In the second half of October 1984, the world was given to witness a collateral possibility of what’s to come and become of the human race. Under the direction of James Cameron, Orion Pictures distributed a revolution in the realms of Science Fiction, THE TERMINATOR.
Right from the opening scene, James Cameron depicts a future where the existence of human race has been reduced to a literal war of existence against the machines. In Cameron’s 2029, the planet is taken over by SKYNET: a very manmade, artificial intelligence program prepared by the U.S. government for military assistance. This system program backfires however, due to a computer virus and becomes self-aware, perceiving the human race as threat. However, the remaining human race still has one ray of hope- John Connor, leader of Resistance(a heroic organisation fighting against machines).
In the utterly masculine embodiment of Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Terminator i.e. a cyborg under SKYNET is sent back in time from the year 2029 to 1984 with the objective of assassinating Sarah J. Connor, future progenitor of the unborn John Connor. While Sarah is outlined as a regular suburban lass who lives with her friend is Los Angles, she is unaware of the dangers encapsulating her future. But to her advantage, the Resistance has sent back one of their soldiers, Kyle Reese to protect Sarah from the Terminator.
First and foremost, Cameron must be congratulated for his fluidic incorporation of the concept of time-travel in an already intriguing plot of science fiction. The visual effects introduced to Hollywood through The Terminator have remained to be pillars in the science-fictional domain of movie making. It can be assumed safely that moviegoers at the premier of The Terminator did not expect a nude, sinewy and expressionless Schwarzenegger falling out of nowhere within the cracking of thunders. But today, Schwarzenegger is most remembered for his role of the Terminator that Cameron tailored for him. This is direct definition of the impact which the movie left in the minds of people then and then onwards.
It goes without saying that to bring life to a character like the Terminator may seem critically easy or difficult to some, however so it was indeed a very crafty art to master, which Schwarzenegger did so finely. Arnold’s role in the movie served as a main highlight, complementing a greatly compelling plot. Alongside, Sarah Connor’s story unfurls eventfully and the expressionistic realisation of her fate has been justly played out by Linda Hamilton. Kyle Reese’s apparently diminished contributions to the plot are realised when he, in fact, turns out to be the John Connor’s father. This denouement surprises the audience greatly and further compels them for the upcoming TERMINATOR 2: JUDGEMENT DAY.
Though Cameron’s use of the VFX was almost not as mighty as what Hollywood had already seen in projects like STAR TREK or STAR WARS, he still succeeded in freaking out his audience at the sight of the Terminator performing surgeries on himself, in the 80’s. This conviction of his idea probably became his USP and THE TERMINATOR made $7.8 million at the box office in 1984, which by then’s standard was massive.
Having changed the mindsets of people about the possibilities of man-made machines, THE TERMINATOR captured a very basic human line of thought which is ‘survival’. Right after science barged its way into civil society, Herbert Spencer had remarked on Darwin’s theory of Evolution, coining “Survival of the fittest”. This timeless insight is what Cameron experimented with, only he kicked it up a notch. While until the conception of a Terminator, the survival was to be against the wild, nature and other homo sapiens. Cameron patented the idea of a man-made intelligence that could turn against man. His concept was received with admiration and THE TERMINATOR was soon a household phrase across U.S.A and beyond.
The film premiered on October 26, 1984. In its opening week, THE TERMINATOR played at 1,005 theatres and grossed $4.0 million making it number one in the box office. The film remained at number one in its second week too. Schwarzenegger’s famous dialogue phrase- “I’ll be back”, ranks #37 on American Film Institute’s list of top 100 dialogues of all time. All in all, James Cameron presented the world with a masterpiece that time cannot erase and left us with a message that will forever echo in the cavities of our conscience…
"That Terminator is out there! It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are dead."
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