The Terminator at 40: An Imperious Legacy and its Increasing Relevance
Arnold Schwarzenegger is one of the most well-known actors of the 80s and 90s, even to the extent that a simple cameo in the film The Expendables helped to elevate it just a touch. His star power is immense, but who knows where he’d be had he not been the unstoppable autonomous machine sent back from the future to kill humanity’s savior? The same can be said of James Cameron had he not brought The Terminator to the big screen in 1984.
Released to the world on October 26, what was billed as a B-movie dazzled audiences, sat atop the US box office charts for weeks, ushering in a new standard for visual effects, creating a new cinematic sci-fi landscape to explore, and establishing Schwarzenegger as a true action hero. Now, the legendary film is 40, and while the series has certainly struggled to meet the same storytelling heights as the first two installments, the original remains relevant.
A Cinematic Juggernaut
On a $6.4 million budget, The Terminator returned $78.3 million at the US box office, with Schwarzenegger turning into the villain despite the momentum gained from being perfectly cast as Conan the Barbarian, which truly put the former Mr. Universe among Hollywood’s big names. Naturally, it wasn’t just Schwarzenegger’s anvil chin that made him right to play a cyborg, nor was it what made the film so popular, but it certainly helped.
The Terminator was a superbly original film, combining sci-fi and horror with potent visuals that defied what was thought to be the limit for effects of the day. The story itself, seeing a mother trying to protect her child from a threat beyond her imagining and technology that couldn’t be reckoned with, resonated with movie-goers, especially as Linda Hamilton’s Sarah Conner was so relatable.
Its release in 1984 was impactful enough to create a cinematic icon. Making the most of its popularity, The Terminator became a franchise. Many films followed, as did novelizations, comics, TV shows, web series, theme park rides, board games, and even casino games. This even runs to very recent releases. The Terminator Win & Spin from Inspired Gaming was released to the online casino in 2023.
Loaded with characters and features from Cameron’s original movies, the medium-high volatility game’s very existence is a showcase of the film’s endearing legacy. Naturally, it’s at the box office where the IP owners seek the biggest returns. Across six meandering releases, the series has made $2.07 billion worldwide, with even the most recent telling that failed to win over fans and critics making $250 million at the box office.
Even More Relevant Today
The 1970s and 1980s were a superb time for sci-fi at the box office, with there now being uncountable lists online looking back at hits and cult classics that somehow predicted the future to some degree. Right now, our fears of AI and its ever-increasing prominence help to make the tight, refined story of The Terminator all the more relevant today. It and Mad Max speak of particularly bleak futures – which plays well into the current narrative.
At the time of its release, The Terminator perfectly tapped into the growing fear of technology getting out of control and even having the potential to worsen the Cold War and the ever-present fears of nuclear annihilation. The Terminator has its T-800 sent back from the warzone of Los Angeles in 2029, which would now look to be a bit hasty. Our animatronics are nowhere near as advanced as those powering the T-800.
Yet, our fears of AI and its potential to machine-learn its way to dominance, take over jobs, and even make inhumanely logical choices are perfectly captured by Schwarzenegger’s cyborg. Much more recent films with more contemporary ideas to work off of, like Ex Machina and Her, do offer a seemingly more realistic glimpse at AI’s power to takeover, tapping into human desires and loneliness, but the powerlessness The Terminator exudes rings very close to home.
On its own merits as a well-written and well-executed story, The Terminator remains one of Hollywood’s most influential, popular, and potent productions. It just so happens that now, at 40, it plays into the latest bout of technophobia far better than Cameron could have predicted.
