If you'd like to be surprised by the The Terminator film, I don't recommend you to watch the trailer beyond 0:48, because it gives away too much of the plot. It basically provides a summary of the film, up to the ending scene, it's only the very end we are not shown.
The Terminator, movie for the Terminator series (1984) - Watch the trailer on YouTube
video © Orion Pictures (MGM Holdings)
Article updated: 2023.03.30
The The Terminator (1984) is a futuristic action / survival horror film. The movie was reviewed by Kadmon.
Product: The Terminator, movie for the Terminator series (1984)
Original title: The Terminator
Series: Terminator
Other adaptations of the story: The Outer Limits: Soldier (1964), Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991), Terminator 3: The Greatest Action Story Ever Told (1996), Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003), Terminator Genisys (2015), Terminator: Dark Fate (2019)
Setting: contemporary Earth / future fantasy Earth (Terminator universe)
Product type: Film, Genre: futuristic action / survival horror, Style: sci-fi, horror, survival horror, thriller, action, robot, cyborg, time travel
Release: 1984.10.26
Reviewer: Kadmon, Type: Male, 40s, Preferences: Immersive, logical story, consistent setting, prefers surprises to spoilers, prefers establishing elements before referencing them
Watched: Some time in the 1990s?, one time, but I'm almost sure I've read the comics and the novelisation earlier. I watched parts of the movie again to write this review.
Rating: Good (2+ out of 3 points), Enjoyment: Great (3 out of 3 points)
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This is my review of The Terminator, a futuristic action / survival horror movie for the Terminator series from 1984. It's about a woman trying to survive an assassin sent to kill her. The The Terminator film is interesting, I recommend it.
The Terminator, movie for the Terminator series (1984)
image © Orion Pictures (MGM Holdings)
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Review (spoiler-free) - The Terminator, movie (1984)
I'm almost sure that I've seen this movie after I've already watched its sequel. However, I've read the novelisation, and the Hungarian graphic novel adaptation, so I knew the story by the time I've run into the movie on the TV. I like the story, and I tend to watch any story related to the Terminator, even though they haven't made anything good after 1996.
The The Terminator movie is about a woman trying to survive an assassin sent to kill her.
The story is good, it has interesting twists. The pacing is consistent it is. There are character arcs. There were no major logical problems.
There's a character arc for the female protagonist.
The cinematography is good. Some sets are interesting visually. The special effects are okay, even in current standards. The effects are visible in some places, but I think they don't suspend disbelief, unless you try to nitpick the movie.
The characters are good, we get to know the main protagonists. The actors play their parts perfectly.
The characters are good, I could relate even to the Terminator. The actors are also great in their roles.
The music (by Brad Fiedel) is great, it really adds to the story.
The Terminator is an interesting futuristic action / survival horror, I think fans of the genre will enjoy it.
My experience
I was satisfied with The Terminator (1984). I happen to like stories with well-thought, interesting plots, and The Terminator delivered just that.
Rating: Good (2+ out of 3 points). The Terminator is a well-made movie with a good story.
Enjoyment: Great (3 out of 3 points). I liked The Terminator very much.
Rewatchability: Average. I think it's mostly the surprise of the story that makes you feel interested, but the movie is good enough that you might enjoy multiple watches.
Chance of watching it again: There's a chance. I liked it enough that I might watch it in the right circumstances.
Chance of watching a sequel: High. I'd sure watch it. (I actually watched it. Then the next, then the next, and I'm still watching them. I've watched even Terminator: Dark Fate (2019).)
The Terminator, movie for the Terminator series (1984)
image © Orion Pictures (MGM Holdings)
Will you enjoy this?
If you like mystery or thriller movies, you might like The Terminator.
If you like futuristic action movies, you might like The Terminator.
If you like horror or action thriller movies, you might like the The Terminator movie.
If you prefer visuals over story, you can still enjoy this movie.
If you hate the depiction of violence and gore, there are some bloody scenes in The Terminator, so you should probably avoid watching it.
Watching for plot points
If you are interested in time travel or futuristic action stories, I think it's worth watching the The Terminator movie for the plot points.
Should you watch this on your own screen at home, or is it worth going to the cinema?
The visuals probably look better if you watch it in cinema, especially the future war scenes. Otherwise, I think the overall experience would be similar.
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The Terminator, movie for the Terminator series (1984)
image © Orion Pictures (MGM Holdings)
Review with spoilers - The Terminator, movie (1984)
I liked the The Terminator movie.
The female protagonist grows from a damsel in distress to a heroine by the end of the story.
The fake ending: When the fuel hauler blows up, the audience feels as if the resolution was reached, with a happy ending. Then we get a twist, that the robot is still working, so the story continues. I think this is a good implementation of subverted expectations.
Cover
The cover of the movie is okay, it doesn't say much, but it slightly spoils the movie.
The trailer
The trailer spoils a major part of the movie.
If you prefer spoilers, it's a great trailer for the The Terminator film. If you prefer to avoid spoilers, it will ruin the movie for you.
Promise of the first scene
If I consider the very first scene, we'll get a humans vs. machines war movie, with the promise that the final battle is not in the further future, but the actual present of the future.
If I also consider the second scene (Terminator vs. the punks) as being part of the promise, then the story will be about either teleportation or time travel, and a huge guy with superhuman strength.
Execution: The exposition of the first scene was misleading, as it's the past of the future when the final battle will happen. The second scene gives a better picture of what we got.
Plot summary / Synopsis
The story starts in a bleak future, where the remnants of humanity fight against an army of robots.
In the present, a human-like robot (Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator) arrives from the future, looking for a woman (Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor), who will be the mother of a future saviour of mankind.
A human soldier (Michael Biehn as Kyle Reese) also arrives from the future. He also looks for the woman, and wants to protect her.
The robot kills several people. The soldier saves the woman. The soldier and the woman get in police custody. The robot finds them, and kills the police officer at the station. The woman and the soldier escape. They fall in love.
The robot finds them, so they escape into a factory. The soldier sacrifices himself to damage the robot. The robot is destroyed by the woman.
The setting
The present is contemporary (1984) Earth, but it could happen even today, with not much of a difference.
The future (2029) is 20 years after a global nuclear war, brought on the world in 1997 by a rogue Artificial Intelligence (Skynet).
The Terminator, movie for the Terminator series (1984)
image © Orion Pictures (MGM Holdings)
Time travel
The story depicts time as something deterministic, and the story is set in a time loop. The effects of the time travel are already set in the past when the time jump happens, history just repeats itself, it can't be changed. (In the sequels, this changes, but the intention was clear in this one.)
The future is already set. Kyle is sent back, to be the father of John Connor. Connor will send Kyle back, to be created, and to be able to defeat Skynet. Skynet probably knows that this is the reality, so it's either very optimistic in sending back the Terminator, in hope of changing the past, or just accepts its fate, and does this, regardless of the consequences.
Only things covered in flesh can be sent to the past.
The target
As most information was lost during the war, both sides had limited information.
The Terminator only knew that she is called Sarah Connor, and that she lives somewhere in Los Angeles.
Kyle had a slight head start, as he also had a photo of her.
The Terminator robots
A Terminator unit is human flesh based on a robotic exoskeleton. There are probably multiple sizes of the same exoskeleton design, so they could fit multiple likenesses.
Regular weapons don't seem to harm the metal endoskeleton. When a fuel hauler hit it with full speed, it started to limp. Blowing up a fuel hauler it was driving burnt the skin away. Blowing a pipe bomb directly beneath its ribs made it rip into two parts, and the legs became unusable. (This indicates to me that the controlling system is somewhere in the upper body.) A hydraulic press that caught it by surprise, was able to crush it until it was deactivated. I'm not sure what had happened if the robot was aware of the press, and it would have pushed against the press with arms and legs. It uses the robot eyes to see, so when the human eye is damaged, it's preferable to remove it, to maximise effectiveness.
The human tissue is alive only until it is allowed to function normally. There's a small heart, like a chicken heart that circulates blood. It has to eat. It has regular body functions. When it gets damaged, it's better get treated like a normal human wound would get, otherwise it will start to degrade and rot. (In the novelisation there's a scene where the Terminator stitches its wounds.)
The cyborg probably registers the damage, but it doesn't get affected by pain.
For some reason, dogs are able to differentiate between regular humans and Terminators, and they act towards them as if they were some predator. I'd assume it's the different smell. They probably don't need to be trained to feel the difference.
The Terminator unit in the movie used an Austrian accent, probably to make it more believable, that as a foreigner he wouldn't understand something, or if he wouldn't know seemingly obvious facts.
Plot points of interests
These are the interesting elements of the movie:
Forces
Skynet: An evil AI in the future, intent on killing humanity.
The resistance: People of the future, fighting against Skynet.
Characters
Kyle Reese: A soldier sent from the future, to keep Sarah Connor safe. He is killed by the Terminator.
Sarah Connor: A waitress, who gets targeted by the Terminator, to prevent the birth of her future son.
The Terminator: A T-800 Terminator, Model 101, sent from the future to kill Sarah Connor. It was crushed by a hydraulic press.
Characters killed
Kyle Reese: He is killed by the Terminator.
The Terminator: It was crushed by a hydraulic press.
Technology
T-800 cyborg: They have a metal robot skeleton, wrapped with living human tissue.
Hunter-Killer tank: It's a giant tank.
Flying Hunter-Killer: It's a flyer.
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How does it compare to the other works of the creators?
I've seen some films from the writers (Gale Anne Hurd, James Cameron). This was Gale Anne Hurd's only writing credit, so you could consider this her best movie. From James Cameron, I consider Aliens, Terminator 2, The Abyss and The Terminator his best. True Lies, and Strange Days are watchable. Rambo 2, Titanic, and Avatar are professionally done, but I just didn't enjoy them as much. The story of Alita: Battle Angel, and Terminator: Dark Fate was somewhat weak, and both of them tried to build up a sequel that probably won't come. It seems to me that his best movies were his first ones, and the last couple of his work is the weakest, so I don't know what to expect from him.
I have seen a couple of films from the director (James Cameron), mostly listed above, as he tends to direct his own stories. They were all professionally done.
How does it compare to the other films in the series?
I think it's better and more consistent than any of the Terminator sequels.
Terminator 2 was also fun, but it's not as efficient as The Terminator.
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The Terminator, movie for the Terminator series (1984)
image © Orion Pictures (MGM Holdings)
Analysis of the story - The Terminator, movie (1984)
I mostly liked the story, I didn't find problems that would have prevented me from enjoying The Terminator.
The message of the story
I'm not sure there's one.
The structure of the story
The scenes of the The Terminator film are mostly played in sequence, following the same storyline. It starts in the future, to establish the plot, then switches to the present. There is flashback scene when Kyle remembers the future.
There is no single viewpoint character.
It has the usual arc of the dramatic structure - introduction, action, resolution.
Parallels with other stories
Scenes and elements from previous works:
The Outer Limits: Soldier (1964)
- Two soldiers of the opposing side travel back to the past.
- Lighting bolts striking the soldiers before time travel.
- They arrive in alleys of a city.
- Bleak future, with soldiers hiding, waiting to kill the opponents. They are shooting each other with ray weapons.
- The police takes the soldier into custody, and interrogating him. They send him to a psychiatrist. The interrogation is recorded.
- The soldier is angry that they don't believe him. He has violent outbursts during interrogation.
- The soldier gets a trench coat to blend in with the locals.
- House animals are used to find the enemy. In Soldier, it's cats who do the scouting. In The Terminator, it's dogs that can identify Terminators.
Things I liked
Problematic elements
The looks: The Terminator skin based on Schwarzenegger is not a very good choice from the Skynet to use as an infiltrator unit. The rest of the people of the future look either athletic or scrawny, and even if it was designed with the 1980s in mind, the computer should have realised that the T101 looks out of place any time.
I love the impression Schwarzenegger makes, though, so I forgive this to the movie, and I consider it part of the artistic licence, and imagine the T101 to look similar to Kyle Reese.
Originally they intended Lance Henriksen to play the role of the Terminator, it's him who I imagine as an ideal Terminator unit.
The arrival: Seeing the time travellers arrive in the present probably takes away part of the ambiguity, if the aim were to create a story from Sarah's point of view. It would be interesting to see a cut with this in mind.
The first fight: After its arrival, the Terminator easily puts his fist through a muscled human guys body. This really shows us, that the Terminator is far from normal human, taking away another aspect of ambiguity the story was aiming for (in the beginning, the audience shouldn't know who the good guy is - the Terminator or Kyle).
Unanswered questions
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Possibilities of improvement
How it could have been better?
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Behind the scenes
Thoughts about the reviews of others
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The Terminator, movie for the Terminator series (1984)
image © Orion Pictures (MGM Holdings)
Uses for the film - The Terminator, movie (1984)
Plot
- Sending an assassin into the past using a time machine.
- One side sends an assassin, the other side sends a protector.
- The assassin doesn't know any details about the target, just a name and the city the target lives in.
- Agents are sent by two warring sides. Whichever agent completes their mission, it's going to be a complete victory for their side.
Scenes
- The shoot-out in the disco is good to show people getting shot.
- The shoot-out at the police station is a good scene to show how a whole police station can be taken down by a single shooter.
- The future scenes are great to depict a robot apocalypse setting.
Designs
Scenario ideas - Role-playing game scenario ideas
Scenario ideas - Wargame scenario ideas
Scenario 1: One side is imprisoned in a building, held by a neutral force. They want to protect the prisoners, but they won't let them free even in case of an attack. The other side assaults the building, and they want to capture or kill the prisoners. The neutral force can be played by AI - they directly try close with the assaulting force, and attack them. Their first action is to barricade the place, if they have the time. The guard of the prisoners leave at the first sign of the attack, leaving the door open. The prisoners don't have any weapons, but they can take improvised clubs. They can also take weapons from the armoury if they find it, and force the door open. The soldiers of the neutral force leave their weapons when they are killed. Half of he prisoners have to leave the place to win. If less then half gets away, the game is a draw. If none of them leave, the assaulting team wins.
There is another prisoner in the building. Both side got here to find that prisoner. One of the forces want to kill the prisoner, the other side wants to capture or free the prisoner. The killer side wins if they kill the prisoner. The capturing side wins if the prisoner leaves the area.
Killers (d6): 1-3: the prisoners, 4-6: the assaulters
The mission can be complicated if instead of a human prisoner, it's some large object that need to be hauled outside by the capturing team, before it gets destroyed by the other side. As it's a massive object, the killer team needs to achieve multiple hits to destroy it.
Another way to complicate the mission is that only one (or a few) member of the capturing team can move the object. (They are the only ones strong enough, or they have a magical power to move the magical artifact without harm.) If the object is a human prisoner, then the prisoner only trusts a handful of people, and won't follow others.
Scenario 2: One side has a base, that also has non-combatants there. The other side sent an infiltrator that got to the base, with a mission. There are guards or sensors on the base that can detect the infiltrator, and from then on the defending side can take actions normally. If the infiltrator starts to kill people, it is immediately detected. The attackers win if they complete their mission. The defenders win if they stop the attackers from completing their mission, and at least half of them survive.
Mission (d6): 1-2: open the door on the other side of the playing area to let the other attackers in, 3-4: destroy an objective, 5-6: kill a specific target. The attackers get bonus points for destroying secondary objectives and any defenders.
Scenario 3: Two opposing sides fight. One side is clearly outmatched by the other side. The weaker side runs into a building, and they can either prepare their defence, or they get some time to try to get away. A couple of turns later, the stronger side also enters. The building has some random assets (facilities or equipment) they can use to damage the stronger side. For example, a hydraulic press, liquid hydrogen, or a pool of molten metal. Both sides have access to these, but the weaker side has the advantage of arriving earlier. The stronger side needs to kill at least half of the weaker side to win. The weaker side has to kill the leader of the stronger side to win, when this happens, the others of the stronger side will retreat. If the leader of the stronger side is killed in the same turn that the weaker side loses more than half of its force, then the game is a draw.
The weaker side also wins if more than half of them escape from the building. Their only exit is the gate they entered in. There might be another exit in the area in a hard to reach place, with multiple obstacles to get through. If it's in plain sight, it's better, as their enemy will be able to try to hinder their tries.
The weaker side has a specific character that needs to be protected at all costs. Choose one of your models. If that character is killed, the stronger side wins instantly. Every other unit in the weaker team gets one additional action (or +1 on a d6 roll or +1/6 bonus to one action) they can use any time during the game, either to attack the enemy leader, or to prevent the death of that specific character.
Miniatures - 1/50-1/60 (28-32mm scale)
Civilians: Human-sized (S3) modern (advanced) human female / male civilian.
The Terminator: Human-sized modern human civilian, with weapons.
The T-800: Human-sized skeleton robot.
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Similar stories - The Terminator, movie (1984)
Songs
Geezer Butler: Iron Man (1971): In a (probably) contemporary setting, a man arrives from a future catastrophe. He tells people about the war that's coming to destroy everything. He is turned to steel (like a robot), and he starts to hate humanity, becoming the killer robot that caused the catastrophe.
Short stories
Harlan Ellison: Soldier from Tomorrow (1957): In a contemporary setting, a soldier arrives from a future war. He tells people about the war that's coming to destroy everything.
Graphic novels
The Terminator: One Shot (1991): In a contemporary setting, a soldier arrives from a future catastrophe, that wiped out most of humanity. The soldier wants to save a woman, who is the hope of the future. A robot arrives, intent on killing the woman. There's a car chase. The soldier dies (commits suicide to destroy the robot).
Movies
La Jetée (1962): In a contemporary setting, a man arrives from a future catastrophe, that wiped out most of humanity. Another man is sent from the future, to kill him. After he is victorious, and saves humanity, the man dies.
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991): In a contemporary setting, a man (later revealed to be a robot) arrives from a future catastrophe, that wiped out most of humanity. The robot wants to save a boy, who is the hope of the future. Another robot arrives, intent on killing the boy. There's a car chase. There's a fight in a factory. After the first robot is victorious, and saves humanity, the robot dies (commits suicide to prevent the future catastrophe).
Terminator 3: The Greatest Action Story Ever Told (1996): In a historical setting, a man (later revealed to be a robot) arrives from a future. The robot wants to save a boy, who is the hope of the future.
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003): In a contemporary setting, a man (later revealed to be a robot) arrives from a future catastrophe, that wiped out most of humanity. The robot wants to save a boy, who is the hope of the future. Another robot arrives, intent on killing the boy. There's a car chase. There's a fight in a factory. After the first robot is victorious, and saves humanity, the robot dies (commits suicide to destroy the other robot).
Terminator Genisys (2015): In a contemporary setting, a soldier arrives from a future catastrophe, that wiped out most of humanity. The soldier wants to save a woman, who is the hope of the future. A robot arrives, intent on killing the woman, but it is quickly killed by another robot, who was sent earlier, to protect the woman. The soldier and the woman are taken into police custody, when another robot arrives, intent on killing them. After the protector robot is victorious, and saves humanity, the protector robot dies (commits suicide to destroy the other robot).
Terminator: Dark Fate (2019): In a contemporary setting, a female soldier arrives from a future catastrophe, that wiped out most of humanity. The soldier wants to save a woman, who is the hope of the future. A robot arrives, intent on killing the woman. There's a car chase. There's a fight in a factory. After she is victorious, and saves humanity, the soldier dies (commits suicide to destroy the robot).
TV series & episodes
The Outer Limits: Demon with a Glass Hand (1964): In a contemporary setting, a man (later revealed to be a robot) arrives from a future war, to save humanity, that's being wiped out by the enemy. The man has a robotic hand. The enemy sends soldiers after the man.
The Outer Limits: Patient Zero (2001): In a contemporary setting, a soldier arrives from a future catastrophe. He is sent to kill a woman, but decides to protect her, to prevent the catastrophe from happening, but this causes for him to become the source of the catastrophe. The soldier falls in love with the woman. Other soldiers arrive from the future, and the soldier dies (commits suicide to prevent the future catastrophe).
The Outer Limits: Soldier (1964): In a contemporary setting, a soldier arrives from a future war. He tells people about the war that's coming to destroy everything. The soldier gets close to a family. Another soldier arrives, intent on killing the first soldier. The first soldier sacrifices himself to kill the second soldier, to save the family. Based on the Soldier from Tomorrow short story.
The Outer Limits: The Man Who Was Never Born (1963): In a contemporary setting, a man (later revealed to be a mutant) arrives from a future catastrophe, that wiped out humanity. He tries to prevent the man, who caused the catastrophe from being born. He falls in love with a woman. After he is victorious, and saves humanity, the man dies (ceasing to exist).
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Frequently asked questions - The Terminator, movie (1984)
Is the The Terminator film based on a book or comics?
No, The Terminator is not based on either books or comics. Although it might be based on short stories from Harlan Ellison.
Is the The Terminator film a remake or reboot?
No, the The Terminator film is neither a remake nor a reboot.
Is there a post credit scene in The Terminator? Does The Terminator have end credit scenes?
No, there's no post credit scene in The Terminator.
Where can I see The Terminator? What is The Terminator playing on? What streaming service is The Terminator on? Where can I watch The Terminator online? Is The Terminator available on Netflix? Is The Terminator on Amazon?
As of 2022.02.05, The Terminator is available on Amazon Prime Video, Apple TV, Google Play, Microsoft Movies, Rakuten TV, YouTube.
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Resources - The Terminator, movie (1984)
Official
20th Century Studios: The Terminator: Official article.
https://www.facebook.com/TheTerminatorMovie
Information
IMDB: The Terminator (1984): Database article.
WikiPedia: The Terminator: Database article.
Letterboxd: The Terminator 1984: Database article.
Rotten Tomatoes: The Terminator 1984: Database article.
TVTropes: Film / The Terminator: Database article.
Creation
: Concept art article.¤
Reviews with no spoilers - The Terminator film (1984)
: Review video about the The Terminator film with no spoilers.¤
Jeremy Jahns: The Terminator - Movie Review: Review video about the The Terminator film with no spoilers.¤
Reviews with spoilers - The Terminator film (1984)
: Review article of the The Terminator movie, with spoilers. Includes a very detailed plot summary.¤
Analysis - The Terminator movie (1984)
: Analysis video, explaining the finale of The Terminator.¤
VHSaves: 9 Ideas Terminator Stole from "Soldier": Analysis video, comparing the Soldier to The Terminator.¤
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XoCN7KR5xFE
Channel Awesome: The Terminator - Nostalgia Critic: Review video with spoilers.
https://crossthenetflixstream.blogspot.com/2015/12/the-terminator-movie-review.html
https://wevegotbackissues.com/2019/05/21/the-terminator/
https://wevegotbackissues.com/2019/06/23/terminator-2-judgement-day/
https://wevegotbackissues.com/2019/05/26/terminator-3-rise-of-the-machines/
https://wevegotbackissues.com/2019/06/11/terminator-salvation/
https://wevegotbackissues.com/2019/05/14/terminator-genisys/
https://www.bilimkurgukulubu.com/sinema/makinelerin-yukselisi-the-terminator/
https://twitter.com/bilimkurgukulup/status/739170548882636800
https://www.facebook.com/bilimkurgukulubu/posts/1248564795183682
https://www.facebook.com/bilimkurgukulubu/posts/1290426504330844
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Buying the product - The Terminator, movie (1984)
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Have you seen the The Terminator film? How do you like the movie? Would you recommend it to others? Do you know reviews or resources you'd like to add? What further thoughts do you have about it? Tell your opinion in the comments!
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