I remember The Terminator being a lot better. Even as it started--I think during the first chase sequence (Michael Biehn in the department store)--I thought about the great highway chase sequence at the end. Then, as things went sour during, I kept waiting for that sequence, sure it would bring things around.
But it doesn't bring things around. It's short and loud--maybe the only time in the movie Brad Fiedel's score doesn't work. The disappointment might also be because Linda Hamilton, during this sequence, goes from waitress who gets picked on by little kids (I guess her restaurant does not reserve the right to refuse service) to the full-on James Cameron super-woman. It's an inexplicable character change, sort of like her romantic clinging to future stalker Biehn. Where Terminator has the most opportunity for real character development (does Hamilton cling to Biehn because of her previous and frequent rejections?), it doesn't seem to notice them. It does try to show Biehn's incapable of having a regular conversation, emotion scarring from the future, but Biehn's terrible during these scenes. Actually, he's terrible once he meets up with Hamilton. Before them meeting up, he's fine... even if he only has two lines.
The first three-quarters (or half) of the movie--before the police station shoot out--is great. It's some of Cameron's finest work, just because it shows he can show people walking down the street or going to work. Even if Hamilton and Bess Motta give bad performances, them getting ready for their dates is a good scene. There's a texture to the film, even if there isn't one to the screenplay. Cameron's become so enamored with the fantastic, he seems to have forgotten the effectiveness of the uncanny. It doesn't take him five or ten years though, by the second half of The Terminator he's made the transition.
The second part has all the stupid future stuff, the terrible romantic stuff and the unexciting ending (the movie's really Biehn's and the protagonist transition to Hamilton fails).
The movie starts so strong--down to Bill Paxton's moron punk--and doesn't let up for a long time. Most of the credit goes to Fiedel, the sound designer (The Terminator's most interesting, technically, for how Cameron uses sound and music to create mood) and Lance Henriksen and Paul Winfield. Winfield and Henriksen's bickering cops brings a human element to the film--and real characters, something sorely missing with Hamilton and Biehn--and once they're out of the story, it's just a bunch of sci-fi tripe. The reality is gone.
As for Schwarzenegger, he's fine. Though he's interchangeable with a model head and a stop motion robot, so I'm not sure the performance is particularly successful.
CREDITS
Directed by James Cameron; screenplay by Cameron with Gale Anne Hurd, with acknowledgment to the works of Harlan Ellison; director of photography, Adam Greenberg; edited by Mark Goldblatt; music by Brad Fiedel; produced by Hurd; released by Orion Pictures.
Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger (The Terminator), Michael Biehn (Kyle Reese), Linda Hamilton (Sarah Connor), Paul Winfield (Lieutenant Ed Traxler), Lance Henriksen (Detective Hal Vukovich), Bess Motta (Ginger Ventura), Earl Boen (Dr. Peter Silberman), Rick Rossovich (Matt Buchanan), Dick Miller (Pawnshop Clerk), Shawn Schepps (Nancy), Bruce M. Kerner (Desk Sergeant), Franco Columbu (Future Terminator), Bill Paxton (Punk Leader), Brad Rearden (Punk) and Brian Thompson (Punk).
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Scott // Aug 12, 2008 at 8:36 pm
Very true. Very, very true.
Great character, great marketing, an often referenced 80s flick…but not that entertaining these days. Now, T2, that’s a different story. That movie still kicks my ass.
Scott
he-shot-cyrus.blogspot.com
Shubhajit // Aug 15, 2008 at 11:04 pm
I have to disagree with you on a number of fronts. Terminator was certainly a very good movie because it managed to attain groundbreaking effects and a huge mainstream success despite it being essentially a B-movie never meant to achieve anything more than a small cult following at the most.
Personally I found watching the movie to be a chiiling and extremely satisfactory experience, and hence I’ve returned to it quite a few times. It was unflinching, devoid of any disguise, gloss, fakeness or sugar-coating, and brought something to screen that no one had ever conceived before. Such was its impact that it turned a stone-faced cold-blooded cyborg/killer, who had hardly a couple of sentences of dialogue to his credit, into an international superstar. I found the ending, too, nothing short of fabulous. The suspense element was terrific.As for the background score — that’s a part of cinematic lore.
And finally, I don’t think it is fair to compare Terminator with its sequel. For one, Terminator 2’s budget was something way beyond Cameron’s wildest imagination when he made the 1st part. And moreover, the people involved with it were absolutely no one when it was made, which of course changed dramatically soon after its release. All they aspired to make was a low-budget B-movie aimed at a very select audience. What they ended up making became a cornerstone in the genre of sci-fi movies, tech-noirs and thrillers.
Colin Timberlake // Jan 29, 2009 at 4:13 pm
I have to agree strongly with Shubhajit. Barring some special effects, T1 holds up better than virtually any sci-fi action film over time. As well, James Cameron had a knack for getting good stuff out of Michael Biehn.
You are right on the money that Paul Winfield and Lance Henriksen were great at setting the human stage.