The Terminator (1984) Dir. James Cameron

“I’ll be back… in cinemas!” Very much launching James Cameron’s directorial career (yes, he did some Piranha 2), Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Hollywood fame (yes, he had done Conan) and the beginnings of a franchise behemoth - that was eventually ground into endoskeleton dust - this 2024 anniversary release of The Terminator confirms its place as a true milestone in cinema.

There’ll be few who don’t know the plot but the quickest of recaps. A cyborg killing machine is sent back in time to kill the mother of John Connor, the future leader of a resistance group trying to save what’s left of humanity. Also sent back to 1984 is a soldier who is ordered to protect her from this killer robot and thus begins a (violent) game of cat and mouse in the present.

Linda Hamilton is excellent as Sarah Connor, who moves from meek diner waitress to a resourceful survivalist and Michael Biehn as the man from the future is both an unhinged and formidable protector. It’s a shame that neither of them really achieved the long-term stardom the ace actors so clearly deserved.

Despite that, in essence, it’s not really a time-travel movie. The device (that got more convoluted as the sequels progressed) is mostly just to hang a slasher flick on with Arnie’s intimidating “serial killer” aping the unstoppable bloody force of Friday 13th’s Jason or Halloween’s Michael Myers.

But it very much shows the cinematic trademarks of James Cameron and from the fantastic lighting to quality music and action editing, we get to watch Los Angeles' grimy underbelly as car-chases, shoot-outs and fist-fights pile up. Arnie, Lance Henriksen, Bill Paxton, the VFX, the action and even the involvement of future (and subsequently divorced) wives became Cameron staples.

Arnie’s mute but physical performance is of course first-rate and its legacy saw it spawn endless low-budget imitations and Arnie action films but it’s not been bettered. Until T2 that is, in my opinion.

The rerelease shows up the film’s age - but 40 years will do that to you. There’s some VERY big hair and the electronic score heads towards rando b-movie synth territory. It’s all a bit more retro than I recall. See also phone-books and RCT monitors!

But Cameron’s excellent vision (“borrowed” from The Outer Limits) brings to life an apocalyptic future with awesome practical effects and model work. The story is a lean mean machine with no waste and there’s a huge amount of gore, blood and death - something sorely missing from the franchise’s later entries.

Another superb aspect is the film’s lighting. Obviously done on a tight budget, the glow of the city and the sweaty neon clubs are captured brilliantly. This is even better in Terminator 2 and the biggest disappointment is its absence from Cameron’s CGI-focused Avatar flicks.

A simple slasher at its core, I can’t recommend The Terminator enough. Before Skynet. Before the franchise’s fall from grace, the sci-fi horror is anything but mechanical in its execution. And its importance in cinema cannot be understated as the genesis (NOT Genisys) of the Terminator movies. Coming in at number 2 on my favourite Arnie films (guess what is number 1) it gave the bodybuilder his most iconic role, but more than that it’s an essential adult action movie with entertainment and thoughtful ideas coming out of every glorious frame of film.

★★★★½

4.5 / 5

Michael Sales

The 40th Anniversary 4K Restoration screens 30th August in cinemas