|
|
|
|
 |
The Terminator (1984)
Succeeded by: Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
James Cameron's innovative, apocalyptic android time-travel sci-fi was a hard-hitting action revelation for both mind and body when it was released on a relatively limited budget in 1984. It was only Cameron's second film, and arguably the first into which he had put his best effort, after debuting with the sequel Piranha Part Two three years prior. A fit and aptly cast Arnold Schwarzenegger consolidated his status as an otherworldly action hero, which he had established with the two Conan movies, and Cameron merged elements of horror and the superhero genre into his dark and relentless futuristic tale. It was a formula that was going to live on. Stories dealing with time travel can arguably never be watertight, because circular argumentation will always apply: If the Terminator succeeds in killing John Connor's mother, why would it have been sent back to kill John Connor's mother? Fortunately, Cameron and co-writer Gale Anne Hurd had already asked all these questions that viewers are often left throwing at the screen in annoyance. In The Terminator, everything has been thought through and everything holds up – despite the remaining ambivalence. The thematic scare of The Terminator is humans versus machines, and the risk of the latter taking control of us. Although this concept arguably was more recognisable during the Cold War 1980s (WarGames had staged a similar idea a year earlier), it is presented rather timelessly here, often with nods to the authorship of Stanislaw Lem. There is no preaching or cheap scare tactics, because Cameron isn't only intimidated by the machines; he's also vividly fascinated by them. Arnold's character may be the villain, but he is created by filmmakers who are attracted to his existence, and we cannot help but fall into the same mentality. Is there a soul in there? Where does artificial intelligence end and self-awareness begin? Hurd's and Cameron's script is clever, insightful and full of suspense. It keeps interest levels high and the viewer on the edge of his seat. And Cameron's direction combines shrewd storytelling with a knack for creating surging, perceptible action. He never runs astray with his images or allows them to become messy, even in the fast-paced segments. That is the sign of a stylistically confident filmmaker who probably knew he was about to create something out of the ordinary. The Terminator looks and feels just as crisp today as it did a quarter of a century ago.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
_150w.jpg)
