“The Terminator,” the film, may be a little creaky – as it was, even back in 1984 – but there’s something about the Terminator, the character, that defies time. In this case, quite literally.
Roy and I will don our ray-bans to talk about Arnold Schwarzenegger’s career-defining role as a cyborg assassin from the future, as we wrap up our by no means exhaustive series of discussions about time-travel sci-fi.
The music is pretty terrible, the acting is bad, the budget is low, the logic is loopy, and the haircuts are quintessentially ‘80s. But extra points for Stan Winston’s animatronic and Gene Warren Jr.’s stop motion effects, which IMHO really are special, and for the inclusion of so many sturdy cars of the era. (Okay, maybe not the Gremlin.) Those pressed my nostalgia buttons more than anything. The mass shootings, alas, have lost their allure.
An implacable menace is indeed the stuff of nightmares. And no, I’m not speaking about writer-director James Cameron, who is on track to spend the rest of his life filming “Avatar” sequels. You can’t argue with success. But you know I will.
We’ll be providing plenty of ingredients for you to mix up your plastique in the comments section, on the next Roy’s Tie-Dye Sci-Fi Corner. It will be an incendiary encounter with “The Terminator,” when we livestream on Facebook, this Friday evening at 7:00 EDT!
https://www.facebook.com/roystiedyescificorner
A record store? With a classical section??? Time travel MUST be involved!
