2029 is the year where high-tech computer like Skynet are able to combat against humans after nearly accomplishing to wreak havoc in humanity in 1997. The terminator is sent in the past to slay Sarah Corner whose future son will cause humans to win the battle against the machines. From the human side, Kyle Reese is sent to stop him from accomplishing this mission.
Cameron maintains the heedless, non sequitur pace of a nightmare without resorting to cheap tactics. The frights of these nightmares, those cracked reflections of reality, hardly feel manufactured or inauthentic. And neither does "The Terminator."
As a souvenir of a kind of B-grade action cinema that has all but vanished, The Terminator should find a small place in the heart of every movie addict.
Getting the extraordinary physical specimen of Arnold Schwarzenegger for the lead was a stroke of genius and a stroke of fortune. Each of his pecs is the size of a bull's flank.
As for Schwarzenegger, he nicely fleshes out the convention of a soulless gun for hire. With his choppy hair, cryptic shades and state-of-the-'80s leather ensemble, he looks like the Incredible Hulk gone punk.
Much of Terminator's greatness is due to its low-budget aesthetic and lo-fi energy; perhaps out of necessity, Cameron's sense of storytelling has a lean efficiency that both he and the series have long since abandoned.
You almost forget the film's flaws - like the cartoony look of the war-ravaged future. Here, the most absurd excursion is believable and we go along willingly - stopping now and then for a breath or a laugh.
