Film Review: Midnight Special (2016)

© Warner Bros. | Source: Little White Lies

USA; 111 min.; drama, sci-fi, mystery

Director: Jeff Nichols

Writing: Jeff Nichols

Cinematography: Jim Denault

Cast: Michael Shannon, Joel Edgerton, Kirsten Dunst, Jaeden Lieberher, Adam Driver, Paul Sparks, Sam Shepard, Bill Camp, Scott Haze

“Dad. It’s okay.” – Alton Meyer 

Midnight Special is one of those films that really had me brimming with anticipation. Its writer and director Jeff Nichols, who has already given us a couple of cinematic gems, certainly is a talent to look out for in the future. He has a way with creating rich characters, atmospheric settings and beautiful homages to cultural greats. His second feature film, Take Shelter (2011), an intense, psychological piece about a family man haunted by visions and dreadful nightmares, put Nichols’ name on everybody’s lips back then. His follow-up Mud (2012), a Huckleberry-Finn-like coming-of-age adventure with a darker, more violent edge, manifested his status as an up-and-coming filmmaker indeed worthy of praise and, well, my anticipation.

Now, with Midnight Special, Nichols finds himself ready to take on the sci-fi genre and pay tribute to one of its pinnacle directors, Steven Spielberg. The film, it seems, sets the bar quite high and sadly, I have to admit, ends up being a small disappointment in my eyes. I know, I know, part of it is my own fault. As a huge fan of Nichol’s work, I probably got a bit overexcited, expecting genius and rainbows, cinematic ecstasy and unicorns all at once. What I got definitely wasn’t a bad film, don’t get me wrong. But knowing that Take Shelter is very well capable of delivering all those aforementioned things (minus the unicorns, maybe), I think that Midnight Special indeed could have been better.

Telling the story of Alton Meyer (Jaeden Lieberher), an eight-year-old boy with special powers, the film throws us right into the middle of the action. His biological father Roy (Michael Shannon) and the family friend Lucas (Joel Edgerton) have abducted the wunderkind from his foster father, the leader of a religious cult, to save him from exploitation and restore him to a more secure place. So while the religious fanatics and the FBI are closing in, the trio unites with Alton’s mother Sarah (Kirsten Dunst) and takes flight.

There’s a mystery at the heart of Midnight Special. What are Alton’s powers? Why does he have them? What can he do with them? Is he dangerous? Nichols refrains from giving clear answers and, thus, is able to maintain an aura of enduring mystique and wonder. His film is slow-burning, tense, dark and brooding, beautifully atmospheric in all its vagueness and presentiments of possible threats. It is accentuated by a haunting piano score and engaging, dimly lit visuals. And while the finale might be spelling out things a bit too explicitly, taking away from the general mystery, there’s still something about this film that stayed with me long after I had left the theatre.

However, what Midnight Special lacks is truly intriguing characters. Nichols, as a man perfectly capable of writing deep, down-to-earth, multi-layered roles, here mostly presents us with one-dimensional stereotypes. There’s the strong, caring father and the emotional, caring mother. There’s the reliable best buddy throwing in a bit of comic relief here and there. There’s the freaky cult leader and the nerdy FBI specialist. In a film that heavily relies on presenting interpersonal bonds, I’d expect those bonds to feel heartfelt and sincere. Midnight Special, at its core, is about parents making sacrifices for their child, about friends leaving their own safe haven to help out pals, about rationalists abandoning their disbelief in order to serve something greater. While Nichols has gathered an impressive cast to play out his characters, his minimalist dialogues hinder them from becoming round and relatable. Their respective relationships never appear real or deeply felt. I simply don’t care about them.

When it comes to underlying themes, Midnight Special is ambitious. Nichols has stated that his main motivation for writing the script came from expressing his feelings as a new father. Naturally, the film is about the lengths to which parents go to protect their children. It is a tale about letting go off your offspring and allow it to explore its own ways. However, the movie also forays into different directions. With a constant focus on outside surveillance and governmental control, the film appears quite topical and manages, despite its lack of interesting characters, to build another layer of intrigue besides the atmospheric execution.

Midnight Special is a visually enthralling road movie, aiming at up-to-date social and political discourses as well as a more human, family-related approach. It pays tribute to established genre conventions and yet also tries to tread on unique paths. It is strangely powerful and yet so void of actual heartfelt human emotions. It simply fails to make me connect with its main players. So, while the atmosphere drew me in completely, the flat and aloof characters spit me out cold. Next time, try and put in a unicorn somewhere? Maybe? No?

Rating: 

Data Base: Revolution (2012 - 2014)

© NBC | Source: insidetv.ew.com

Series Premiere	September 17, 2012
Series Finale	May 12, 2014
Genre	Science-Fiction, Dystopia, Action, Adventure, Survival, Drama
Country of Origin	United States
No. of seasons	2
No. of episodes	42
Running Time	43 minutes
Channel	NBC
Website	http://www.nbc.com/revolution
Developed by	Eric Kripke, J.J. Abrams
Starring	Danielle Alonso, Billy Burke, Stephen Collins, Giancarlo Esposito, Tim Guinee, Maria Howell, David Lyons, Elizabeth Mitchell,  Zak Orth, J.D. Pardo, Anna Lisa Phillips, Graham Rogers, Tracy Spiridakos

Synopsis

Revolution is set in a post-apocalyptic future; fifteen years after a global blackout set an end to the age of electricity. Warlords and militias have taken over and it’s all about survival of the fittest. Every episode opens with the following introduction:

“We lived in an electric world. We relied on it for everything. And then the power went out. Everything stopped working. We weren't prepared. Fear and confusion led to panic. The lucky ones made it out of the cities. The government collapsed. Militias took over, controlling the food supply and stockpiling weapons. We still don't know why the power went out. But we're hopeful someone will come and light the way.”

The main protagonists are the members of the Matheson family, who appear to have been involved in the collapse of electricity and following that logic, should be able to turn it on again. They are hunted down by mercenaries of the radical Monroe Republic, who want the electricity all for themselves to give them a military advantage over their enemies.

Yay or nay?

Revolution is a very intricate TV series that reveals bits and pieces of its world and mysteries one step at a time. It is by no means a horror show but plays with probably THE most horrifying scenario for our modern society – the total, inexplicable and irreversible loss of electricity. Fans of dramatic, action-packed cloak and dagger stories in a post-apocalytic setting should definitely tune in.

Data Base: Supernatural

© The CW | Source: Fanpop

Series Premiere	September 13, 2005
Series Finale	---
Genre	Supernatural, Drama, Sci-fi, Mystery, Horror, Adventure
Country of Origin	United States
No. of seasons	11
No. of episodes	229
Running Time	40-45 minutes
Channel	The WB (2005-2006) The CW (2006-present)
Website	http://www.cwtv.com/shows/supernatural
Developed by	Eric Kripke Robert Singer
Starring	Jensen Ackles, Katie Cassidy, Lauren Cohan, Misha Collins, Jared Padalecki, Mark Sheppard

Synopsis

Supernatural is the story of Sam and Dean Winchester - two brothers who grow into their family business of slaying demons. They live on the road and travel from one location of supernatural activity to the next, all the time on the lookout for their father, who left to hunt down the yellow-eyed demon that killed his wife.

Yay or nay?

Well, there is a reason why Supernatural is currently the longest-running North American science-fiction series. The unique mixture of ghost-hunts, urban legends, roadtrips, difficult family relations and a great soundtrack is definitely worth watching.

Film Review: Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! (2015)

© Syfy | Source: ETonline

USA; 88 min.; trash, horror, sci-fi

Director: Anthony C. Ferrante

Writing: Thunder Levin

Cinematography: Ben Demaree

Cast: Ian Ziering, Tara Reid, Cassie Scerbo, Frankie Muniz, Ryan Newman, David Hasselhoff, Mark Cuban, Bo Derek

Nova: I'm going to kill all of 'em, every last one of 'em.
Fin: We’ve tried that three times. Didn't seem to work.

"Oh hell yes!" must've been my reaction when I first heard that there was going to be another Sharknado flick. It's a franchise I enjoy quite a bit. I mean, if you've got a thing for movies bloated with bad special effects, cringe-worthy dialogues, second- to third-class actors and a refreshing absence of logic, this is the place to find it. Pair all this with a bunch of flying, blood-thirsty sharks spinning around in a tornado, and you're certain to have created a gem of trash cinema. And that's exactly what the first part is.

There already was a broad array of trashy shark films out there but when Sharknado was released two years ago, it felt special. It was insanely hilarious, absurd to the (fish)bone and terrible to look at. But, like it's most often the case with terrible things, it's hard to take your eyes off of such a train wreck of a movie because it's simply a blast to watch. A year later, Sharknado 2: The Second One – the name alone deserves some credit – did not manage to bring across the spontaneous and unexpected fun of its predecessor, but it came up trumps with a (j)awsome finale on the Empire State Building. Due to the massive popularity of the franchise, director Anthony C. Ferrante and writer Thunder Levin gathered once more in order to knock out a third part. The result, Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No, shines with another inspiring tag line, but falls flat when it comes to mindless shark fun.

After having survived and terminated a sharknado in both Los Angeles and New York, surfer Fin (Ian Ziering) is honoured for his heroic deeds by the President of the United States (Mark Cuban). When oh-so-unexpectedly a sharknado hits the White House, Fin and the Commander-in-Chief slaughter their way through the flying carnivores. This, however, is not the end. More sharknados are heading towards the Universal Studios theme park in Orlando where Fin's re-married and pregnant wife April (Tara Reid), their daughter Claudia (Ryan Newman) and his mother-in-law May (Bo Derek) intend to spend a fun afternoon. While Fin tries to make his way to Florida to save his family, he encounters an old friend, Nova (Cassie Scerbo). With the help of Fin's father, retired NASA colonel Gil (David Hasselhoff), the two try to stop the biggest sharknado in history.

First of all, it's good to have them all back. Ian Ziering's Fin has become a kind of trash icon, and rightly so. The former Beverly Hills 90210 heartthrob plays him so wonderfully straight that the ridiculous situations his character is placed in, for example being presented with the New York Order of the Golden Chainsaw, come across as even more hilarious. Tara Reid, once more, demonstrates that acting really isn't what she should be doing – and we can all be glad that she's found an outlet for her non-existing talent in the Sharknado movies. Cassie Scerbo, who also appears in the original instalment, is certain to please fangirls and -boys. Especially since her Nova has transformed into a kick-ass warrior woman ready to take out some sharks at all costs. The way she jumps off caravans in slow-motion, wearing a weird mask and Tomb Raider-like gear sure is a sight to behold.

Cameo-wise Oh Hell No! is certain to impress as well. From German TV host Oliver Kalkhofe, Irish pop act Jedward, former Playboy bunnies Kendra Wilkinson and Holly Madison to singer Ne-Yo, television presenter Jerry Springer and A Song of Ice and Fire author George R. R. Martin – we're all bound to recognise at least one of these peeps.

I am, however, rather disappointed in The Hoff. The name alone is usually enough to make me flash a smile. His performance in Anaconda: Offspring (2008) is something that I still hold very dear. And while he works well with giant snakes, sharks don't seem to bring out the best in Hasselhoff. His portrayal lacked heartfelt exaggeration and honest silliness. If only he had brought all the cheese and camp to the role that he previously showed in his Broadway performance of Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde, the whole thing could've reached a new dimension of bad. As is, he's merely boring, and leaving potential untouched. The fact that the last we see of him is a smirk which he directs towards the camera while roaming the surface of the moon in a spacesuit, surrounded by sharks, is only a minor consolation.

Furthermore, Oh Hell No! looks way too polished for my taste. There's a posh montage featured in the opening credits. Sets include Universal Studios, a NASCAR race and, well, space! Instead of destroying only one city, the sharknados seem to make their way through the entire USA. Everything is stepped up a notch, which cannot achieve the natural trashiness of the predecessors. The third part tries too hard to be cheap while, at the same time, wanting to present conventional action coolness. Having Fin cling to his car door in the midst of a mighty storm might be ridiculous in itself; it is, however, made to look like a scene from a regular Die Hard movie. Where's the fun in that?

The worst thing about Oh Hell No! is its blatant patriotism, though. While The Second One effectively uses its New York setting as a way to comment on the city's toughness in face of a grave crisis, the third part feels like it has been cut out of a Michael Bay production. "God bless America" quotes, the exhausting use of the Star-Spangled Banner and, on top of this, a re-enactment of the Raising the Flag on Iwo Jima photograph, this time with a shark impaled upon the rod – I'm not sure if I want my silly, innocent pastime politically charged in such a way and manner.

Yes, there are sharks, there's a tornado, the main characters are back, the cameos are fun – but, heck, we have all this in the previous two movies as well, without the annoying undertones and with a much higher factor of terribly delightful, hilariously abysmal bad. Next time, since, obviously, there's going to be a fourth one, don't try so hard, Sharknado! Leave your political agenda at home, fire up The Hoff, and let those badly animated sharks do the rest.

Rating: 

Philosopher's Corner: Jurassic World (2015)

© Universal Pictures | Source: RollingStone

 USA; 124 min.; action, adventure, sci-fi
Director: Colin Trevorrow
Writing: Rick Jaffa, Amanda Silver, Colin Trevorrow, Derek Connolly; based on characters by Michael Crichton
Cinematography: John Schwartzman
Cast: Chris Pratt, Bryce Dallas Howard, Irrfan Khan, Vincent D'Onofrio, Ty Simpkins, Nick Robinson, Jake Johnson, Omar Sy, BD Wong, Judy Greer

The newest dinosaur adventure Jurassic World broke one box office record after the other and is still going strong. Reason enough for the BSP crew to come together and chat about a summer movie that seems to have it all: pre-historic lizards, beautiful landscapes, adventurous endeavours and Chris Pratt. But does all this really form the perfect movie mix? We tell you in our Philosopher's Corner.

Nata Lie:  

Rina:

Squuls:

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Intro/Outro: 

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Film Review: Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

© Artisan Entertainment | Source: kinoweb

USA, France; 137 min.; action, sci-fi, drama

Director: James Cameron

Writing: James Cameron, William Wisher

Cinematography: Adam Greenberg

Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong, Robert Patrick, Earl Boen, Joe Morton, S. Epatha Merkerson, Castulo Guerra, Jenette Goldstein, Xander Berkeley

“No, no, no, no! You gotta listen to the way people talk. You don’t say ‘affirmative’ or some shit like that. You say ‘No problemo’. And if someone comes up to you with an attitude, you say ‘Eat me’. And if you wanna shine them on, it’s ‘Hasta la vista, baby’.” 
-- John Connor  

Remember the time when Edward Furlong was still young and full of promise? Those were the days back in 1991 when the then 14-year-old achieved childhood stardom as Arnold Schwarzenegger’s cheeky sidekick and, well, the future saviour of humanity. In the role of John Connor in Terminator 2: Judgment Day – or T2, as we robot-savvy people like to call it – Furlong is one of the main reasons why the sequel to The Terminator (1984) is an even more satisfying movie experience than the predecessor.

The outline looks quite familiar. Due to her belief that machines will try to wipe out the human race in a future war, Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) resides in a psychiatric ward with no hope of ever being released. Her teenage son John is in the custody of foster parents and, once again, in mortal danger. The T-1000 (Robert Patrick), a new kind of cyborg assassin, is sent from the future in order to terminate the rebel-leader-to-be. A reprogrammed version of the T-800 (Arnold Schwarzenegger) also travels through time to protect John and his mother, and to prevent the eventual rise of the machines.

While the first part comes across as a raw and gritty diamond, I think that the second part, also directed by James Cameron, appears polished up in all the right places. The all-encompassing gloom and hopelessness are replaced by a more subtle yet effective apocalyptic mood. Burning playgrounds, sterile hospital hallways and hot desert landscapes convey an atmosphere of human coldness and foreshadow the end of civilisation. The fast-paced and dynamic action sequences known from part one are now more in number, staged on a higher scale and savoured to the full extent. With guns blazing and trucks, cars, bikes and even helicopters crashing, action fans are certain to get their money’s worth.

The greatest improvement for me, though, is how the characters develop and interact throughout the film. While The Terminator focuses on thrill and action, T2 offers a much desired inter-human balance. The relationship between Sarah and John feels authentic under the circumstances. The way in which they manage to support and protect each other subtly shows their temperamental as well as loving connection. The heart of the film, however, is John’s interaction with the T-800. Regarding the gruff robot as a kind of surrogate father, the young Connor makes it his mission to teach it all kinds of human mannerisms. From hip phrases and gestures to ethical matters – it really is a joy to watch John and the T-800 become friends in midst of all the deadly chaos. Fortunately, Cameron never makes the mistake to let his cyborg hero appear too human. While it may quickly apprehend complex forms of human interaction, it always remains a programmed piece of metal underneath. By maintaining the human-robot divide, the film allows for a discourse on our affinity with and emotional reliance on technological gadgets.

I love the chemistry between Furlong and Schwarzenegger, but they also manage to hold their grounds individually. The latter is, once again, perfectly stoic and utterly convincing as a machine among people. Now that his character has turned from villain to hero, he is endowed with a more extensive bunch of humorous episodes, one of the most memorable ones probably being his attempt to learn how to crack a heartfelt smile. With T2 being his debut film, Furlong shows that right from the beginning of his career, he is capable of carrying a film. He delivers comedy, emotion and the mental as well as physical strength necessary to make him look convincing as a future war hero.

Hamilton is my personal highlight. Buff and relentless, she has turned into a warrior woman willing to do everything it takes to save her son and the rest of humanity. However, underneath all her toughness, she has to come to terms with the loss of her own humanity while fighting the terror of the machines. Hamilton’s no-bullshit portrayal is strong, yet fragile. It’s embittered and shaken, and certainly constitutes one of her finest performances to date.

Terminator 2: Judgment Day balances action with comedy, drama, amiable characters, great performances and social commentary. It thus manages to deliver even better than the original Terminator film. Edward Furlong’s fresh and unspent take on John Connor is still fun to watch today. Considering how alcohol and substance abuse have wrecked his life and career during the past years, I bet the actor would love the opportunity to follow in his film buddy’s footsteps and, like the T-800, travel back to 1991 when life was still auspicious and the world at his feet ready to be saved.

Rating: 

Data Base: Lost

© EW | Source: EW

Series Premiere	September 22, 2004
Series Finale	May 23, 2010
Genre	Mystery, Survival, Adventure, Drama, Science Fiction
Country of Origin	United States
No. of seasons	6
No. of episodes	121
Running Time	40-48 minutes
Channel	ABC
Website	http://abc.go.com/shows/lost
Developed by	J. J. Abrams Jeffrey Lieber Damon Lindelof
Starring	Adewale Akinnouye-Agbaje, Sam Anderson, Naveen Andrews, L. Scott Caldwell, Nestor Carbonell, François Chau, Henry Ian Cusick, Jeremy Davies, Michael Emerson, Jeff Fahey, Fionnula Flanagan, Matthew Fox, Jorge Garcia, Maggie Grace, Josh Holloway, Malcolm David Kelley, Daniel Dae Kim, Yunjin Kim, Ken Leung, Evangeline Lilly, Rebecca Mader, Elizabeth Mitchell, Dominic Monaghan, Terry O’Quinn, Harold Perrineau, Emilie de Ravin, Zuleikha Robinson, Michelle Rodriguez, Kiele Sanchez, Rodrigo Santoro, Ian Somerhalder, John Terry, Sonya Walger, Cynthia Watros
Guest Stars Worth Mentioning	Clancy Brown, Francois Chau, Kevin Durand, Mark Pellegrino, Katey Sagal

Synopsis

The survivors of a plane crash find themselves on a seemingly deserted island. There they struggle to stay alive, but it’s not only the “usual” aftermath of the crash and being lost they have to overcome. The island bears its own mysteries that threaten the lives of the survivors.

Yay or nay?

With its intriguing plot, an abundance of OMG-moments and more secrets and cliff-hangers than any even only mildly curious person can bear, Lost is the kind of show that gets you hooked so fast, you won't even notice. Among fans it seems to be common practice to spend nights binge watching episode after episode - it's just that addictive. So if you are a fan of the sci-fi/mystery genre and don't care much for a good night's rest, Lost might just be THE show for you.

Film Review: The Terminator (1984)

© MGM Home Entertainment | Source: ArrowInTheHead

USA, UK; 107 min.; action, sci-fi, drama

Director: James Cameron

Writing: James Cameron, Gale Anne Hurd

Cinematography: Adam Greenberg

Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Biehn, Linda Hamilton, Paul Winfield, Lance Henriksen, Earl Boen, Bess Motta

“Come on! Do I look like the mother of the future? Am I tough? Organised? I can’t even balance my chequebook!”  -- Sarah Connor 

Sometimes, watching The Terminator makes me kind of sad. Sad that I don’t have my own little time machine available to go back to 1984 and experience the sensation of watching James Cameron’s sci-fi classic for the very first time. By now, the Terminator has become a figure deeply rooted in pop culture. We know it inside out, the dead eyes, the skilled gun-wielding, the “I’ll be back”-ing. I wonder how marvellous it must have been to go into the movie on a clean slate. Not knowing what to expect from it, its storyline and characters; to sense the originality behind the whole project, to be surprised by its twists and turns. Of course, all this is not to say that I don’t enjoy watching The Terminator in the present day since, well, I really, really do. But sometimes, you know, sometimes, it seems like a good idea to revisit the past.

If we take a look at the outline of the film, I guess it’s safe to say that my motives for time travelling are much more positive than the ones depicted there. In a 2029 setting, the machines have taken over power and plan to extinguish the entire human race. A group of rebels, lead by a certain John Connor, manages to keep the machines at bay and gain momentum. In order to get rid of Connor and his influential rebellious spark, the artificial intelligence creates a cyborg assassin, the Terminator T-800 (Arnold Schwarzenegger). Sent back to the year 1984, it is meant to kill Connor’s mother Sarah (Linda Hamilton) and, thus, prevent her from ever giving birth to a son. Keen on saving his own life as well as humanity, Connor, in turn, sends his soldier Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn) to stop the Terminator’s deadly mission.

All this sounds rather grim and darkly futuristic, and director Cameron pulls all the right strings to also make it look and feel that way. The film opens with a sombre sequence of warfare between machines and humans. The sky is covered by dark vapours. Deadly laser beams shoot through the air. A heavy tank rolls over a whole pile of human skulls. A musical score with heavy synthesisers delivers robotic, metallic sounds. There is no hope in this place, just misery; a lack of humanity, later perfectly embodied in the Terminator. Its first action, once it reaches 1984, is to brutally, and rather graphically, kill a man for clothes. By uniting this relentlessness of the title protagonist and a general gloomy, violent tone, Cameron masterly creates an atmosphere of suppression, constant danger and hopelessness.

The film, however, manages to find a good balance between dystopian depression and fast-paced entertainment. Adam Greenberg’s dynamic camera work and Mark Goldblatt’s precise and quick editing contribute to a thrilling, pulse-raising movie experience. I find it hard to take my eyes off the speedy car chases or on-foot pursuits. Well-performed stunts involving tumbling vehicles or exploding trucks turn The Terminator into a fun action feast. Additionally, Cameron provides short yet effective snippets of comedy, which lighten the overall aura of the movie.

I find the interpersonal relationships to be the weak point of an otherwise splendidly crafted film. While Cameron is able to subtly comment on a society blindly reliant on technological gadgets, he has a hard time portraying the blossoming relationship between Sarah and Kyle in a comprehensible manner. Granted since the film’s focus is on its brilliant thrill and action, I can mostly overlook the emotional short-comings. But, still, since Sarah and Kyle are meant to function as a counterpart to the cold and sterile world of the machines, I’d prefer to sense more spark between them. Cameron rushes them into a romance only to sustain his story. He doesn’t allow them proper room to fall for each other, making it difficult for me to believe their emotional journey together.

Maybe Biehn’s portrayal is partly to blame as well. His performance as Kyle walks a thin line between the right amount of tension and sheer overacting. Unfortunately, the line is crossed more than once. Hamilton, in her iconic role as Sarah Connor, strikes all the right chords. Her transformation from happy-go-lucky twenty-something, whose greatest problem so far has been the occasional boy trouble, into a responsible freedom fighter is hinted at sufficiently. She performs well as both the sweet, careless girl as well as the toughened woman trying to save her own skin. Furthermore, she musters the right amount of shock and emotionality. The highlight, however, is, lo and behold, Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator. Endowed with great make-up and special effects, he brings a necessary deadness and uncompromising nature to the character. As a former successful bodybuilder, he has an impressive, towering appearance, enhanced by some wonderful cinematography. His voice, without any signs of emotion or care, does the rest. While Schwarzenegger certainly is far from being considered a true acting talent, it is hard to imagine anyone else in the role of the T-800.

With a good balance between dystopian exploration and light-hearted thrill ride, The Terminator is a fine example of suspenseful action flicks with socio-critical dimensions. Featuring splendid camera work, editing, music and special effects, the film only falters in fleshing out its love story. So, as preparation for the upcoming release of Terminator Genisys in about two weeks, now is as good a time as ever to get hold of The Terminator and, you know, revisit the past.


Rating: