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Real Thoughts: The Terminator — Description

Well, here we are again with James Cameron's filmography with the movie that made him a household name.
This being Cameron's second film to direct, it’s hard to believe that the tale of a robot assassin sent back to terminate the mother of humanity’s future leader wasn’t seen as a potential hit before its release. Okay, maybe I see why people were skeptical. It also didn’t help that before this project, the only movie James Cameron directed was “Piranha II: The Spawning.” Even star Arnold Schwarzenegger wasn’t sure if playing “The Terminator” was a good idea at first. But “The Terminator” proved to be more memorable than anyone could have foreseen. Not only was it a tremendous success at the box office, but it jump-started a massive franchise that’s endured for decades. The story for this film goes is that due to an underlying stress, Cameron has the nightmare of an assassin robot from the future. This inspired him to write the screenplay for the film, which was created with the help of his friends in the marketing department at the Corman production studio. As a result, the film became an unprecedented success, instantly revolutionized the action film genre and propelled Arnold Schwarzenegger to Hollywood fame.
And yes, this is obviously his movie as the titular T-800. The original and the scariest, the Cyberdyne Systems Model 101 Series 800 Terminator was an unstoppable machine that chased after Sarah Connor to prevent the birth of her future child John and that also killed anyone that got in his way. Remorseless and unrelenting, the T-800 was a massive, hulking figure that petrified audiences and provided the perfect vehicle for Schwarzenegger to show off his talent and strengths. As memorable as he is terrifying, the T-800 remains one of cinema’s most enticing villains.
And throughout the films runtime we get to see how determined it is to hunt down and kill Sarah as seen in his introduction scene where the recently arrived and completely naked Terminator demands three thug's clothing, one of them played by Bill Paxton, but when the boys refuse, he attacks. He knocks the first one unconscious before ripping the heart out of another with his bare hand. Sensibly, the remaining thug surrenders his clothes faster than you can say Sarah Connor.
He then begins tracking down every woman named Sarah Connor in Los Angeles. How does he do this? By going through the phonebook of course! This leads him to the suburbs. Locating the house of one Sarah Connor, the Terminator parks out front and casually walks to the door, saying only two words to the unsuspecting woman who answers. Her identity confirmed, the Terminator coldly shoots her directly in the forehead. However, what makes this scene so memorable is how he ruthlessly unloads rounds on the body, assuring the kill and showing us just how inhuman he is.
He then eventually tracks her down to a nightclub cleverly titled Tech Noir; a nod to the film’s genre, which was coined by Cameron. The Terminator has her right where he wants her, but Kyle Reese intervenes and the two engage in a wild gunfight where several innocent bystanders are shot dead. Not only does this scene give us one of the most memorable lines from the entire franchise; it also demonstrates just how difficult it is to kill a Terminator.
Of course, the biker who attempted to deny a T-800’s request learned the hard way that you should never stand between one of those robots and their objective. The unlucky bystander also clearly didn’t hear about the robot’s cop encounter. Where a line like “Hasta La Vista, Baby” sounds badass no matter what, “I’ll Be Back” doesn’t sound particularly intimidating on paper. Yet, the slow, deadpan way Arnold delivers this basic line leaves us jittery with suspense, eagerly wondering what exactly is going to happen next. The T-800 doesn’t disappoint, coming back with a vengeance and ripping the police station keeping Sarah Connor safe a new one. As exhilarating as the shootout itself is, the buildup is arguably even greater and that’s mainly because of those three little words. Since the T-800 is made out of metal, there’s nothing anyone can do to stop him. This station slaughter shows what happens when the unflappable action star plays an unstoppable killing machine.
It's also freaky as hell when he shows his true form as a robotic skeleton with an evil brow. Though yeah, I will acknowledge the stop-motion and the practical effects done on him do kind of take out the fear factor a bit. Like the story of the sequence, which features the titular cyborg’s self-repairs on its arm and eye, plays to something guttural in the human mind. Seeing a damaged eye is a sensitive subject for nearly all mankind, as we all know how sensitive these organs are. Ignoring this fact though, the moments where you see the Terminator’s face from the front while he makes cuts into his eye look so fake that they are downright laughable.
Meanwhile and compared to a lot of modern movies nowadays, Cameron is the master of creating strong independent women and Sarah Connor is no exception. Like her son John, we get to watch Sarah’s progression from innocence into full-on badass. Starting out as a waitress with an amazing ‘80s mullet, Sarah grows into a warrior out of necessity and through her battles with the Terminator. While she remains flawed and seemingly crazy by some, we know the truth and are on her side the whole time. All of this comes together in the climax. With the T-800 on its last leg (well, its last arm technically), Sarah must deliver the final blow. Using her environment to its full advantage, she lures the Terminator into a hydraulic press and turns him into scrap metal. It’s an applause-worthy victory, complete with an even more epic one-liner.
It's also no secret that this film helped set the standard for robot apocalypse movies. Sure, the scenes set in the ‘80s and ‘90s are gripping and action-packed – however, it’s the ones that take us to the future that are really bone-chilling. In these scenes of 2029, James Cameron shows us his vision of a world where machines have systematically worked to wipe out humanity. The idea of an army of metal skeletons hunting us down terrifies us still, while the barren, skeleton covered battlefield of this robot conquest is an image that has gone down in film history and remains a vision of the worst-case-scenario future.
And with the character of Kyle Reese, He's one of the most morally sound characters of the entire franchise, as he often only tries to do the right thing to protect Sarah Connor. In the first film, Kyle puts up a great fight against The Terminator, holding his own against an immortal cyborg, despite being mortal himself. Although he is eventually bested, the action is intense and memorable. I can tell why John decided to send Kyle back, as he provides security, both physical and emotional, to a vulnerable Sarah, thereby proving his good character. To a point where I kind of wanted him to live in the end. I also think this was the beginning of the Michael Behin death curse as he has a habit of dying in his films which I find kind of funny.
I also like the character arc of Peter Silberman in these films. When someone claims to be hunted by a time-traveling cyborg from the future, it’s inevitable that people will call you crazy. Enter Sarah Connor’s psychologist Dr. Silberman, who provides a realistic voice to an outrageous story. At first, Silberman is calm and collected, providing Sarah with a listener and some much needed therapy, even if ultimately he believes her to be crazy. However, his rational demeanor is destroyed when he finally witnesses the Terminators in action. Earl Boen’s cameo in the third movie makes him the only actor, aside from Schwarzenegger, to appear in all three movies of the original trilogy.
Meanwhile we don't see Skynet anywhere in these films, but we know of its presence. It was originally developed for the U.S. military as a defense system to ensure an efficient response to an enemy attack. When the operators realized that it had gained artificial consciousness, however, they tried to shut it down. Skynet interpreted this as an attack, causing it to launch a nuclear counterattack that results in the deaths of over three billion people worldwide. Skynet then developed androids called “Terminators” to eliminate any remaining human threats, including Sarah and John Connor.
Aside from the characters and action and one-liners, you guys know what's great about this film. It launched Cameron and Schwarzenegger's careers and paved the way for more big hits in the future.