MovieChat Forums > The Terminator (1984) Discussion > Amazed by how great it is

Amazed by how great it is


I'm genuinely blown away by how great it truly is & how amazingly it holds up. Even though I hold the sequel in such high regard, I'd never actually seen this until recently

The writing is top notch. The performances are great. Michael Biehn is just amazing as Kyle Reese. The Terminator is such a great killing Machine.

Love the tone of the film. Feels like a slasher film. The action is grounded & brutal. It's not over the top. You care & root for the characters. It's an intense watch. Excellent film all round

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It's very good... A classic, really.

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It's a great example of how good solid storytelling...and old school practical effects often times trump the fakeness and soullessness of today's hollow, CGI-laden crap. The Terminator is almost 40 years old....and it's rare that I ever have a moviegoing experience that measures-up to it, or even comes close.

[As a sidenote...it's a damn shame that Arnie got all Hollywood on us after the first film, and didn't want to be the bad guy anymore. Part of what makes the original such a masterpiece is how dark, relentless and menacing it is. Once Arnie and his T-800 got family-friendly...it terminated the franchise.

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I wish I could watch this movie for the first time again.

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Same with the sequel for me. Wish someone would erase both films from my memory. So I can watch them back-to-back for the first time

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Yeah that would be awesome.

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