The Terminator

One of the films that had a powerful influence on me growing up. Like many others, I saw it on a VHS copy of a copy of a copy, and I instantly loved it. So much so that I still enjoy watching it today. True, the effects correspond to the time it was made. Even though they are of a high standard, the scene in which Arnie takes out his eye is just not as impressive today because of the obviously rubber face. I don't mean the film is bad, on the contrary, I think it’s definitely one of the best sci-fi thrillers ever made. Arnie was born to play T-800 (minimum acting and maximum thick German accent) and it was thanks to him that I sided with the dark side of the force for the first time. (08/01/2016)

After all these years, I prepared my raised eyebrows as a precaution, only to completely forget about them. Only Brad Fiedel's synth soundtrack has become brutally obsolete, but otherwise Cameron's cyborg is still doing great. While the effects tend to make you laugh, Cameron's unique sense of tension and impressive characters look like a metal skeleton over a pile of human skulls. Perfect camera work, great editing and very good actors led by Arnie, who acts like an unruly Nazi on a trip. The script doesn't try any big tricks, yet the story of saving the future is extremely impressive, and the insights into the apocalyptic age still have urgency and a pretty decadent mood after all the years. I can't find anything to criticize. The Terminator embodies the poetics of the 1980s in every way, and to this day it should serve as an insurmountable textbook of dramatic action spectacle for hit-makers. A clear gold fund, a film top class without compromise. (04/07/2005)

Suffocating and adrenaline-fueled sci-fi that time's tooth can't seem to gnaw away. Arnold probably will never inspire as much respect and fear again. Moreover, without this series, temporal paradoxes and the entire science fiction genre would be completely different today. Ideas like the one about a robot that has to change the past in order to alter the future occasionally come up, but fitting them into the right screenplay is already a form of cinematic art. (04/02/2006)

More than a legend. With Terminator, Cameron opened his iconic window of visual treats, which he has been successfully expanding and even improving ever since. The amazing storyline, set to the rhythm of depressingly pulsating music and properly lethal action scenes, doesn't give any room at all for all the general shortcomings such as verbosity or monotony, instead presenting a pure exhibition of zany effects, cool catchphrases and fun car chases that never ceases to entertain and at the same time doesn't allow us not to take it seriously. Arnold is iconic, Michael Biehn is likeable, and Cameron is a film terminator himself.... It's a pity that Lance Henriksen was underused, but the director paid him back in Aliens. 95% (04/19/2011)

The sci-fi genius of James Cameron is a classic genre now. The battle for the future that is being fought today with Arnold Schwarzenegger in his best role. Each frame of film is soaked in a wonderful atmosphere and the tension could be cut by a knife. Iconic moments await on every corner and Cameron’s sense for detail is also incredible (the little joke about cigarettes, the close up of the careering truck). The screenplay is faultless and believable in the sense that it doesn’t contain anything too unreal. The special effects are excellent for the time and everybody’s acting, headed by Arnold, is immaculate. Just add the best theme music of all time and we get a unique movie experience. (11/19/2006)