Arnold Schwarzenegger is known for his huge back catalogue of incredible action films. Known for his bodybuilder physique, the now 77-year-old broke into the movie world with the epic fantasy Conan the Barbarian in 1982.
And just two years later he would be on cinema screens again with perhaps the most iconic role of his career – The Terminator. The 1984 film was written and directed by James Cameron and sees The Terminator (Schwarzenegger) sent back in time from 2029 to 1984 to assassinate Sarah Connor, played by Linda Hamilton, because her unborn son, John, will help liberate mankind from artificial intelligence Skynet and escape extinction. When the film first came out, it had mixed reviews; however, now it has a perfect 100% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes.
The 40-year-old sci-fi movie is “certified fresh” on the film review aggregation website and even has an impressive score of 89% from more than 200,000 audience reviews.
Marking four decades since its release last year, many critics revisited the classic, often loving it more now than when they first saw it.
Deborah Ross of The Spectator said: “It’s engrossing, suspenseful, has a personality all of its own and absolutely stands the test of time.”
Sharai Bohannon said: “The Terminator is a classic for a reason. 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.”
One moviegoer, Paul, has loved the film since the start and took his son to see it when it was being reshown in cinemas for its 40th anniversary.
He said: “The Terminator is my favourite movie of all time. I saw it when it came out on VHS and I was around 10.
“I just had to say yes to the opportunity to see it with my son in the movie theater. He loved it! It’s amazing how well-produced this movie is and my son couldn’t believe it was made in 1984.
“There has never been a more believable cyborg than Arnold, his movements and actions are just as a machine would behave.”
It is fair to say the sequels struggled in The Terminator’s shadow somewhat but people still love the franchise and there are still many online discussions about the lore of the Skynet-infused cinematic universe.
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (91% score on Rotten Tomatoes) was released in 1991 and was a huge hit, but we had a longer wait for the third instalment, Rise of the Machines, which was released in 2003 and has a far lower score of 70% score on Rotten Tomatoes.
This was followed by Terminator Salvation (33% score on Rotten Tomatoes) in 2009, Terminator Genisys (26% score on Rotten Tomatoes) in 2015 and Terminator: Dark Fate in 2019 (70% score on Rotten Tomatoes).
There was also a TV show, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles which ran from 2008 to 2009.
The Terminator is available on Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV.