The Terminator

1984 | 108 minutes | 7.7 ★ (13095)

The Terminator
  • Overview

    In the post-apocalyptic future, reigning tyrannical supercomputers teleport a cyborg assassin known as the "Terminator" back to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor, whose unborn son is destined to lead insurgents against 21st century mechanical hegemony. Meanwhile, the human-resistance movement dispatches a lone warrior to safeguard Sarah. Can he stop the virtually indestructible killing machine?

  • Release Date

    26 October 1984

  • DirectingJames Cameron
  • Budget

    $6,400,000.00

  • Revenue

    $78,371,200.00

  • Stars

Videos

User Reviews

See more
JC

John Chard

16 May 2024

I can't. Nobody goes home. Nobody else comes through. It's just him - and me. It's funny really, writing a review for The Terminator these days just feels a little pointless, I mean anyone who wanted to see it would have done so already. In truth the effects work is a little creaky now but that doesn't matter, they were awesome in 1984. It's a ripper of a story awash with high energy action, rip-snorting characterisations and tech-noir atmospherics. It's place in the pantheon of science fiction films is assured, its influence on the genre undoubted, while the lead cast members cemented themselves in the sci-fi hall of fame. No more needs to be said really, The Terminator is a kinetic live action comic book of a movie, classy movie making, paced to precision and featuring a story that's brilliantly complex and utterly compelling. 9/10

J

Jodie

23 June 2021

Writing a review for a movie this old does indeed seem pointless, but since this is one of my favorite films I thought I would review it anyway. In my opinion The Terminator is a beautiful, yet tragic love story set in the back drop of the future and the past. A soldier from the future is sent to the 80's to save the leader of the resistance (John Connor) mother from a High Tech Cybernetic Killing Machine. We all know that. What I loved was that this soldier, Kyle Reese volunteers for this suicide mission. He volunteers for one reason because, he had fallen in love with this woman, Sarah Connor. Though they were separated by several decades of time and Judgement Day, her son tells him these tales of his mother Sarah and gives him a single picture of her, purposefully pushing Reese to fall for his mother and this is the reason for him traveling through time to do the nearly impossible. Save and protect Sarah Connor to save the human race in the future and kill a super bad ass T-800 with low tech weaponry and a reluctant Damsel. Bullets flying and bombs booming make this movie highly entertaining. The storyline, ridiculous as it is, is fantastic and had everyone in the 80's and 90's quoting this SciFi film. It's always a good watch. It holds up nicely overtime.

G

Gimly

23 June 2021

I know saying this puts me in the minority, but the first _Terminator_ movie is actually my favourite of the franchise. That's not a knock on the second movie, _Judgment Day_ is **awesome**. But I really dig the lower down, dark, sci-fi horror vibe of the original (it **is** a knock on every movie in the series that came after _T2_ though). Schwarzenegger as the titular Terminator is inspired casting. Firstly, any restrictions he had in acting ability back in the 80s are brushed aside by the fact that he's playing a cold, unfeeling machine. And can you imagine someone who looks like that coming after you? Forget the fact he's got an arsenal in his back pocket, forget the fact that he's got a near unstoppable metal exoskeleton, Arnie is already a machine! Being hunted by that man would be terrifying, and you feel that in the performance of the leads. _The Terminator_ is one of the best movies I've ever seen, and I have seen - a lot. _Final rating:★★★★½ - Ridiculously strong appeal. I can’t stop thinking about it._

More Like This

Ruin Me

Ruin Me

Six strangers sign up for a slasher movie re-enactment, in which they are dropped into the woods and pursued by knife wielding assassins. But when...

See more
Delicatessen

Delicatessen

In a post-apocalyptic world, the residents of an apartment above the butcher shop receive an occasional delicacy of meat, something that is in low...

See more
The City of Lost Children

The City of Lost Children

A scientist in a surrealist society kidnaps children to steal their dreams, hoping that they slow his aging process.

See more
Cool Hand Luke

Cool Hand Luke

When petty criminal Luke Jackson is sentenced to two years in a Florida prison farm, he doesn't play by the rules of either the sadistic warden or...

See more
The Big Sleep

The Big Sleep

Private Investigator Philip Marlowe is hired by wealthy General Sternwood regarding a matter involving his youngest daughter Carmen. Before the...

See more
Bullitt

Bullitt

Senator Walter Chalmers is aiming to take down mob boss Pete Ross with the help of testimony from the criminal's hothead brother Johnny, who is in...

See more
Dawn of the Dead

Dawn of the Dead

A group of survivors take refuge in a shopping mall after the world is taken over by aggressive, flesh-eating zombies.

See more
Lethal Weapon

Lethal Weapon

Veteran buttoned-down LAPD detective Roger Murtaugh is partnered with unhinged cop Martin Riggs, who -- distraught after his wife's death -- has a...

See more
Lethal Weapon 2

Lethal Weapon 2

In the opening chase, Martin Riggs and Roger Murtaugh stumble across a trunk full of Krugerrands. They follow the trail to a South African diplomat...

See more
Lethal Weapon 3

Lethal Weapon 3

Archetypal buddy cops Riggs and Murtaugh are back for another round of high-stakes action, this time setting their collective sights on bringing...

See more
Lethal Weapon 4

Lethal Weapon 4

Officers Martin Riggs and Roger Murtaugh of the Los Angeles Police Department must stop a dangerous crime lord from China from getting his brother...

See more
Heat

Heat

Obsessive master thief Neil McCauley leads a top-notch crew on various daring heists throughout Los Angeles while determined detective Vincent...

See more
Spaceballs

Spaceballs

When the nefarious Dark Helmet hatches a plan to snatch Princess Vespa and steal her planet's air, space-bum-for-hire Lone Starr and his clueless...

See more
The China Syndrome

The China Syndrome

While doing a series of reports on alternative energy sources, opportunistic reporter Kimberly Wells witnesses an accident at a nuclear power plant...

See more
Nick of Time

Nick of Time

An ordinary man is suddenly forced into a plot to kill a politician in exchange for his kidnapped daughter's freedom.

See more
The Getaway

The Getaway

Doc McCoy is put in prison because his partners chickened out and flew off without him after exchanging a prisoner with a lot of money. Doc knows...

See more
Amsterdamned

Amsterdamned

A mysterious diver hiding in Amsterdam's canal system embarks on a rampage of gruesome murders, terrifying city officials and leaving few clues for...

See more
Raw Deal

Raw Deal

Mark Kaminsky is kicked out of the FBI for his rough treatment of a suspect. He winds up as the sheriff of a small town in North Carolina. FBI...

See more
Solar Crisis

Solar Crisis

A huge solar flare is predicted to fry the Earth. Astronauts aboard the spaceship Helios must go to the Sun to drop a bomb equipped with an...

See more
Rush Hour

Rush Hour

When Hong Kong Inspector Lee is summoned to Los Angeles to investigate a kidnapping, the FBI doesn't want any outside help and assigns cocky LAPD...

See more