Terminator Retrospective Part 1 (Terminator, 1984) *spoilers*

Everyone knows about The Terminator, there isn't a person who doesn't say "I'll be back" or "Hasta la vista, baby". The Terminator has spawned three sequels, several comic spin offs, and a tv series. Almost thirty years later, Terminator Genysis is out in theaters showing that people can still be psyched about robotic assassins. With the new sequels release, I wanted review all the previous films before I seeing this one because I'm that kind of guy. Let's start off with my favorite.

Sick title screen bro

The Terminator, is about two beings coming from the distant future of 2029 to the present 1984. One is a man named Kyle Reese who was sent to protect a woman named Sarah Connor. The other, is an unstoppable machine covered in living human flesh called a Terminator. The Terminator was sent by Skynet (The machine empire of the future) to kill Sarah Connor in order to stop her future son, John Connor, from ever being born and beating the machines. Reese explains that Sarah taught John everything he knew about surviving in the future. Sarah is apprehensive because she truly believes she isn't a strong person. Over the course of the film, Reese and Sarah will attempt to battle the Terminator with minor successes. Eventually, it comes to a showdown in a factory where Reese and Sarah are finally able to destroy the Terminator in a hydrolic press. Unfortunately, Reese dies but he left Sarah with knowledge of the future and pregnant with his child. Sarah, now stronger than when she started, starts making audio tapes in order to alert her son of the dangers of the future and goes off on her mission to save the world of tomorrow.

This movie really is quite excellent and was a great starting point for James Cameron. The Terminator was Cameron's first big budget project and allowed him to make the inevitable sequel, Terminator 2: Judgement Day, as well as other famous movies such as Aliens, Titanic, and Avatar. Cameron says he came up with the idea of this movie while being very sick in Rome. He said that being in a foreign environment made him think about a person out of time and trying to assimilate. Later, Cameron would come up with imagery and a forty-five page script. With the help of Stan Winston, one of the greatest special effects creators of the time, was able to make the Terminator believable and make the film iconic. Cameron actual had the idea of sending two terminators in the first movie with one being made of liquid metal. However, the special effects for the 80's would not have allowed for it. I find it amazing how many ideas he was able to come up with at one time. I also like how both Cameron and Schwarzenegger waited for the right time to do a sequel instead of rushing it.

The acting in the movie really is something. Obviously, some acting is better than others but this is a B movie that with a large fan base became a huge success. Arnold Schwarzenegger was actually supposed to read for the part of Kyle Reese since the Terminator was just supposed to look like a generic guy who could blend into the crowd. Arnold actually fell in love with the idea of being a cool villain and asked his agent to make him the Terminator. James Cameron thought the same thing and enticed Arnold with a picture of him as the Terminator. Arnold would play the part extremely well. In the movie you can see him look around having his eyes move first and his head follow suit. When he would kill, his arms would efficiently and with purpose like a machine selling the fact that he was a killing machine. Michael Biehn as Kyle Reese was a perfect casting choice. He almost didn't get the part because in the try out he had a southern accent. When they asked his agent about it, he said Biehn was at a reading for Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and still hadn't shaken the accent. He was extremely believable as a man out of time. Nothing he does is without purpose and he sticks to his mission of protecting Sarah knowing that he is the only one who can protect her. Finally, Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor will always be an excellent casting choice. Sarah isn't the strongest character at the start, but by the end everyone knows she is humanities hope. It's really funny to see other actors who took smaller parts in the film like Lance Henrickson, Bill Paxton, Dick Miller, and Brian Thompson.

So 80's it's painful

As I've said, Stan Winston is the king of special effects and for the time the effects look really good. Obviously, some of the effects look dated but most of the smaller effects hold up very well. The part where the Terminator cuts open his wrist to inspect his hand mechanisms still looks realistic. The bigger effects where the terminator is moving as the metal skeleton look good but stop motion doesn't translate well nowadays. Honestly, I'm the biggest fan of practical effects and this movie looks better than most cgi currently. Practical effects are an art form that should never fade from movies.

Looks like Jason and the Argonauts lol

The story is the main draw for the movie. It is such an innovative idea with not only a robot but the use of time travel. Before this movie, I don't know how many had this idea but I don't think it was too many. The only real flaw is; if Kyle Reese is the father of John Connor and John Connor sends him to save his father, where did the first John Connor come from? I'm sure someone will correct me but I'm always open to hearing how time paradoxes work. Regardless, The Terminator had one of the most original ideas of the time.

So, overall is this a great movie and worth watching? Absolutely! in fact, if you have planned on seeing the new Terminator and have never seen a Terminator movie then this is the one to see. This movie will have the most relevance to seeing Terminator Genysis since it happens at the same time as the first movie. This movie does a lot right and while most will say Terminator 2: Judgement Day is superior, I find the first movie the best. With that said, I give The Terminator nine time traveling cyborg assassins out of ten. The Terminator has a huge impact on pop culture and everyone should give it a watch.

With more reviews of course