One appears in a ball of light, crouched and ready for their mission. Another slams to the ground in agony and bewilderment. We might not know what’s brought them to our world, but we already know that whilst they share a means of arrival and a need for clothes and weapons, they’re very different.
The Terminator as a story is a lot like its iconic antagonist; terrifyingly efficient.
It’s hard to believe that this film is now forty years old. But it has not dulled. If anything my appreciation for its slick world setting, strong performances, and that police station assault have only improved.
Small things may betray its budget and guerrilla-like approach to film making. But for every bladeless scalpel there’s brilliant miniature work or great music.
Schwarzenegger is perfectly cast as the stoic and hulking Terminator. To think Cameron initially wanted to cast a ‘normal’ build person as the infiltration unit! It makes more sense, but Arnold has such presence that it just works. It’s more impressive when you realise he has less than 100 words of dialogue. Hamilton shows the hidden strength of her “mother of the future”, whilst Biehn’s wiry and on edge portrayal gives way to his true affection. Of note are the policeman Sarah deals with. Henriksen and Winfield’s characters bicker, but clearly have history and care about one-another. They feel real, which gives the Terminator’s assault of the police station an extra edge.
And what a scene that is! The first instance of “I’ll be back” underplays the massacre that is about to take place. One handing both an AR-18 and SPAS-12 is a simple way of displaying his mechanical strength, whilst a bullet passing through him and breaking glass adds to how unstoppable he is. Show don’t tell.
The Terminator may in many ways resemble a slasher film, but it cares about what’s going on, and though the police may be fodder, they still serve in building up the cyborg as an unstoppable force. Everything serves the story.
My usual yearly watch always raises the the thought that The Terminator didn’t need a sequel. It seems obvious now that it would always get one, but whilst it hints at more it could easily remain self-contained. Reese unknowingly resolves the paradox of being the father and the T-800 is destroyed.
Which leads to the next obvious question. T1 or T2? I don’t think there’s a wrong choice here. As a technical achievement and a broader entertaining story, T2 is brilliant. But for a while now I’ve preferred evil Arnie. A nigh-on perfect tech-noir.
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