Tag: james cameron

I was at a high school party when I discovered the B-movie brilliance that is the original Terminator movie. It was 1985 and this was no Raybans and Reeboks clad beer blast. It was a cast party for the school play. There were a lot of chips and some Jolt Cola. And a VCR. We were so crazy back then.

So I was hanging with my fellow drama nerds and trying to get my crush to look past the glare on her braces to notice me. We were reveling in the glow of our packed-house performance and celebrating how we all the remembered to sing and dance at the same time. Then someone finished the last slice of pizza and it was time to blow things up.

The host pulled out one of those enormous brown plastic boxes that movies used to come in from the small Mom and Pop video store. He waved it around to get our attention and announced, “Let’s watch this movie. It’s got killer robots.” So we all huddled around the big TV in his living room and he fired up the family VCR. The action was non-stop. By that, I mean all the other kids were making out so I watched the movie. I was hooked the moment that robot foot crushed the skull.

Do you remember when James Cameron made movies instead of building worlds? Sure, I like spectacle as much as the next guy, but Cameron used to tell stories. Fast, smart, action-packed ones that didn’t involve sinking ships or big blue people. Back before he got lost in his own ego, James Cameron was kick ass. And that first Terminator movie is stone cold proof.

Is this Cameron’s best film? Sure, he won the Oscar for that fancy boat flick and he remade Dances with Wolves with 3D aliens, but The Terminator is the real deal.  After almost 40 years and several sequels, a viewer can get a little jaded, but this flick is tight, creative, and thrilling.

The Terminator was Cameron’s second movie after an ignominious debut as director of Piranha 2: The Spawning. No one knew him as a filmmaker. The cast included the girl from Children of the Corn and Captain Terrell from Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. The biggest star was Schwarzenegger, who was more well known at this point for his muscles than his acting. The movie came out of nowhere. All you knew was Arnold played a killer robot from the future.

It was the first movie I ever saw where the bad guy WOULD NOT STOP. Not being a huge horror movie fan at the time, I didn’t know the trope of the never-ending killer. Here was a movie where that cliche actually made sense. Of course, he’s not going to stop. He’s a machine. This concept also helped cover up the fact that Arnie is not a master thespian. You forgive the monotone line readings and lumbering gait. Is it bad acting or is he just imitating a robot? Who cares? This movie is awesome!

I watched The Terminator again recently and it totally holds up. The movie has aged better than most its peers. And it’s certainly better than the other Terminator flicks. Yes, T2 is pretty awesome, but it’s a mega-budget sequel with all kinds of bells and whistles, whereas The Terminator was made for about $25, some props from the Army surplus store, and a fleet of AMC Gremlins. This flick is an example of a B-movie done well.

All you have to do is scan late night cable (or your favorite streaming service) to see how many times it’s been poorly imitated over the last three decades. It proves that a director with vision, a decent story, and a little ingenuity can create something clever and vastly entertaining.