james cmaeron's breakthrough feature was the first of his films to showcase his obsession with technology and more specfically technology run amok . for those of you who do not know the plot : in 2029 machines have engineered a nuclear for the expressed purpose of wiping out the human race . human survivors are systematically hunted down and destroyed . however , some humans are fighting back led by the heroic john connor . to stop connor , the machines send a terminator ( arnold schwarzenegger ) back to 1984 to murder connor's mother , sara ( linda hamilton ) , and thus prevent connor from ever being born . in response , the humans send a protector , kyle reese , played by michael biehn . images of machines and of humans' reliance on machines dominate the film . even though the characters know that the benign oil drillers of 1984 will become the ruthless hunter killers of 2029 , humans continue to use the machines . in the climax of star wars , luke relies on the force alone--his own spiritual power--to destroy the death star . in the terminator , however , sara must use another machine--a giant hydraulic press--to vanquish her enemy . cameron seems to be implying that this reliance on technology is inescapable--and he's not happy about it . unabated technological growth brings about the terminator's other obsession : the apocalypse . we have plenty of imagery regarding armageddon : thousands of human skulls line the streets of future la . children watch the flames in a burning television . when the terminator arrives in 1984 an almost biblical lightning storm precedes him . even though the " future is not set , " there is no doubt about where the world is headed at the end of the movie : the machines will rise and the humans will have to struggle for their very existence . all sara can do is await it . ( cameron doesn't wimp out like he does in terminator 2 ) the end of the world is the human race's own fault , too . after all it is the humans that created in the evil machines in the first place . back in 1984 , when the cold war was still in full effect , the film must have been seen as a very apt metaphor for nuclear war ( another obsession of cameron's ) . these days , one can read a criticism of machine-like behavior in humans . true , humanizing touches are put into paul winfield's and lance henriksen's detective characters , but the terminator is also able to move through the city undetected . cameron also draw parallels between the mechanical efficiency between the terminator and reese when they first arrive in 1984 la . from a technical standpoint the terminator is <POS> very well done </POS> . arnold schwarzenegger is a perfect antagonist--unstoppable , merciless , obdurate . we are not meant to empathize with this ultimate killing machine as we are in some of schwarzenegger's later works ( eg , commando ) , but fear him . cameron and hurd's script basically depicts a one hour and forty-five minute chase , taking a few moments here and there to explain time travel and develop the romantic subplot . while we do see the hackneyed dialogue cameron is now so well known for , there is also <POS> considerable suspense </POS> especially for the first time viewer who may be unsure of kyle reese's intentions . cameron directs the film at a rapid , kinetic pace . either the camera is moving or something within the frame is moving--usually both occurs . the violence is not particularly graphic ( temple of doom's heart-pull scene outgrosses the terminator's ) , but it is brutally staged making it that <POS> much more effective </POS> . for a low budget film , the terminator's special effects and art direction ( especially in 2029 la ) are <POS> remarkably well done </POS> . special mention should be made of the stop motion effects work at the end of the film depicting the terminator endoskeleton . it is <POS> some of the best stop motion i have ever seen </POS> . one thing that doesn't hold up after all the years , however , is linda hamilton's hairdo .
