The Terminator (1984)
Very little has aged about this movie, cudos to the effects of the talented Stan Winston, r.i.p. it's thrilling to watch, you feel unnerved, anticipating with dread when the terminator will reappear. It just never lets up, without getting into the over-the-top action sequences that the 5th and 6th movie that bombard with explosions and fighting to the point that it begins to look cartoonish, and I personally lose the emotional investment. This is a gritty movie, that feels very realistic, especially the chilling murders in the homes, night club and police station, and that makes it all the more disturbing to watch because it's not fantasy violence, though it's scifi, it's something raw that really looks like events you would see happen on the news.
The voice mimicry is really creepy to listen to, and love how every encounter between Kyle and the terminator takes something out of them both, and they're each getting wounded/damaged and slowly becoming more exposed, and in the case of the terminator this is quite literal exposure, you see bits and pieces of the disguise melt away scene by scene until the monster underneath can no longer be hidden in the climax of the film. Michael Bieh pours his heart into the performance. He looks Scrappy, sleepless, disheveled, emancipated, stressed, but is so tender in his interactions with Sarah, despite living in such a brutal, cynical time, he's still a hopeless romantic.
I got to hand it to Arnold Schwarzenegger, I forgot just how great he was in this role. He uses his towering, powerful physicality so well, and makes you feel like a small, frightened child. When his eyes meet yours they are devoid of compassion, but his face isn't blank either, there's an intense laser-like focus in his gaze at the same time, he uses little movements to suggest he's not human like turning his neck in a slight mechanical gesture, or having a subtle change of facial expression that indicates he's trying to process data. He's also so confident in the way he handles the firearms, you can tell that this is an actor who knows how to shoot. I hadn't thought much of Schwarzenegger's acting in other movies, but I do love him in this part.
Most fans feel that the second Terminator movie Judgement Day is the best one in the franchise, but I don't know about that. I have seen both movies more than once, and they each have their strong points. The second movie really unleashes the human imagination--pushing the envelope with the special effects as far as it could go in 1991, Robert Patrick is terrific in the role of the T-1000, Sarah Connor's diary entries and dreams of the future are evocative, the dynamics of an antagonist becoming an antihero with Uncle Bob are charming and the ending is so powerful, has me blinking back tears. I think the original movie might still the best though.
The violence in Terminator 1 is hard to watch admittedly, and I have to look away on some parts like the exacto blade scene-- but it's also more real than the second one with the no-kill orders. Also the first one is scarier because it's just two regular people trying to fight and flee, one is a waitress, the other is at least has military training, but is still human and doesn't have access to the best weapons, so they're limited to doing things in the realm of what people like you and me can do, whereas in the second one you still have a cyborg at your back, even if it's an outdated model, the playing field is way more level than before, so though you're repeatedly in danger, the vulnerability of the protagonists is much higher in the first movie, and that makes it more of a nail-bitter I think to watch.
Also I know most fans only like Sarah in the sequel where the events of the first movie have toughened her up, and she becomes a savage woman warrior who will kill and sacrifice whatever she must, including herself, to try to protect her son and save the world. And this is a valid character arc for her to have, and Linda Hamilton is real good in both parts, but I think in a way the first movie might have the best character development because it's about Sarah Connor and Kyle Reese, and the bond they form. Sarah is what drives Kyle to be the hero that he is, and it's a true love that literally crosses time, and while Kyle physically is protecting her for most of the film, it's Sarah who is emotionally sustaining him, she is his rock of support when they are alone, it's Sarah whom he can be vulnerable with, and tell about his traumas in the war, she physically as well as emotionally heals his wounds, and when he thinks he can't go on any longer, she knows what to say to him to motivate him to find the strength within him to take another step, even of it comes down to literally getting behind and pushing him ahead. I have heard people say Sarah was a scream queen in the first one, or timid and a damsel in distress, but I think that if people look more closely at Sarah they will find a decent character in the original too, and I personally like watching this one more because it's relationship of two grown-ups, and both of them are traumatized people who show moments of uncertainty, but good people that you want to see survive and have the capacity to do courageous things. In the second one Sarah is primarily interacting with a child and a robot, and while that's interesting too, I think the romantic partnership that's explored in this film makes it something more then other terminator films, but I like both of them.
