The Terminator

Run, Sarah, Run

Director and writer James Cameron has become quite well-known in the past twenty or thirty years. From the action-packed Aliens (My favorite of his), the heart-melting Titanic, and the terrifying science fiction thriller known simply as The Terminator. The film is fondly remembered, being the movie that made people familiar with Arnold Schwarzenegger, along with Conan the Barbarian (1982). Yes, believe it or not, there was a time no one had any clue who Schwarzenegger was, until he appeared on-screen as an unstoppable metal-man who still haunts the dreams of many.

Our main character is Sarah Conner (Linda Hamilton). Sarah is a regular everyday waitress, there's nothing special about her, and dates continue to stand her up while her roommate gets to spend many a night with her piggish but still caring boyfriend. But Sarah as it turns out will be a mother in the near future, to a boy named John, who leads a revolution against the evil SkyNet industries, who have taken over the world and murdered the populace. SkyNet decides to erase John from history by killing Sarah in the past, sending a ruthless machine with the outer appearance of a man, the Terminator.

But the revolution overhears this plan, and they send back in time the hero of the movie, Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn). Kyle is a dependable man, the kind of guy who wish would be in other thriller or slasher movies, as he can out think and even out fight the big metal brute, a hard task to even think about. Kyle is devoted to the cause, and even more so to his leader John. Kyle does his best to not only protect Sarah, but calm her and assure her about what is going on. He's a great hero for the film, and he's written in a way that he doesn't really overshadow Sarah, who holds her ground around what you'd expect in a thriller.

And kudos to this being a time travel film that prevents any paradoxes. The portal is one way only, anyone who goes back in time can not come back to their time. This would make a paradox a lot harder to create, and would probably just reroute itself anyway, considering said person isn't truly in their original timeline anymore anyway. It sounds confusing the way I write it, but it's never even mentioned in the movie, because it's never a problem, hence my explanation.

My only problem with this film is a bit of a spoiler. Let's just say their is a scene near the end of the film that drags on a little longer than necessary. The scene is written well enough so I do not question why it is happening, I believe every moment of it and understand why the characters are doing what they are considering how the movie is being played out. But it's still longer than needed, and took me out of focus for a brief while.

As I said, I don't personally see it as Cameron's best work. Many however, due, and I can't blame them for that. The film gets a solid 4 out of 5 from me. If a giant robotic man is hunting you in your dreams, than do your best to dream up a Kyle Reese to save you.