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Monday, September 15, 2008

My Favourite Movies: The Terminator

This is, of course, an obvious choice for me. You would’ve heard me talk before about how much I love the Terminator ‘franchise’ and how much I’m already looking forward to the second series of The Sarah Connor Chronicles as well as the next three Terminator movies.

But it all started back in 1984 with James Cameron’s breakthrough movie (after Xenogenesis and not to be forgotten Piranha Part Two: The Spawning) made on a comparatively tiny budget from an idea that apparently came to him in a nightmare. For those of you who were away on Mars at the time the story revolves around the waitress ‘nobody’ Sarah Connor who, unknown to her, will sire the saviour of mankind – her as yet unborn son, John. Unfortunately for her (and I guess the rest of us) the machine intelligence known as Skynet has developed time travel technology on the eve of its destruction by human forces led by John Connor. Determined to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat Skynet sends a cyborg infiltration unit called a Terminator (played robotically by Arnold Schwarzenegger) back in time to kill her, thereby preventing its own destruction in the future. The resistance manage to send a lone soldier (Kyle Reese played by the superb Michael Biehn) back to stop it and thereby ensuring that John is born to ‘smash the metal mother-fuckers into junk’. The rest of the film is basically a chase sequence as Reese and Sarah (played by Linda Hamilton) try to avoid and later ‘kill’ the implacable Terminator assassin.

Made almost 25 years ago this film has dated quite badly – especially with its then cheap (but state of the art) SFX. Despite that its still a great story told fairly well. What I loved most about this film (as well as T2 and T3) is the concept of Terminators and the inevitable “War Against the Machines” brought on by Judgement Day. These are, I believe, very powerful ideas. The parts of the movies that particularly gripped me where the scenes based in the future as John and his army of human survivors fought against robotic machines directed by the evil Skynet bent on their extermination. I longed for a full movie made after the nuclear war pitching man against machine in the ultimate battle. By the looks of things my wishes have been answered and there are THREE movies planned to be filmed during the War. Needless to say I’m having a hard time actually waiting for them and worry that they won’t live up to my high expectations. But I can hope [grin].

As I said this film besides being dated and ‘so’ 80’s it hurts is a truly iconic movie and still, despite its many faults, remains one of my all time favourite movies. Too obvious I know but then again – sometimes I am.

6 comments:

wstachour said...

Yeah, this is an excellent, iconic film. Arnold is larger than life, and it's a perfect role for his then more limited acting skills (and fitting if senseless Austrian accent; a terminator would speak perfect idiomatic English, no?).

I really love Robert Patrick's "liquid terminator" in T2. He was also exactly right for the role.

Thomas Fummo said...

I've only ever seen T2 and it's one of my favourite sci-fi movies.

I too am deeply intregued by the concept of a series about the actual war.
Isn't the latest film, starring Christian Bale as John Connors, set during the war?

CyberKitten said...

wunelle said: Arnold is larger than life, and it's a perfect role for his then more limited acting skills (and fitting if senseless Austrian accent; a terminator would speak perfect idiomatic English, no?).

Apparently he was first choice for the Kyle Reese role - not the Terminator. First choice for that was Lance Hendrickson!

wunelle said: I really love Robert Patrick's "liquid terminator" in T2. He was also exactly right for the role.

Patrick was *brilliant* as a Terminator....

TF said: I've only ever seen T2 and it's one of my favourite sci-fi movies.

You *really* should see the original. It's dated but still very good.

TF said: Isn't the latest film, starring Christian Bale as John Connors, set during the war?

It is indeed. I think it starts not long after where T3 left off.

Jewish Atheist said...

The new season of the tv show is starting tonight!

dbackdad said...

Good call. I'm with you on the whole Terminator series and the concept of intelligent machines. These movies and the Matrix movies are really mining the same concept, albeit in different ways, of machines becoming self-aware and sentient. Fascinating stuff.

Antimatter said...

Love the first two, both are classics in their own way. T2 was more of an action spectacular, while T1 was a smaller scale sci-fi thriller. Mixed feelings about the show, and I thought T3 is best forgotten despite a few memorable moments...