My Review of Terminator (1984)
One of the classic films of the Blockbuster era of Hollywood and one of the films which has become a cultural landmark has hardly left an impression on me. It has nothing to do with the fact that I dislike action or science fiction films, but more so the fact that there wasn’t much going on in the film except attempting to build up a female heroine, a sequel, and showing how great these special effects are. I’ve never been much of a James Cameron fan, and this film is probably one of the reasons. The plot is incredible feeble and seems indecisive — is this a dystopia? A thriller? A horror film? This isn’t to say that it can’t be all three at once, but there is an imbalance that Cameron doesn’t manage to put together.
Perhaps because of the cultural relevance of the film (to which I ask, What exactly is the relevance?) and how many times certain aspects of the film have been copied, how many times I’ve already heard certain lines, none of the characters left any real impression on me, not even the Terminator itself. In the moments when there was at least the potential to terrify me, they’re cut short and simply leave the general notion he’s indestructible. As an evolution and an improvement on Crichton’s Gunslinger from Westworld, I can’t say that much was done. The Terminator is a ruthless villain, and though I get his “motivation,” if we’d like to call it that, I wish there was still something more. Kyle’s arc doesn’t go anywhere, and Sarah is riding on the popularity of Ripley and Leia, making it hard to say I care where she goes from here, to become the mother of the son who will send her father back in time to birth himself.
For this matter, I have no problem with time travel, but this one just doesn’t seem to hold much weight or make that much sense. The consequence of John Connor (take note of the initials) not being born is that the human race essentially is wiped out; if the human race isn’t wiped out, as far as one can tell from this film, they’re lives are still pretty shit. But they’re free right? I guess, but this idea is not very much impressed on the viewer, Cameron not taking advantage of Reagan’s existence in reality as our own John Connor, which suggests that, what would the world be like if Reagan hadn’t won? The indestructible Soviet threat would surely annihilate us all. Of course, that’s me attempting to thrust some meaning, some deeper purpose, onto a film that’s only good for its effects, blood, and explosions.
Grade: C-, I would recommend this film only because it is a classic that is referenced in numerous popular culture pieces today, and because it’s a relatively good time, but drags on for an unnecessary amount of time. I’m becoming more and more convinced that Cameron is only as good as our memories are bad.
Addendum: Note that this is not a knock on the performances in the film — it’s not their fault that the script pretty much sucked. Biehn and Hamilton, and Arnie (of course), worked well with that they were given. There is a reason the film is quoted so often, and its because the actors did their job well, largely under the direction of Cameron. The Terminator is memorable because of Schwarzenegger’s stoicism that creates lines that are inadvertently hilarious when said aloud. Many of Kyle’s lines are memorable and borderline emotional because of Biehn’s delivery of them. The only fault in Hamilton’s performance comes at the end of the film, though, when she rides off into the storm (read, *gag*). For whatever reason, these final moments are so phoned in it makes the whole rest of Hamilton’s performance look bad.
It should also be mentioned that, as Cameron prepared for Aliens, he borrowed from Alien in the films final moments, using Sara’s recording as an epilogue in a similar manner to Ripley’s log as she floats into the vast unknown of space. The difference in the impact that these two epilogues have at the end of their films is that one was done tastefully, leaving the audience with one final shock and a moment to reflect; the other was shoved in at the last minute to tag the sequel, cheapening the whole film.
