Retrospective: Forty Years Since ‘The Terminator’ First Time-Traveled onto Screens By Jesse Striewski

Everyone remembers their first, and in the case of R-rated movies, mine was a double-whammy; grainy, rough-around-the edges versions of both the 1984 hits The Terminator and A Nightmare on Elm Street on one single VHS tape in my friend’s basement that his dad had previously taped off of cable TV (a luxury my family and I still had not yet had at that time).

I knew we were watching something unique, and perhaps even “forbidden” given our ages at the time…and I loved every single minute of each film. But something about this Terminator flick – which featured Arnold Schwarzenegger as a killer cyborg sent from the future back to modern day Los Angeles to kill the mother of the future resistance leader that will eventually bring an end to killer machines that have taken over the world – just felt so intense, and so utterly ’80s (the Tech Noir club scene where Arnold reveals himself is possibly one of my personal favorite moments in cinema history ever).

Linda Hamilton plays said mother Sarah Connor, and Michael Biehn portrays future soldier Kyle Reese sent back through time to protect her from Schwarzenegger’s cold, menacing cyborg. The film does the cat and mouse chase routine better than it had perhaps ever been seen on screen previously before, and Director James Cameron takes masterful care in each and every sequence as it unfolds.

The film shot straight to the number one spot at the box office upon original release on October 26, 1984, and would go on to gross a worldwide total of more than $78 million by the end of its run. The catchphrase “I’ll be back” uttered by Arnold in the movie would soon find its way making its rounds throughout pop culture psyche.

It would also (eventually) spawn a media franchise that included one of the most groundbreaking hit sequels of all time, 1991’s Terminator 2: Judgement Day, and numerous other entries with varying success. Aside from movies, its lasting reach would also stretch across video games, comic books, action figures (many of which I still own til this day), and both live action and animated television series.

It would not be until 2003’s Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines that I would finally see Arnold on the big screen as the T-800, but by then the series was not quite as it once had been. But for my money, nothing will ever beat the original (no, not even T2), which four decades later is still remembered as one of the greatest Sci Fi/action thrillers of all time, and always will be.

Series Review: Terminator Zero (Netflix/Production I.G./Skydance Television)

By: Jesse Striewski

When Netflix originally announced a new Terminator anime series to drop on August 29, I initially did not make the connection that it landed on “Judgement Day” (the day the machines become self-aware within the now four-decade long franchise’s lore). I knew right then and there I needed to speed watch the new series immediately.

Although not much of an anime fan, I have been known to dabble occasionally (most recently with the likes of Aggretsuko), and it’s a safe bet I’ll give just about anything with the Terminator label on it a try (for better or worse as of late). In this case, I’m glad I took the chance on it.

The plot is not too far of a stretch from previous films and television shows already made in the series, although this time instead of focusing on John or Sarah Conner, the primary prey for the time-traveling Terminator (Timothy Olyphant) is a scientist named Malcolm Lee (Andre Holland), whose competitive research to Skynet quickly finds him targeted by the deadly assassin from the future.

Along with Olyphant and Holland, the talented voice cast is also rounded out by Rosario Dawson and Sonoya Mizuno (among others). All in all its worth a watch for just about anyone who grew up quoting Arnold’s famous “I’ll be back” and “Hasta la vista, baby” lines.

Rating: 3/5 Stars

Retrospective: 30 Years Since ‘Terminator 2: Judgment Day’ By Jesse Striewski

In the summer of 1991, there was one film causing massive worldwide hype that seemed like everyone on the planet was buzzing over; the Arnold Schwarzenegger-driven blockbuster sequel, Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Once again directed by James Cameron and co-starring Linda Hamilton as Sarah Conner (with Earl Boen also briefly returning from the first film as Dr. Silberman) along with newcomer Edward Furlong as John Conner, T2 featured breakthrough technology in movie special effects, including computer graphic imaging unlike anything else that had been seen on the big screen up to that time.

When originally released on July 3, 1991 (after premiering in L.A. on July 1), I was still just a ten-year-old kid just as excited as anyone else about the film at the time. Having already seen the first film previously at a friend’s house on a rickety old blank VHS tape (which also included the original A Nightmare on Elm Street on it), I instantly fell in love with it’s mix of action and Sci Fi/borderline horror, and still regard it as my favorite film in the franchise (it might just be me, but I preferred Arnold much more as the ‘bad guy’). But alas, when it came time for T2, I could not find anyone willing to take me to see it in the theater, even though I had the NES game, trading cards, and numerous action figures from the film, many of which I still have to this day.

In the sequel, Schwarzenegger returns as the Model 101 Terminator sent back in time, only this time around he’s there to actually protect John Conner, rather than eliminate his existence like in the first film. Robert Patrick is brought on as the new, advanced terminator sent to kill John, the T-1000. After realizing he’s a target, John entrusts the help of the Model 101 to break his mother Sarah (Hamilton) out of the mental institution she has been incarcerated in since some time after the events of the first film. The result becomes one of the most enthralling and immersive cat-and-mouse chases ever captured in cinema history.

Also notable is the the appearance of the hit Guns N’ Roses track “You Could Be Mine” in the film from the band’s then-upcoming Use Your Illusion II album. Like the movie, the song was hard-hitting, and featured an explosive music video that also saw Arnold himself briefly appear. The video helped propel the song’s success, and my want to see the film even more, and I have long since attributed it as the catalyst to my eventual love of hard rock and heavy metal music.

Actor Danny Cooksey, who played John’s equally rebellious friend Tim in the film, offered Rewind It Magazine some insight on how the song ended up being included in the film in a 2019 phone interview; “When we were in the early stages of filming, I was given a cassette of the music that was going to be used in the scene. Originally it was going to be two songs, and I believe they were “Higher Ground” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and “I Wanna Be Sedated” by the Ramones, which were, you know, both fine. But at some point I got handed another cassette, and it was an advanced copy of “You Could Be Mine,” in which case I thought I was just the coolest person on the planet since the record wasn’t even out yet!”

In the same interview, Cooksey went on to explain what it was like actually meeting Schwarzenegger on the set for the first time, in this previously-unpublished quote; “I remember somebody taking me to his trailer to meet him, and he was already dressed up in all his gear, so it was definitely a bit intimating. He was such a cool guy though, and it was such an awesome experience to be a part of it at that age.”

T2 went on to gross well over $500 million before it’s run in theaters was over, and helped define the summer ‘blockbuster’ from then on out. It would not be until 2003 before I would finally see Arnold on the big screen for the first time as the Model 101, when Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines was released almost twelve years later to the date after it’s predecessor. Three more films and a short-lived TV series would also follow, all with varying results. But nothing that has come since has been remotely able to match the undeniable juggernaut that was T2. In the immortal words of Arnold himself, “Hasta la vista, baby!”