) sent from the future to kill her and her unconceived son, John Connor, the future leader of the human resistance. Sarah can rely only on Reese (Michael Biehn), a soldier sent from the future to protect her from the seemingly indestructible Terminator and save humanity. This low-budget masterpiece was the breakthrough film for director Cameron, who weds special effects, thrills, and understated romance to create one of the finest action films of the 1980s, which spawned many imitations but few equals. Science fiction author Harlan Ellison sued over the film's similarities to his own works, especially the OUTER LIMITS episode "Demon with a Glass Hand," and won acknowledgement in the film's credits. Schwarzenegger will forever be known as the relentless Terminator, a heartless killing machine who returns (in a kinder, gentler form) in 1991's TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY. [More]

Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Biehn, Linda Hamilton, Lance Henriksen

Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Biehn, Linda Hamilton, Lance Henriksen, Paul Winfield, Rick Rossovich, Bess Motta, Earl Boen, Dick Miller, Franco Columbu, Bill Paxton

Director: James Cameron

Director: James Cameron
Screenwriter: James Cameron, Gale Anne Hurd, William Wisher
Producer: Gale Anne Hurd
Composer: Brad Fiedel

[See More Credits]

Get This Movie

Rent DVD
 
 

Click on the "ADD" button to put this movie into your Netflix queue.

 
 
Buy DVD
 
 
Release:

Oct 2, 2001

No Details Exist
 
 

Reviews for The Terminator

  • T-Meter Critics
  • Top Critics
  • RT Community
  • My Critics
  • My Friends
  • DVD
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
Arrange By: Fresh | Rotten | Comments | Name | Source | Date
 
 
N/R

Click to read the article

Full Review Source: Village Voice | comment Comment
05/27/09
Nick Pinkerton
Village Voice
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A cyberpunk picture that flirts with emotional resonance but mostly focuses on the gut...testosterone-fueled, estrogen-boosted action melodrama.

Full Review Source: Groucho Reviews | comment Comment
05/25/09
Peter Canavese
Groucho Reviews

A brilliant sci-fi film that cleverly combines strong storytelling with suspense and killer set-pieces.

Full Review Source: Combustible Celluloid | comment Comment
05/22/09
Jeffrey M. Anderson
Combustible Celluloid

James Cameron's fast-paced, downright propulsive directorial sensibilities ensure that there are few lulls within the narrative.

Full Review Source: Reel Film Reviews | comment Comment
05/21/09
David Nusair
Reel Film Reviews

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.

Full Review Source: TIME Magazine | comment Comment
05/18/09
Richard Corliss
TIME Magazine
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

An efficient, cold-blooded sci-fi splatter movie that never makes the mistake of forgetting that on some level it is deeply ridiculous.

Full Review Source: Globe and Mail | comment Comment
05/18/09
Jay Scott
Globe and Mail
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

"TECH%u2022NOIR" indeed. He's a futuristic machine and this movie is pitch black with menace.

Full Review Source: Film Experience | comment Comment
05/15/09
Nathaniel Rogers
Film Experience

The original and best film from the franchise -- iconic, heady, dark and exciting.

Full Review Source: Channel 4 Film | comment Comment
06/17/08
Channel 4 Film
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

It's a work of pulp art to see the future guv of California rip out someone's heart.

Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | comment Comment
03/27/08
Dennis Schwartz
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

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.

Full Review Source: Turner Classic Movies Online | comment Comment
12/29/07
Sean Axmaker
Turner Classic Movies Online

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.

Full Review Source: Chicago Reader | comment Comment
03/01/07
Dave Kehr
Chicago Reader
Top Critic Icon Top Critic

A sci-fi actioner as relentless as its cyborg title character. The megabudget sequels are very good, but the low-budget original is still the best.

comment 2 Comments
03/05/06
Chuck O'Leary
FulvueDrive-in.com

More than enough violence to make it a profoundly moral film; and Arnold's a whizz.

Full Review Source: Time Out | comment Comment
02/09/06
Geoff Andrew
Time Out

Arguably among the very best science-fiction contemporaries.

comment Comment
02/21/04
Greg Muskewitz
eFilmCritic.com

No review available.

comment Comment
01/18/04
Greg Maki
Star-Democrat (Easton, MD)

The movie's scares are intense, but the notion that the Terminator would move on to politics is even more frightening.

comment Comment
11/28/03
Luke Y. Thompson
New Times

No review available.

comment Comment
11/20/03
Michelle Alexandria
Eclipse Magazine

Relentlessly entertaining

comment Comment
09/26/03
Jon Niccum
Lawrence Journal-World

No review available.

comment Comment
08/22/03
Carol Cling
Las Vegas Review-Journal

This was the film that demonstrated to the dubious everyone that the musclebound fellow with that outrageous accent might be more than just another passing blip on our pop culture radar screens.

Full Review Source: TV Guide's Movie Guide | comment Comment
07/30/03
TV Guide's Movie Guide
Top Critic Icon Top Critic
 
 
1 - 20 (sorted by date)
Text View | 1 2 3 >> >|
all

Latest News for The Terminator

June 01, 2009: Top 10 Terminator Moments
Finally, it is here. Plagued by fanboy outcries, rumoured script changes, one legendary on-set tirade and a rash of mixed-to-rotten reviews from critics in the US, Terninator... More...

May 21, 2009: Jen Gets Terminated, Day 4: Terminator Salvation
It's been a roller coaster ride revisiting the science fiction films Terminator (1984), Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), and Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003), and I... More...

May 19, 2009: Jen Gets Terminated, Day 2: Terminator 2: Judgment Day
When James Cameron debuted his first real feature film in 1984 -- directing Piranha II: The Spawning for hire didn't really count -- he turned out a $6.5 million science fiction... More...

May 18, 2009: Jen Gets Terminated, Day One: The Terminator
Ryan followed Bond. Alex did Jason. Tim got Kirk, Spock, and Bones. This week, I've been assigned to follow...The Terminator! In the latest Rotten Tomatoes watching series,... More...

See More Topics...

Related Forums for The Terminator

Click here to be the first to post a message on this forum.

See All

More DVDs

Close
Top Rentals
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
79%
79%
Gran Torino
30%
30%
12 Rounds
23%
23%
Confessions of a Shopa…
—
The Code
39%
39%
Inkheart

More Rentals…

New On DVD This Week
Tomatometer Percentage Movie
22%
22%
Push
12%
12%
The Unborn

More New Releases…

RT On Current TV

What’s Hot On RT

Deconstructing Harry

Deconstructing Harry

Pt. 3: Cuaron's darker Prisoner of Azkaban

Best Mockumentaries

Best Mockumentaries

From Borat to Spinal Tap, this one goes to 11

Humpday Clip

Humpday Clip

An exclusive peek at the indie comedy!

Half-Blood Prince

Half-Blood Prince

How good is the 6th Harry Potter?

Other News

Close
  • Top Stories
  • Popular
  • Interviews
 
 

Comments

 
 
Top Stories
Headlines Comments
  
  • Weekly Ketchup: T.J. Hooker Film in Development
34
  • Warners Shortens Green Lantern Wishlist Source: Hollywood Reporter
110
  • Harold Ramis Talks Ghostbusters 3 Source: MakingOf.com
36
  • Spider-Man 4 Gets Its Third Writer Source: Latino Review
60
  • Warners Wins Favorable Ruling in Superman Case Source: Variety
20
  • Remo Williams Rides Again Source: Risky Biz
10
  • Mortal Kombat 3 Filming in September? Source: Slashfilm
82
  • MacGruber Gets a Director Source: Variety
39
  • PG-13 Turns 25 Source: VideoETA
8
  • Weekly Ketchup: Universal Takes on Asteroids
92
Popular
Headlines Comments
  
  • Deconstructing Harry, Day 1: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
67
  • Box Office Guru Wrapup: Transformers and Ice Age Tie for Top Spot
59
  • Deconstructing Harry, Day 2: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
52
  • Deconstructing Harry, Day 3: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
52
  • Weekly Ketchup: Universal Takes on Asteroids
46
  • Total Recall: Mock Docs That Rock
43
  • Critics Consensus: Bruno is Certified Fresh
43
  • Five Favorite Films with Kathryn Bigelow
39
  • RT on DVD: Knowing, Push, The Unborn Unleashed
26
  • Tomatometer Watch: How Good is Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince?
25
Interviews
Headlines Comments
  
  • RT Interview: Director Carlos Cuaron on Rudo and Cursi
0
  • RT Interview: Tony Scott on The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3
10
  • Cannes 2009: RT Interview - Sally Hawkins on We Want Sex
2
  • RT Interview: Tilda Swinton on Julia
5
  • Hollywood Legend Debbie Reynolds Reflects On her Life in Showbiz
10
  • Exclusive: McG Talks Terminator Salvation
24
  • Georgia Groome - Fresh Talent on RT
5
  • RT Interview: Reading The Reader with Stephen Daldry
11
  • RT Interview: Oscar Nominee Melissa Leo
7
  • Carey Mulligan - Fresh Talent on RT
7
 
 

Sponsored Links

Around The Network

  • The Terminator at Rotten Tomatoes
  • The Terminator at IGN

Fresh Links

Featured
Point-Counterpoint: Bruno
Point-Counterpoint: Bruno External Link

MSN's David Fear and Frank Paiva go head to head discussing the pros and cons of Bruno star Sacha Baron Cohen.

The New Cult Canon
The New Cult Canon External Link

The AV Club's Scott Tobias takes a second look at David Lynch's cult classic, Lost Highway.

Tom Cruise's 10 Best Roles
Tom Cruise's 10 Best Roles External Link

TIME takes us on a 25-year long journey into the superstar's career, giving us a look at his 10 best roles.

A Baywatch Comedy?
A Baywatch Comedy? External Link

BuzzSugar reports on Paramount's plans to rebirth the iconic TV show as a comedy film.

 
 
About| Site Map| Help| RT To Go| Contact Us| Critics Submission| Linking to RT| Licensing| Movie List| Games| Celebs List| Newsletter
IGN Logo

IGN.com | GameSpy | Comrade | Arena | FilePlanet | GameSpy Technology
TeamXbox | Planets | Vaults | VE3D | CheatsCodesGuides | GameStats | GamerMetrics
AskMen.com | Rotten Tomatoes | Direct2Drive | Green Pixels


By continuing past this page, and by the continued use of this site, you agree to be bound by and abide by the User Agreement.
Copyright 1998-2009, IGN Entertainment, Inc. About IGN | Support | Advertise | Privacy Policy | User Agreement | Subscribe to RT's XML feed! IGN RSS Feeds
IGN's enterprise databases running Oracle, SQL and MySQL are professionally monitored and managed by Pythian Remote DBA
Certain product data ©1995-present Muze, Inc. For personal use only. All rights reserved.