Hear Me Out: ‘The Terminator’ is a sci-fi masterpiece
Whilst many of the films in The Terminator franchise have turned out to be a load of utter trash, the first effort, released in 1984, is a glorious work of science fiction. In fact, the movie in which we first laid eyes on Arnold Schwarzenegger as the iconic cyborg assassin is far better than its publicly beloved sequel, Judgment Day, which was released in 1991.
In many ways, the first two Terminator efforts follow a similar fate to the earliest incarnation of the Alien films. Funnily enough, James Cameron directed at least one in each franchise. Yet the significant similarity in the journey of the two franchises is that the first films focus heavily on atmosphere and philosophical concepts. In contrast, the sequels largely abandoned that in favour of high-octane action.
As for the original Terminator, the movie tells the story of the titular cyborg assassin sent back in time to kill Sarah Connor, whose unborn son will one day save humanity from an artificial intelligence-led apocalypse. A human soldier, Kyle Reese, is also sent back to protect Sarah Connor, as the future humans know that John Connor must be born if they are to have any chance of survival.
The sequel, Judgment Day, sees Skynet (the antagonist artificial intelligence) send a Terminator back in time to kill a child John Connor, a move that arrives after Reese successfully saves his mother. Future humankind’s response is to send a reprogrammed – albeit less advanced – Terminator back in time to protect Connor.
Essentially, the first movie is better than its sequel because of its tight storyline and simple delivery. At its heart, Terminator is a horror chase, with the Terminator in constant pursuit of Sarah Connor. This creates a straightforward narrative that is easy to follow, allowing the audience to get their head around the initially complex method of time travel.
By contrast, Judgment Day is bloated, with far too many car chases added seemingly just for the hell of it, as well as the film trying excruciatingly hard to re-create the iconic catchphrases and moments from its predecessor rather than just letting them occur naturally. Where Terminator was at heart a horror, Judgment Day is undoubtedly all-out action.
However, action flicks only allow for a little philosophical exposition, given that there is too much focus on creating a spectacle. As such, the audience rarely gets the chance to breathe in the sequel, which is vital to understanding the severe implications of John Connor’s survival. The focus of the viewer from the first film is no longer necessary, as a large explosion or amusing piece of dialogue will soon come to captivate their attention – at least for a short while.
In truth, it really boils down to Terminator trying to tell an interesting science fiction story and Judgment Day doing all it can to be a blockbuster hit. Action films were all the rage in the 1980s and 1990s, and James Cameron knew how to get the money rolling in through the box office. Yet the most crucial thing about science fiction – though it might seem somewhat contradicting – is a layer of reality.
Naturally, science fiction sees conceptions and contraptions that have not yet been devised. Yet, to believe in that world, there has to be something human; there has to be something at stake. The first film’s central premise was that the future of humanity was at risk, and that’s all that was needed. That allowed for a tight, meaningful story without unnecessary try-hard dialogue.
Judgment Day, however, focused on the spectacle and could have added more to the overall theme and story of the franchise. As such, it is an inferior movie. It is admittedly an exciting action film in its own right (the opening scene is excellent – but things deteriorate from there). Still, it is not an excellent science-fiction film, which is the very tone and understanding that the first film set for the franchise as a whole.