An action movie cinephiles have long declared a timeless classic has finally landed on streaming platforms.
With a 100% critics rating on review site Rotten Tomatoes, it really doesn’t get better than that, as adjectives thrown around to describe it include ‘suspenseful,’ ‘dark,’ and ‘exciting.’
We are, of course, talking about The Terminator.
Released in 1984 with Arnold Schwarzenegger taking the lead, the action/sci-fi flick has definitely stood the test of time.
It might surprise you to learn that expectations weren’t high pre-release, but the first in the Terminator franchise went on to top the US box office for two weeks, eventually grossing $78.3million (£58.3m) against a $6.4million (£4.8m) budget.
Fast forward four decades, and the movie is still just as loved, director James Cameron sitting comfortably at icon status, and Schwarzenegger now one of the most respected action stars in the business.
It was The Terminator that initially cemented his leading man capabilities, of course, including the ‘I’ll be back’ catchphrase associated with his character, now so famous it has its own Wikipedia page.
Plot-wise, the original Terminator movie follows a cyborg assassin from the future (Schwarzenegger), who attempts to find and kill Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton), a waitress destined to give birth to a man who will save humankind from extinction.
After the first film, the franchise released a further five epic instalments: Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, Terminator Salvation, Terminator Genisys, and Terminator: Dark Fate.
However, you really can’t beat the original.
So, you’ll be pleased to discover that you can relive the magic, as The Terminator is available to watch on Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV.
Writing on RT, Sharai Bohannon says: ‘Easily one of James Cameron’s best films and the perfect blend of horror, action, and 80s vibes. It still packs so much adrenaline and reminds us why retro sci-fi is unmatched.’
Fellow critic Deborah Ross adds: ‘It’s engrossing, suspenseful, has a personality all of its own and absolutely stands the test of time.’
‘Perhaps no other villain of the 80s is as iconic as Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Terminator’, declared Howard Waldstein.
‘It’s a powerhouse sci-fi action adventure which is undeniably the most thrill-packed movie- going experience for ages’, agrees Alan Jones.
‘A fantastic blend of horror, action, and sci-fi’, states Sean Chandler.
As you might presume, the sequels struggled to shine in the shadow of The Terminator’s shadow, with Judgment Day earning a 91% score but Rise of the Machines dropping to 70%.
Terminator Salvation, released in 2009, has a Rotten Tomatoes score of just 33%, while Terminator Genisys (2015) has 26%.
Thankfully, things picked up a bit for the concluding film, 2019’s Terminator: Dark Fate, which has a 70% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
It’s fair to say the franchise has been well and truly milked for all its worth, as, from 2008 to 2009, there was even a TV show, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles.
As for Schwarzenegger, now aged 77, the former Governor of California became an actor after retiring from bodybuilding and has a Golden Globe and a Primetime Emmy to his name.
He had a pacemaker fitted last year after previously undergoing three open-heart surgeries, forcing him to take a step back.
However, he told fans to expect his return to film his project at the time, FUBAR, season 2, proving that, all this time later, he’s still living up to that catchphrase.
The Terminator is available to watch on Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV.
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