It’s 1984. A glance at the year’s top ten grossing movies shows we’re deep into the blockbuster era. Director James Cameron makes his mark on science fiction with The Terminator, an action-thriller that combines the relentless threat of a horror movie with a time travel backstory–and it captured the culture’s imagination. It’s a film that even if you haven’t seen it, you know about Skynet, the Terminator robots, and Sarah Connor.
What The Terminator offers casual movie fans who have always meant to watch classic movies: Arnold Schwarzenegger as a relentless killing machine; a well-constructed backstory that takes a small cast and gives it big stakes; plenty of violence and mayhem; and the iconic line, “I’ll be back.”