Born from a dream James Cameron had of a metallic skeleton rising from a fire, The Terminator is one of the most iconic sci-fi horror/thrillers ever made, from its revolutionary special effects by Stan Winston, to its perfect pacing, plot and direction from James Cameron there isn't a single aspect of the film that I think could be improved upon.
The design of the apocalyptic future war that is seen in glimpses throughout the film is the most terrifying vision of the end of the world imaginable with its survivors scattered around a desolate landscape of ash, the ruins of a world ravaged by machines.
The film overall holds up extremely well and is only dated by its 80's soundtrack during its chase sequences, which isn't necessarily a bad thing but it is as quintessentially 80's as hair spray and neon headbands, the main score however is one of the most recognisable and timeless pieces of music ever written.
The special effects for the most part still hold up today, the endoskeleton in particular looks amazing, there's only one scene involving a prosthetic model acting as a replacement of Schwarzenegger's head as The T-800 removes its own eye that looks extremely fake, which is literally the worst thing I can say about the film and even then its not enough to pull you out of the movie.
Linda Hamilton and the criminally under-appreciated Michael Biehn (how was he never a huge action star?!) are irreplaceable as Sarah Connor and Kyle Reese (proven completely by the awful sequel Dark Fate).
The Terminator is a classic for a reason,
its hands down one of the best films ever made.
TERMINATOR 2: JUDGEMENT DAY
There are certain films that take you back to your childhood,
for me "Terminator 2: Judgement Day" is one of those movies.
I was so obsessed with this film as a kid that at one point I watched it several times a week.
It still remains one of the best films I've ever seen and the best sci/fi action film that has ever been made (bar Aliens, which it ties with for this title).
Terminator 2 by my memory is the first film to take the antagonist from a previous entry and make him the hero,
the film focuses on the bond between John and The Terminator which has been sent back in time to act as his guardian against a technologically advanced machine which has been sent to kill him, as his death would prevent humanity from defeating Skynet in the future.
Terminator 2 easily features Linda Hamilton's best acting in any film she's been in, one particular scene stood out to me on this most recent watch, where she attempts to assassinate Miles Dyson for his role in creating Skynet. Hamilton conveys entirely in her facial expressions as she watches him beg for his life unaware of why he is about to be killed, the guilt, shock and realisation that she is about to do to someone exactly what was done to her in the original, knowing that if she were to murder him for an action he has not yet committed , one that he has no knowledge of , she has become in essence a Terminator herself.
Robert Patrick is stoically creepy as the T-1000 and the film also features Schwarzenegger's best performance as the T-800 who becomes more and more human through his attachment to Edward Furlong's John Connor as the story progresses. It's a shame Edward Furlong developed such a heavy drug addiction not too long after this film, its the best child performance in any movie that I can think of and as it was his first role he really showed that he had a natural talent for acting which is sad to see wasted now.
Visually the film is one of my favourite looking movies,
there's a blue sheen to all of the night-time scenes which gives it this distinct, cold quality and the special effects still hold up today, the action sequences are the biggest and best of the entire franchise.
There are also quiet philosophical moments spread evenly throughout, which always feel organic and are never heavy handed, Sarah's monologues are really poetically written,
while Judgement Day is an action film its a bit more than that, It's overall message contrasts that of the original, where the original is a bleak film about an impending and inevitable apocalypse Terminator 2 is ultimately a film about closure and hope, hope for the human race despite its seemingly inherent nature to destroy itself, which is summarised in Sarah's final words that
"If even a machine, a terminator can learn the value of human life, maybe we can too"
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