The original Terminator still stands the test of time seeing it is 38 years old! Jen you must now watch the sequel Terminator 2 Judgment Day which was made in 1991, it is an incredible film, one of the few sequels that is even better than the original. A brilliant plotline following on from this, T2 is a brilliant film in it's own right.
Still think the original Terminator is superior to T2 which can only boast better effects, not much of an upgrade on anything else. I'm certainly not a fan l33t hacker John Connor 🤢 That said Jen should still watch T2 for the memes and Linda Hamilton's muscles 🤩
@@Ammeeeeeeer Agreed, T1 > T2 but T2 is still a very good film and perhaps the best sequel ever done. But after that its best to just stop and ignore everything else.
@@gthewolf7948 - When you look at the budgets ( T1- $6M / T2- $102M ), then you'll realize that T1 was pretty much a masterpiece of low-budget film making. Cameron pulled off so much, and with so little money, that it's considered to be almost miraculous.
Cameron got his start in low budget special effects for Roger Corman, so he knew exactly what was possible. Because he has a lot of talent as a writer as well, he was able to tailor the movie to play to the strengths of what he know he could do in FX. By T2 his success as a director and writer were firmly established and Swarzenegger was an established star where in T1 he'd just done a couple of Conan movies, so they could get a budget. At the time T2 came out I believe it was the most expensive film made.
Did you know? OJ Simpson was considered to be the Terminator, but James Cameron changed his mind saying "He's too much of a nice guy to play the role of a ruthless killer."😳🤦 And look what happened 10 years later to his ex wife and her friend.
@@gthewolf7948 speak for yourself and yourself only. Just because _you_ personally don't care about something, don't tell others not to talk about it. 🙄
Fun Fact: The gun store owner is played by the late Dick Miller, who has been a staple of science fiction and horror movies, appearing in Gremlins, The Howling, Twilight Zone: The Movie, Piranha, Night of the Creeps, Innerspace, Explorers, and your favorite, Chopping Mall! 😆
Also Tales From the Crypt: Demon Knight, Batman: Mask of the Phantasm, and on and on back to 1955. Man was a background legend. A 'That Guy' King. As in, "Hey, it's that guy"!
Along with Halloween, Alien, Star Wars and maybe The Thing…The Terminator stands as one of the pillars of sci-fi/horror. Much of both genres from 1985 onward owes so much to these movies.
13:48 His eyebrows were burnt off when he leapt through the burning car to jump onto the bonnet of the car Kyle and Sarah were escaping in. Lots of people miss this.
Funny enough, the way they handled it was extremely low budget. The smoke you see to represent the fire is actually acid that was poured on Arnold's jacket and was actually melting him This movie had a lot of interesting means to handle special effects
YOU HAVE TO WATCH T2 BEFORE IT'S SPOILED. This whole series of films is great. And the TV series was great too, it has Summer Glau from Firefly/Serenity in it. But you have to watch T2 first.
Fun Fact: The punk with the blue spiked hair at the beginning of the movie is played by Bill Paxton, who would go on to appear in three more James Cameron movies - Aliens, True Lies, and Titanic.
Fun Fact: The Terminator in the future scene is played by professional bodybuilder Franco Columbu, who was a close friend of Arnold Schwarzenegger and a fellow Mr. Olympia champion.
Terminator 2 is a MUST SEE! It's the only one of the sequels also written and directed by James Cameron. As far as I'm concerned it's the only Terminator sequel that matters.
Fun Fact: James Cameron came up with the idea for The Terminator while he was in Rome, Italy, after having been fired from his first directing job, Piranha 2: The Spawning. Broke and jobless, Cameron was in his hotel room in Rome preparing to return to the USA when he suddenly fell sick with a high fever. During a fever dream, he had a nightmare of a gleaming robotic skeleton with bright red eyes and armed with a rifle, rising up from a pile of burning wreckage, and that inspired him to write The Terminator.
@@iblard Harlan Ellison had an overinflated opinion of himself. The Terminator bears only a very superficial similarity to Soldier or Demon With A Glass Hand. The similarities are negligible.
Reese talks about falling in love with Sarah because of the photo John gave him. He says always used to wonder what he was thinking about in that moment. And, at the end, we see that same picture, taken by the little boy as she's recording tapes for John. And now we have the answer to Reese's question. She was thinking about him.
@@ArgonTheAware If you go by the non-canon video game Terminator: Dawn of Fate, John did quite a bit to steer Kyle into his destiny. But, it's a choice that weighed very heavily on him. In the game, he even offered to tell Kyle what would happen once he agreed to go, and Kyle refused.
12:22 IF you DO have to make an exposition dump, do it in the middle of a car chase! Even early on, Cameron clearly knew how to keep audiences engaged.
what's cool is that he started out as a college dropout with no movie knowledge, working as a truck driver and making scifi models as a hobby. He saw Star Wars and was inspired, and taught himself film making and special effects.
The T-800 endoskeleton was a full scale model designed by Stan Winston that was operated like a puppet by off-screen assistants. A smaller duplicate was made for stop-motion animation scenes.
Great reaction as always Jen!. This is an excellent film and still holds up so well. Before you read to many comments, or anything else for that matter, please do Terminator 2 as soon as you can and be ready to see one of the best sequels of all time.
Thank you so much! I’ll definitely add it to the list! It must be amazing since usually the sequels are worse then the original, but that doesn’t seem to the case with Terminator
@@ReelReviewsWithJen I strongly recommend trying to get a hold of the "Special Edition" of Terminator 2 for your watch. James Cameron won't let them call it a "Director's Cut" because he maintains the theatrical release is how he wanted to cut it. But as a director and storyteller, it's clear his sweet spot for a movie is near the two and a half hour mark, and the extra scenes in the "Special Edition" add so much to the story. The Special Edition also contains one of the most impressive in-camera practical effects shots ever committed to celluloid, and it's downright criminal that it was cut from the theatrical release.
@@radwolf76 Spielberg maintaining that should be a clue to you. The theatrical version is the one she should watch, at least the first time around. The extra scenes do not add to the story. They just clutter up the story.
This movie and "Conan The Barbarian" are MUST WATCH Arnold movies. Both are epic. Believe it or not, Terminator 2: Judgement Day is one of those rare sequels that outdoes the original. You HAVE to watch it. Don't bother with the rest in the franchise, especially the newest one. Terminator has the same legacy as the Alien franchise. The first 2 movies are epic. And it's pretty much downhill from there. Great reaction. It's nice to see younger people enjoying classic sci-fi.
the 3rd film isn't as bad as it's made out, & NO LESS well made, I liked the idea of a female automaton and her different...abilities such as- controlling all the computers in the world, the...Adam & eve type symbolism worked to at the end, as they are there to restart humanity again, which we couldn't see coming if were honest it started with a blank sheet of paper like with BAT MAN BEGINS, it being a different Director, it's no classic, but it works & it's all action fun
And so continues my journey down the RU-vid rabbit hole of nice people discovering incredibly famous films for the first time. I’m actually really jealous of being able to go into such landmark pop culture with this little knowledge.
@@gthewolf7948 Actually plenty of fans still recognise Biehn from other movies; it sounds like you just haven't seen him in anything else. Stop trying to be everyone else's mouthpiece dude.
Swartznegger was initially supposed to play the hero and protector, but after being introducted to the script and the movie, he went ALL in for the Terminator role and was certain for the T1000 role, and was insistant that the T100 role be played like a machine.
I remember when this movie came out people were not expecting anything special. I was 16 and worked at a theater at the time and caught it the day before it actually opened. I immediately told my friends they had to see this crazy movie with the bodybuilder guy. The sequel is even better.
I highly recommend the Ultimate Cut with the definitive ending for Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991). You will be missing crucial scenes and plot points if you just watch the theatrical version. Fun Fact: Near the beginning of the movie, when Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) receives a message on her answering machine breaking her date, the voice on the machine is indeed James Cameron's voice.
Fun Fact: The studio originally wanted Arnold Schwarzenegger to play the heroic lead, Kyle Reese, and O.J. Simpson was going to play the T-800 Terminator, but James Cameron decided against it because he felt that Simpson's persona was “too nice" and wouldn't be believable as a cold, ruthless, robotic villain. 😂
The Terminator's eye brows were burnt 🔥 off when he ran through the explosion just before punching through the windshield to grab Sarah. I believe they did this on purpose in order to make Arnold look not quite human and more intimidating. Like a Frankenstein monster. -OG
I loved your reaction to the effects at the end. Most movie reactors talk bad about it. But it’s really good considering when it released. I still enjoy it because most of it was real stuff.
Most reactors today are too young to have seen anything other than modern, top notch CGI FX. You’re right, this was state of the art for the time and impressive considering the meagre budget.
Arnold was originally intended to play the role of Reese, but secretly wanted to play the Terminator instead. Cameron felt the same way but neither of them wanted to mention it to the other.
This was only the second film James Cameron ever made. And, they didn't have a permit to film, most of the time. So, a lot the time the call would wind up being, "Cut! Print! Now run before the cops get here!"
Back in the 80's this movie was amazing and totally fired off my imagination. My dad didn't know how to show me love, but we shared this movie. Mom was a totally out of control mental case who was ultra abusive. Linda Hamilton's Sarah Conner is both a sex symbol, and the loving mother that I never had. Arnold is the the giant body that my genetics wouldn't let me grow into. I forged a life, but I'm just a dude that was left behind years ago, and my dad is dead. You'll never know what this movie meant to me.
Fun fact: Jim Cameron's first film in the directors chair was 1981's Piranha 2: The Flying Spawn. He was sacked partway through filming by the producer and whilst still ensconced in Rome he came down with the flu. Whilst ill he saw the image of the Terminator endoskeleton walking out of flames ( which is in the film) and the idea for the Terminator was born. He returned to LA from Europe and the Terminator began production. Linda Hamilton who plays Sarah later became his wife. Michael Biehn who plays Reese appeared in Cameron's next movie Aliens. Arnie became a household name.
I'm part of the minority who like the first one more than the second, but the first two terminator movies are both beyond excellent and are must watch movies. And though most people don't like it I would also suggest watching the third one. I'm not gonna lie and say it's a good move but it's not actually bad (it's just bad compared to the first two) and I think it could have been a really good movie if they had a director who respected the franchise. The script needed polish but the seed of a good movie was there and the T-X could have been terrifying if it had been handled seriously. The director for the third movie has actually said he thought the entire concept of the Terminator was silly and childish and it definitely shows in the movie he made.(he made a jokie movie where the terminators we're silly almost to the point of parody in places.)
The third is GARBAGE!!! Do not underestimate how bad it is! If you're going to take Mark's advice and watch T3 anyways, my own suggestion is to just go in with the lowest possible expectations you can muster... maybe you can enjoy it in a B-movie, Mystery Science Theater, kind of way.
loved your reaction to this film... I was 20 when I saw this at the cinema, took my younger brother who was a massive Arnie fan from his body building days! On the big screen with all the cinematic sounds, this was a phenomenal experience! Never seen anything like it at the time.
Science Fiction short story writer and screenwriter Harlan Ellison sued James Cameron, alleging that Cameron had stolen Ellison's plot idea for this film from an old Twilight Zone episode called 'Soldier', which Ellison wrote. Cameron lost the legal battle, when someone who worked on the film said that Cameron, at one point asked where he got the idea for the film, said "Oh I got the idea from some old Twilight Zone episode...". Lesson: don't talk too much about that stuff. Anyway, Ellison always maintained it wasn't about the money, it was about getting proper credit - and that is why, after this affair was settled, the end credits have a statement like "Acknowledgement of the works of Harlan Ellison". Years ago, when they tried to leave this text off the end credits, when selling the movie on disc, Ellison came right back and insisted the credit be re-instated. I'm sure he also got a cash settlement. It's a great film - great two films, really - so, if that's what really happened, at least it was, in a sense, worthwhile. It probably explains why the follow-up TV show, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, has both a recurring character named Cameron, and another named Ellison.
Kyle always wondered what Sarah was thinking 🤔 in the picture he had of her. The irony is that she was thinking of him. Powerful moment in the film. -OG
Also, if you want to see more of Linda Hamilton (the actress who plays Sarah Conner), she's in Children of the Corn, which I think is worth watching, at least once.
A few years ago, a lady was murdered in my state. She and I shared a name. First and last. 😐 When you've grown up with this movie, let me tell ya, that 💩 hits different. 😰
Sorry for late comment. The "unfeeling/robotic" behavior was supposedly Arnie's idea born from exchange between Cameron and to be cast cyborg. Arnold arguing for the lack of emotions, no triumphant smirks, no victory laps, no satisfaction. Just surgical push to finish it's mission's objective. Director replying something to the effect of: "If You explained this character to me, better I have it written. Why not play it?"
There's a deleted scene where Sarah asks Kyle exactly what you were wondering about - how to prevent the war from happening. Kyle refuses to answer her questions, saying that messing with time is too unpredictable and it's not his mission.
and then she looks up Cyberdyne in the phonebook and tells Kyle to make the bombs to blow up Cyberdyne, but it turns out the Terminator is destroyed in Cyberdyne Systems factory also in a deleted scene, and that the chip and arm from the Terminator are sent to Research and Development and basically becomes reverse-engineered to create Skynet in the future.
Also directed Michael Jackson's Ghosts (Winston was just doing the make up and special effects as per usual but took over directing duties when the previous director had to leave to direct a tv series) which was released in 1996 though I only saw it for first time a couple years ago and it's pretty darn cool. Even the CGI used in it has aged a lot better than CGI in many other 90s productions. Stan Winston absolute legend of the special effects and make up along with folk like Rick Baker (who also famously worked on another Jackson vid, Thriller), Rob Bottin, Tom Savini etc.
Since you love bad movies, one of James Cameron's earliest movies was as production designer for an Alien knockoff called Galaxy of Terror. One of his jobs was to make maggots move on a fake arm, which he achieved by putting it on an electric plate.
Ah ha..., the penny just dropped. I was watching this and thinking that it reminded me a bit like an episode from the original Outer Limits series. Apparently, Harlan Ellison, who wrote the Outer Limits episode "Soldier", brought suit against The Terminator production company for plagiarism of the episode, which was settled out of court.
"Guard it for me, Big Ben.". The diner Sarah works in is based on a chain in southern California name of Bob's Big Boy. Similar in cuisine to Denny's, with a carhop service in back and the signature statue out front.
Terminator 2 Judgement Day - is the sequel and is well worth your time - watch the extended cut. Michael Biehn is also in Aliens as Dwayne Hicks. Linda Hamilton was probably best known for the TV show Beauty and the Beast outside of the Terminator series.
Terminator and Conan the Barbarian are probably the first two movies to put Arnie on the map. Terminator actually flopped in cinemas, but became a big hit with home video rentals (same with Highlander and Blade runner). There was a sequel in 1991, Terminator 2 - Judgement Day. This is generally considered to be one of the best sequels ever made, equal to or better than the original movie.
The fact that Reese fathers John Conner is a bit of a time paradox. It sort of hints that when time travel begins the past and future might just loop forever.
Just wait till you watch T2. Linda Hamilton played Sarah Connor and this is easily her most recognized role, but she also played Catherine in the live action 1980s “Beauty and the Beast” series with Ron Perlman. I highly recommend it and it’s available to stream on Paramount Plus. Michael Biehn played Kyle Reese and he’s an actor that James Cameron used very frequently in the 80s. He made appearances in Cameron’s “ALIENS” and “The Abyss”. Both good movies. He also played Johnny Ringo in “Tombstone”, an excellent western film from the early 90s. Very good reaction. 👍🏻
The original Michael Myers mask was a cheap William Shatner (Capt. Kirk) mask painted, or so Ive heard. Oh and Jetsons not Flintstones I think, awesome job as always, enjoyable watch thanks.
*BEFORE IT GETS SPOILED!!* Watch Terminator 2: Judgement Day. One of the *BEST SEQUELS* ever made. *YOU CAN SKIP THE REST OF THE FRANCHISE.* It goes down, WAY DOWN, after T2. A) The Terminator (1984) B) Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991) C) Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003) D) Terminator Salvation (2009) E) Terminator Genisys (2015) F) Terminator: Dark Fate (2019) TV Series: Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (2008-2009) Total Episodes: 31.
I have a friend who went as the Terminator for Halloween one year. He did the makeup and prosthetics to have the metal exposed on half of his face. My friend is missing an eye. He put a red LED in his empty eye socket to complete the look. it was amazing.
There is a terrific behind the scenes documentary about the movie that will satisfy all your film nerd questions. It *might* have spoilers for the sequel (I can't quite recall) so I would wait to watch it, but it's nearly on a par with the Alien/Aliens making-of docs. Lots of info about effects and miniatures and so forth.
The Terminator is actually a "B" movie. the budget was so low the cast and crew clipped 2 for 1 coupons a McDonalds for lunch. Arnold was originally cast by the studio to play Reese and the smaller police leutenant was to be the "everyman" Terminator. Cameron didn't want the hero to be such a big dude because it would take away from threatening nature of the Terminator. The only way to get the studio to recast was if Cameron and Swartzengeger didn't get along, so on his way out to meet him, Cameron told his secretary "Make sure my insurance medical insurance is paid this month, I'm off to pick a fight with Swartzeneger." But Arnold surprised him when they first met by saying he thought he saw himself more as the robot. Cameron thought it was such a great idea he reimagined his Terminator less as an everyman that blends in into the tank that we see today. And yeah, I love the fact that instead of the "Oops I ripped my skin so now you can see my microchips and see I am a robot" look that every lazy production likes to use, the Terminator actually does look like something that can shrug off small arms fire, get run over by a trunk, then turn around and bash it's way through a steel door... utterly terrifying... absolutely awesome! Oh, and I like that Kyle was attracted to Sarah because he was wondering what she was thinking about in her photo... only to find out she was thinking... of him. Terminator 2 was one of the best sequels every made, highly recommend seeing it. T3 and T4 were soulless cash grabs, take'em or leav'em. T5 and T6 were woke cancel trash, avoid, avoid, avoid.
Always loved this movie the second one is known as being even better. Higher budget better effects. But for me theres only the first that's canon same goes for the Matrix I consider sequels to be cash grabs . They state they destroyed the time machine no more come through no one goes back . I will only accept a sequel if it's telling a longer continuation of a know book series or manga . The second Terminator is worth watching, but after that they get a bit stupid
Every time someone goes back and changes anything, it creates a new timeline... If you will notice, the date for 'judgement day' is completely different for each movie... I will agree that the first 2(MAYBE 3) movies are the only ones that are 'must sees', but the TV series is really good too, and really shows how messed up the timeline has become because of all the time travel...
If you want a laugh regarding just how convoluted the timeline of terminator is with all the sequels retconning everything there is a video called: Scientist Man Explains Terminator: Genisys Demonstrates pretty well how far gone the franchise is, so horrendously over complicated.
Just watched this again as I am about to watch your T2 reaction. Stan Winston created the Terminator endoskeleton from concept art by James Cameron. He used cutting edge technology for the time in animatronics for all the head movements etc. and Jim Henson puppet technology to to create the full size Terminator endoskeleton you see in the movie. This is a favorite of mine, great reaction and review Jen. ❤
YESSSSS! I have been waiting for this. When it's time for T2, please, please, please watch the theatrical cut. The extended cut is not a true director's cut, and has a far inferior ending that Cameron recognized didn't quite work.
Side note: a lot of folks prefer the sequel - and it's an undeniable spectacle of action filmmaking - but this movie is a perfectly engineered machine. So many directors could learn from its narrative efficiency. There isn't a wasted frame.
@@andrewforbes1433 I'm in the T2 camp myself but I agree that both are absolutely amazing. It's such a damn shame that nothing else in the franchise comes even remotely close to them.
His eyebrows got singed off and his hair got burnt in the alleyway chase. That's why he has spiky hair later rather than the 1950's flat top he arrives with.
