The Terminator

One night after James “Jim” Cameron’s critically panned directorial debut “Piranha II: The Spawning” came out in 1982, he became inspired by a dream he had about a metallic torso holding knives dragging itself away from an explosion. Jim pitched a story as a slasher film influenced by John Carpenter’s “Halloween.” Jim’s agent rejected the idea. So, Jim fired him and wrote first draft of “The Terminator.” Then, he added more materiel influenced by “Mad Max: The Road Warrior” & “The Outer Limits.” At the first, Jim wanted the antagonist made of liquid metal. Realizing the limitations of technology, the idea was scrapped and eventually became a reality in “Terminator 2: Judgement Day” courtesy of CGI.

Jim sold the films rights to his then-girlfriend Gale Anne Hurd for one dollar (not a joke) under one condition. Gale working as a producer in exchange for the director’s chair. Jim & Gale presented the script to Orion Pictures. They green-lit the project. Before filming, Jim sketched several storyboards making his vision come true. Like Ridley Scott, Jim’s a talented artist.

Jim polished the story. In the future, an A.I. named, Skynet becomes self-aware turning against humanity starting a nuclear war building robots. Its goal is to wipe out humans. John Connor leads a human resistance to fight against Skynet. When a cyborg disguised as a human instructed by the A.I. to travel back to the year 1984. and kill John’s mother Sarah in an attempt to stop him from existing. John sends his fellow soldier Kyle Reese to the past. Protect Sarah at all costs and destroy the cyborg.

Released in 1984, (same year The Karate Kid came out) the film earned mixed reviews from critics and made a lot of money at the box office. The Terminator gained James Cameron & Arnold Schwarzenegger fame. Overtime, the film garnered praise from critics calling it one of the best sci-fi films. In 2008, the Liberty of Congress selected The Terminator for preservation in the National Film Registry. Seven Years after the first film’s release, Terminator 2: Judgement Day (one of my all-time favorite films) surpassed the original both critically and commercially. Both films spawned additional installments, merchandise, action figures, video games and comic books.

Mr. Cameron is working on further sequels to “Avatar” and a video game titled, Frontiers of Pandora” slated for a December 7, 2023 release. Before the sequels and game come out in the future, I wanna share my thoughts on the first Terminator film.

It doesn’t matter if SPOLIERS are listed. We’ve all seen The Terminator films countless times, referenced or parodied in other works.

Victory & Defeat Aspects

Victory: Arnold Schwarzenegger did an excellent job for his performance as the titular character.

Fun Fact: Before Arnold won the role, Orion Pictures wanted O.J. Simpson (not kidding) as T-800. Jim felt O.J. didn’t look the part as a cold-blooded killer. OUCH! That did not age well!

Linda Hamiliton & Michael Biehn both did an excellent job for their respective performances as Sarah Connor & Kyle Reese.

James “Jim” Cameron did an amazing job directing. He also co-wrote and co-produced the script with Gale Anne Hurd.

The late Bill Paxton makes a brief appearance as low life who gets killed by T-800.

Lance Henriksen (Bishop from Aliens) appears as a cop.

Action Sequences showcase T-800 hunting down Sarah.

Cinematography captures fluid movement.

Stan Winston brought T-800 to life using Practical Effects including Prosthetic Makeup, Stop-Motion & Animatronics. The effects really hold up.

The Soundtrack’s unforgettable. The main theme’s played during the Opening Credits.

Chemistry between Sarah & Reese serves as the main highlight. As the film progresses, they begin to fall in love. Its clarified John Connor ordered Reese to protect Sarah and get it on with her so he can exist.

Character Development involving Sarah. Reese sacrifices himself using a pipe bomb to blow up T-800. Then, she becomes a competent strong female individual who manages to defeat T-800 by crushing him with a hydraulic press. Luckily, Sarah’s not annoying as heck like Willie from “Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom.”

Before Arnold’s “I’ll be back” became an infamous catchphrase, he had a hard time pronouncing I’ll so he begged Jim to change it to “I will come back.” The latter refused but told Arnold to keep practicing I’ll in several takes. Now that’s true dedication.

You cannot forget these words from Reese. “Come with me if you want to live.”

At a gas station, a pregnant Sarah carries a photo of herself and records audio tapes for her son about what the future lies ahead. A subtle sequel hook.

The Final Verdict: A, FOR APEX!

The Terminator is a strong start to an iconic franchise. If you’re prepping for the Avatar sequels and video game Frontiers of Pandora, relive the good ol’ days.