The Terminator
A relentless cyborg assassin and a traumatized future soldier collide over the survival of an unsuspecting woman whose unborn child will shape humanity's fate.
Overview
A relentless cyborg assassin from a dystopian future hunts humanity's last hope in 1980s Los Angeles.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Breakneck
- Intensity
- Extreme
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- Graphic
- relentless
- paranoid
- foreboding
- late night viewing
- action movie marathon
What critics said
Critics broadly celebrate the film's momentum, inventive science fiction premise, practical effects, tech-noir style, and Arnold Schwarzenegger's machine-like performance, while some object to its extreme violence and streamlined storytelling.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
The Terminator relentlessly tracks Sarah Connor through 1984 Los Angeles while Kyle Reese attempts to keep her alive.
The film contrasts neon-lit Los Angeles nights, police stations, industrial spaces, and a cold cybernetic antagonist.
The Resistance mission, Sarah's future importance, and the connection between future events and the 1984 storyline create a tightly interlocked temporal causality.
Sarah begins as an unsuspecting young woman and is forced to develop agency while fleeing the Terminator.
Films like The Terminator, and why
RoboCop
shares relentless chase structure, dystopian science fiction, tech-noir atmosphere, and an implacable nonhuman pursuer
The Road Warrior
shares post-apocalyptic warfare, muscular action filmmaking, practical effects, and survivalist intensity
12 Monkeys
shares time-travel paradoxes, cybernetic menace, and high-concept science fiction action
Blade Runner
shares urban tech-noir, machine anxiety, and a bleak science fiction thriller mood
Movie Details
- Director
- James Cameron
- Release Date
- 1984-10-26
- Runtime
- 108 min
- Rating
- 7.7 / 10 (15194)
Cast
- Arnold Schwarzenegger
- Michael Biehn
- Linda Hamilton
- Paul Winfield
- Lance Henriksen
- Rick Rossovich
- Bess Motta
- Earl Boen
- Dick Miller
- Shawn Schepps
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- AMC Plus Apple TV channel, AMC+ Amazon Channel, AMC+, YouTube TV, AMC
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home, Spectrum On Demand, Plex
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is The Terminator about?
- A relentless cyborg assassin and a traumatized future soldier collide over the survival of an unsuspecting woman whose unborn child will shape humanity's fate.
- What is The Terminator like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of The Terminator as breakneck, its intensity as extreme and its storytelling as layered.
- Is The Terminator violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in The Terminator as graphic.
- What did critics think of The Terminator?
- Critics broadly celebrate the film's momentum, inventive science fiction premise, practical effects, tech-noir style, and Arnold Schwarzenegger's machine-like performance, while some object to its extreme violence and streamlined storytelling.
- Which films are like The Terminator?
- Films with a similar feel include RoboCop, The Road Warrior, 12 Monkeys, and Blade Runner.
- How long is The Terminator?
- The Terminator runs 108 minutes.
- Where can I watch The Terminator?
- In United States, The Terminator streams on AMC Plus Apple TV channel, AMC+ Amazon Channel, AMC+, YouTube TV, AMC.
