Adonis Seldon

The Terminator is by far one of the greatest contemporary science fiction films ever made. Directed by Oscar winner James Cameron, the film is set in L.A. 1984. This is a film that needs no introduction. It's a film that most people have seen and if you haven't you should be terminated. The very noir backdrop of this film is a brilliant seed among many Cameron planted into this dark surreal sci-fi jungle. It is a foreshadowing of things to come. Surrounding exteriors are run down, it's dirty, dank, & dark. The movie has a sleek griminess as if you tried to wipe away the filth of the interior it would only reveal more gloom. The cyborg (Arnold Schwarzenegger) has to rely on tracking and killing its target by using the 80s version of the internet, the white pages. What was going on with people's privacy just splattered out there back then? Anyway, this added a great deal of tension in the movie after its target, Sarah Connor played by (Linda Hamilton) figures out with the help of a work friend that someone is after her. Even though it was told as a joke, after another person is killed who has the same name as our main character the stakes are raised. Kyle Reese played by (Michael Beign), delivers a grounded believable performance as Sarah Connor's protector from the future. If you haven't watched it, his scene one on one when he & Sarah first meet as he expounds what she represents and what the Terminator is, and his police station performance is masterful. Throughout, the film delivers a backdrop of what the future may or may not live up to. At its core, it is a film about survival. Not just from a cyborg hunting its target, but also about an assuming waitress who is just trying to live, to survive by working a regular job like most regular folk are trying to do. Survive.