80
An amazingly effective picture that becomes doubly impressive when one considers its small budget.
What are people saying?
What are critics saying?
70
Schwarzenegger is presented as a lumbering slab of dumb, destructive strength--the image is more geological than human--and Cameron plays his crushing weightiness against the strangely light, almost graceful violence of the gunplay directed against him. The results have the air of a demented ballet.
60
The New York Times by Elvis Mitchell
A B-movie with flair.
75
The Globe and Mail (Toronto) by Jay Scott
An efficient, cold-blooded sci-fi splatter movie that never makes the mistake of forgetting that on some level it is deeply ridiculous.
100
Dallas Observer by Luke Y. Thompson
The movie's scares are intense, but the notion that the Terminator would move on to politics is even more frightening.
100
Austin Chronicle by Marjorie Baumgarten
Director James Cameron and producer Gale Anne Hurd (both of whom co-wrote the script) demonstrate their storytelling virtuosity.
90
Plenty of tech-noir savvy to keep infidels and action fans satisfied.[26 Nov 1984, p. 105]
A quintessential '80s action flick, The Terminator helped turn Arnold Schwarzenegger into one of the most bankable stars of the decade, and spawned a rich sci-fi movie universe that, unfortunately, hasn't been well utilized since. Playing on mankind's fear of being replaced by machines, The Terminator flirts with philosophical undertones, but is ultimately a thrill ride more focussed on horror and action than anything else. The effects don't hold up well by today's standards, but considering what it accomplished for the time, The Terminator remains a classic.