The Terminator (1984)
James Cameron
"Nobody goes home. Nobody else comes through. It's just him...and me."
The Terminator is a movie I've seen, easily, dozens of times. It always played second fiddle to Terminator 2 when I was a kid, but that's to be expected. T2 features a young protagonist, has far more polish, and is a big step up in the visual effects department. When you're a kid, the original Terminator is dark (especially on VHS), a little cheesy, and slightly confusing. Plus Arnie plays the bad guy, which is upsetting when you're used to him being the hero from so many other films (although it does have a scene with brief female nudity, so not a total loss when you're young).
As an adult, my tastes shifted. I still appreciate Terminator 2 of course, but The Terminator is clearly the better film. In fact, T2 is essentially a beat-for-beat remake with some extra plot and a few more elaborate stunt sequences to round out the experience (it's about 50 minutes longer than the original). By the time he made T2, James Cameron had numerous successful films under his belt, had far more leeway to go big, and Arnold Schwarzenegger was an international superstar that would naturally command a huge box office score. T2 is a wonderful early 90's sci-fi/action film, and basically redefined the genre, and deserves all of the credit and attention that it gets.
But damn, The Terminator speaks to me on a whole other level. Before there was such a thing as the Terminator-verse and before the concept of Cinematic Universes were a thing (truly blessed days), The Terminator was just a dark, grimy little sci-fi/horror/action film made by the guy who directed Piranha II: The Spawning. The Terminator is filled with so many little B-movie touches, but is operating on a far more sophisticated wavelength story and performance wise. Like Joe Dante pulled off with Gremlins, James Cameron and Gale Ann Hurd took schlock and crafted it into genius. Really the only facet of the film that falls a little flat for me is the end of the third act. The effects really start to fall apart and one scene in particular, utilizing rear screen projection, is just brutal and looks like it belongs in King Kong. Otherwise, it's kind of a perfect movie.
It comes down to tone for me. I'm a simple man who enjoys his films dark, violent, and preferably from the 1980's. Where T2 is shiny and chrome, The Terminator is filthy and rusted. Casting Arnie in the role as the titular bad guy was such an inspired choice. He's in amazing shape and immediately commands your attention. Even his thick Austrian accent and his stiff, inexperienced line reads work perfectly. The initial scene when he confronts the punks to get their clothes is the perfect blend of darkly comic and ultra-violent. He punches through a man with his bare fist, and pulls it out dripping with gore (unlike the later effects, that's something that plays so much better on the big screen or in HD).
Kyle Reece's journey through time goes far worse, and we're immediately confronted with his human frailty. Whereas the terminator travels through time with machine-like placidity, Reece is thrown through the portal like someone dropped him out of the back of a garbage truck filled with lightning. He then immediately steals a homeless man's stained sweatpants, and then proceeds to wear them for like 48 hours straight, which is maybe the most underappreciated disgusting detail in the film.
Within the first 15 minutes, we understand fully well what's at stake: the future sucks, giant robot tanks plow through mountains of human skulls, a terrifying killing machine is sent back to kill the savior of humanity before he's born, and the humans of the future have to settle for a random infantry soldier who is poorly nourished, covered in scars, and has a personality shaped by apocalyptic levels of trauma. I love the way Reece acts during his opening escape from the police. He crawls around the department store like a wild animal, a skill he would have learned evading hunter killers and T-600's in his horrible future. Michael Biehn is great in the three Cameron films that he stars in, but he absolutely kicks ass here. He's intense, and wild, and a little bit crazy in the best possible ways. When Dr. Silberman is interviewing him at the police station and hearing his stories about post Judgement Day Los Angeles, he gets bug-eyed levels of intense and sounds like he's on his last nut, because, well, he is. The flashbacks (flashforwards?) that we get of Reece's life in the future are horrible. He's burned, shot at, sees comrades explode, and lives a tortured life beneath the rubble of the old world. He's naturally going to be a little crazy, especially considering that the weight of humanity's future rests on his shoulders.
This viewing I also came to appreciate the strong arrested development virgin energy that Reece has when he's revealing his true feelings to Sarah in the motel room. His childhood and adolescence were spent hunting rats, cooking plastique explosive, and scurrying around in the shadows. There was no time for love or tenderness. In fact, he makes a comment about how pain can be disconnected and controlled. Emotions get in the way of survival, so they need to be compartmentalized and hidden away. He gets so embarrassed by his display of real emotion that he starts shoving pipe bombs into a duffel bag in a way that can't possibly be safe.
The story for The Terminator is smart in lots of small but important ways, but a new detail that I appreciated for the first time last night was how Reece knew exactly which LA Sarah Connor was the correct one in the phone book, because John would have told him her middle name. The Terminator has to go through the list methodically before finding his correct target. Story elements like this are minor, but add layers to the film that elevate it beyond its modest trappings. It's a good thing our Sarah Connor wasn't named Sarah Aardvark Connor, because then humanity would have been doomed.
Those little "oh, that was a close one" details are sprinkled throughout the film. What if her douchebag boyfriend hadn't stood her up? Humanity doomed. What if she hadn't bent down to pick something up at Tech Noir as the terminator was scanning the room? Humanity doomed. What if that club-goer hadn't been standing behind Sarah when the terminator popped off? Humanity doomed. There's a playfulness with the film making to add to the tension, and tap back into that sense of frailty and vulnerability our heroes have in the face of unstoppable cyborg terror. Thousands of seemingly insignificant things all need to go exactly right for her to survive.
What else is there to say about a movie that's been out for 35 years and has spawned a billion dollar entertainment franchise? Probably nothing, but here are some quick hitters to round out this review:
I know there's an alternate cut of the movie, but it's been years since I've seen it, and I don't remember it particularly fondly. There's a montage of deleted scenes here, but I like that Cameron kept the film tight and didn't try to explore the bigger themes that T2 went after. Also the scene with Reece and Sarah in the woods is painfully bad.
So if you've somehow never seen The Terminator, now's the chance. If it's been a few years, watch it again. It fits in perfectly with Spooktober, while also scratching that 80's Arnie action movie itch.
RATING: Five yoked out T2-era Linda Hamilton chin ups out of Five.
HOW I WATCHED IT: Amazon Prime
BEVERAGE: Trappist Rochefort 10. Hey, if the world is going to end, I'm going out deliciously.
As an adult, my tastes shifted. I still appreciate Terminator 2 of course, but The Terminator is clearly the better film. In fact, T2 is essentially a beat-for-beat remake with some extra plot and a few more elaborate stunt sequences to round out the experience (it's about 50 minutes longer than the original). By the time he made T2, James Cameron had numerous successful films under his belt, had far more leeway to go big, and Arnold Schwarzenegger was an international superstar that would naturally command a huge box office score. T2 is a wonderful early 90's sci-fi/action film, and basically redefined the genre, and deserves all of the credit and attention that it gets.
But damn, The Terminator speaks to me on a whole other level. Before there was such a thing as the Terminator-verse and before the concept of Cinematic Universes were a thing (truly blessed days), The Terminator was just a dark, grimy little sci-fi/horror/action film made by the guy who directed Piranha II: The Spawning. The Terminator is filled with so many little B-movie touches, but is operating on a far more sophisticated wavelength story and performance wise. Like Joe Dante pulled off with Gremlins, James Cameron and Gale Ann Hurd took schlock and crafted it into genius. Really the only facet of the film that falls a little flat for me is the end of the third act. The effects really start to fall apart and one scene in particular, utilizing rear screen projection, is just brutal and looks like it belongs in King Kong. Otherwise, it's kind of a perfect movie.
It comes down to tone for me. I'm a simple man who enjoys his films dark, violent, and preferably from the 1980's. Where T2 is shiny and chrome, The Terminator is filthy and rusted. Casting Arnie in the role as the titular bad guy was such an inspired choice. He's in amazing shape and immediately commands your attention. Even his thick Austrian accent and his stiff, inexperienced line reads work perfectly. The initial scene when he confronts the punks to get their clothes is the perfect blend of darkly comic and ultra-violent. He punches through a man with his bare fist, and pulls it out dripping with gore (unlike the later effects, that's something that plays so much better on the big screen or in HD).
Kyle Reece's journey through time goes far worse, and we're immediately confronted with his human frailty. Whereas the terminator travels through time with machine-like placidity, Reece is thrown through the portal like someone dropped him out of the back of a garbage truck filled with lightning. He then immediately steals a homeless man's stained sweatpants, and then proceeds to wear them for like 48 hours straight, which is maybe the most underappreciated disgusting detail in the film.
Within the first 15 minutes, we understand fully well what's at stake: the future sucks, giant robot tanks plow through mountains of human skulls, a terrifying killing machine is sent back to kill the savior of humanity before he's born, and the humans of the future have to settle for a random infantry soldier who is poorly nourished, covered in scars, and has a personality shaped by apocalyptic levels of trauma. I love the way Reece acts during his opening escape from the police. He crawls around the department store like a wild animal, a skill he would have learned evading hunter killers and T-600's in his horrible future. Michael Biehn is great in the three Cameron films that he stars in, but he absolutely kicks ass here. He's intense, and wild, and a little bit crazy in the best possible ways. When Dr. Silberman is interviewing him at the police station and hearing his stories about post Judgement Day Los Angeles, he gets bug-eyed levels of intense and sounds like he's on his last nut, because, well, he is. The flashbacks (flashforwards?) that we get of Reece's life in the future are horrible. He's burned, shot at, sees comrades explode, and lives a tortured life beneath the rubble of the old world. He's naturally going to be a little crazy, especially considering that the weight of humanity's future rests on his shoulders.
This viewing I also came to appreciate the strong arrested development virgin energy that Reece has when he's revealing his true feelings to Sarah in the motel room. His childhood and adolescence were spent hunting rats, cooking plastique explosive, and scurrying around in the shadows. There was no time for love or tenderness. In fact, he makes a comment about how pain can be disconnected and controlled. Emotions get in the way of survival, so they need to be compartmentalized and hidden away. He gets so embarrassed by his display of real emotion that he starts shoving pipe bombs into a duffel bag in a way that can't possibly be safe.
The story for The Terminator is smart in lots of small but important ways, but a new detail that I appreciated for the first time last night was how Reece knew exactly which LA Sarah Connor was the correct one in the phone book, because John would have told him her middle name. The Terminator has to go through the list methodically before finding his correct target. Story elements like this are minor, but add layers to the film that elevate it beyond its modest trappings. It's a good thing our Sarah Connor wasn't named Sarah Aardvark Connor, because then humanity would have been doomed.
Those little "oh, that was a close one" details are sprinkled throughout the film. What if her douchebag boyfriend hadn't stood her up? Humanity doomed. What if she hadn't bent down to pick something up at Tech Noir as the terminator was scanning the room? Humanity doomed. What if that club-goer hadn't been standing behind Sarah when the terminator popped off? Humanity doomed. There's a playfulness with the film making to add to the tension, and tap back into that sense of frailty and vulnerability our heroes have in the face of unstoppable cyborg terror. Thousands of seemingly insignificant things all need to go exactly right for her to survive.
What else is there to say about a movie that's been out for 35 years and has spawned a billion dollar entertainment franchise? Probably nothing, but here are some quick hitters to round out this review:
- I love the old garbage man at the very beginning of the movie when the terminator is coming through his portal. He's up at 4 am working a shit job, and his truck conks out. His exasperated "what the hell? God damn son of a bitch" is so funny.
- I also love the black guy in the motel as Arnie walks out with two assault rifles slung over his shoulders. What a great line read.
- Right before that scene comes the funniest line in the movie, when the flophouse janitor knocks on the door and asks the terminator if he has a "dead cat in there?" First, it implies that the flesh around the terminator might be breaking down a bit from all of the wounds he's taken, which is reinforced with the sounds of flies buzzing around (and earlier in the film Reece says that the T-800's have both sweat glands and bad breath, implying bacterial growth). Second, it's a wonderful little callback to the first scene of the film when the terminator asks the punks for their clothes and is told, "Fuck you, asshole." This all leads up to a beautiful moment where we go inside the terminator's head and watch his CPU select the best possible response to the situation, also showing that he's learning from the mannerisms of the humans he's encountered thus far. Magical:
- The police station massacre scene is just amazing. It's terrifying, action packed, and features some great low-budget special effects. I'm a sucker for honest-to-goodness squibs and blood packs for my gunshot wounds, and they are all over this scene. There's also some real world gravity lent to this scene as we hear the car radio as Reece and Sarah ditch their car and the news update is naturally about the slaughter at the police station, and the largest police manhunt in history.
- Speaking of the police, Lance Henrikson and Paul Winfield are nice supporting characters that don't really get sucked into the story at large, but provide some real world grounding to the film, and offer Sarah a little false hope ("You've got nothing to worry about. There's over thirty cops in this building.") I especially love how Winfield has to keep talking over the more socially awkward Henrikson, who can't help but tell stories about all the fucked up shit he's seen in his years on the force. They have a well rounded dynamic, despite only being in about 8 minutes of the film.
- I also appreciate that Winfield isn't totally sold on the idea that Reece is crazy. He's been around a long time, and has surely seen a lot of raving weirdos, but something about Reece's story intrigues Winfield and gives him pause. It's a nice touch.
- As if the film's B-movie trappings weren't already self evident, we get a nice little scene with Dick Miller as the owner of a gun shop. Miller was a mainstay of Joe Dante's films, and has been punching the clock as a B-movie character actor since the 1950's. He's gruff, and gritty, and I always chuckle when Arnie asks for a "phased plasma rifle in the 40 watt range," and Miller gives him a "Hey, just what you see, pal." Wonderful stuff.
- Finally, Sarah's shitty day as a waitress at a Bob's Big Boy knockoff is so wonderfully textured. The customers are terrible, she can't keep herself organized, she's frazzled, and a little shithead kid drops a scoop of Superman ice cream into her apron. The line from her gum-smacking coworker "Think of it this way: in 100 years who's going to care?" is just delightful. I hope the dude who said he was still waiting for his coffee is the first to die in the August 29, 1997 explosion.
I know there's an alternate cut of the movie, but it's been years since I've seen it, and I don't remember it particularly fondly. There's a montage of deleted scenes here, but I like that Cameron kept the film tight and didn't try to explore the bigger themes that T2 went after. Also the scene with Reece and Sarah in the woods is painfully bad.
So if you've somehow never seen The Terminator, now's the chance. If it's been a few years, watch it again. It fits in perfectly with Spooktober, while also scratching that 80's Arnie action movie itch.
RATING: Five yoked out T2-era Linda Hamilton chin ups out of Five.
HOW I WATCHED IT: Amazon Prime
BEVERAGE: Trappist Rochefort 10. Hey, if the world is going to end, I'm going out deliciously.
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