THE TERMINATOR (1984)

By: Steve Biodrowski
Date: Thursday, June 07, 2001

Director and co-writer (with Gale Anne Hurd) James Cameron fuses science fiction and action and adventure in a way that established a trend still in evidence to this day. A time travel tale with all the usual paradox plot problems, the film survives thanks to a breakneck pace, during which the necessary exposition is often delivered in rushed outbursts while cars are careening around corners and skidding through intersections. Arnold Schwarzenegger perfectly embodies the unstoppable implacable antagonist, and in the human roles Michael Biehn and Linda Hamilton are engaging leads. The film is almost a textbook model of how to create something great while working in a genre formula with a limited budget. The story is well conceived; the action never drowns out the characterization, and the characterization never slows down the action. A big inspiration for countless films that would follow, this film has been often imitated but seldom exceeded.