The Terminator (1984) ****

The Terminator is essentially the story of Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) and the night that her life was turned upside down by two time travelers. The first to arrive is a hulking, emotionless, beast simply called The Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger). The second is resistance fighter Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn). Both are literally born into this world, arriving naked and supposedly helpless, but each one uses their own skills to survive and fulfill the first part of their mission- find Sarah Connor.These two men are willing to burn the greater Los Angeles area to do it.

Directed by James Cameron, The Terminator is one of those rare low budget sci-fi masterpieces that not only is very good, it also makes a ton of money. A story that could have been complicated as hell is easily digest through Cameron's story and direction. You plunge into the world of the future head first where machines rule the land, but only when Cameron either wants to give you a break from the present day's hell or needs to elaborate on the story. Some people read the film as a morality tale on mans dependence on machines, but it's really only a very good post apocalyptic tale that takes place before the apocalypse. You hear about it. You see its aftermath, but it's still in the future. The real battle is right now.

Sure, the effects are not great, but this is low budget 1984. It's the story that gets you into the film, not the effects which were very good for such a small time film. Looking at it now I'm amazed that a film like this had as many effects shots as it did. A great feat at stretching a dollar, obviously learned by Cameron from schlock guru Roger Corman.

This was the film that set the footing for Arnie's action packed career. "I'll be back" resonated in every other film he was in and was on par with "Make my day" in the 1980's. Arnold didn't carry the film emotionally, though because his character was emotionless. Hamilton and Biehn have to turn it up a notch to compensate for the machine they play against and they do it beautifully.

The Terminator is one of those legendary sci-fi films that gives you an unbelievable story and sets it in believable situations. The film pushed the envelope with its gore and violence, garnering an R rating in an era where sci-fi tried to stay in line for the kiddies. This is truly a legendary film.