I've always been fascinated by Arnold Schwarzenegger's portrayal of the first Terminator in this movie. I've also always thought it to be a stroke of genius that James Cameron decided to cast him as this movie's chief villain at that point in time, being that he was known primarily for heroic roles like Conan in "Conan the Barbarian" (1982). But there's something about Schwarzenegger's minimal acting here that made the Terminator so terrifying (in my opinion, at least): his single-minded pursuit of his intended target, his intimidating physical presence, sparse dialogue, his cold-blooded and ruthless nature, his killing without any emotions whatsoever, and just the overall feeling that he just couldn't be stopped.
One thing I've always believed in movies is that sometimes the best good guys can sometimes play the best guys (like Schwarzenegger did in this movie). I really think he should have gotten at least a Golden Globe nomination for his frightening performance in this picture. I think it's extremely different from most portrayals of movie villainy before and since.
Anyone else believe that Arnold Schwarzenegger's first Terminator is the greatest movie villain ever?
It is hard to say who I would pick as greatest overall movie villain, there are so many fantastic choices.
Having said that, Arnold's portrayal of The Terminator is the most BADASS. I have yet to see any other movie villain match The Terminator's badassery level, Nemesis from Resident Evil comes to mind, but even that doesn't stand a chance.
Every scene Arnold is in gives me goosebumps:
Appearing in front of the garbage truck butt naked, with any other movie I probably would have laughed, but here there was something chilling, a MONSTER has arrived.
Punks being murdered, don't know about you but if I see a gigantic naked man heading in my direction, I'd run. The Terminator murders them with brutal efficiency, this is the first scene we are introduced to his virtually unstoppable killing power, and hes naked.
Car jacking seen, we first see T fully dressed in punks clothing, breaks the glass, and essentially force rapes the car into starting.
Gun store scene is classic, this is probably the closest a ruthless killing machine comes to being excited, he is surrounded by deadly weaponry and picking out his favorite choices. But hey, he doesn't have money to pay for it, nor does he give much of a sh!t about the wait on the handguns, sorry store clerk.
Broad daylight murder of first Sarah Connor, WITH HER CHILDREN PLAYING ON THE FRONT PORCH GRASS... And talk about overkill, headshot, and 5 more shots?!
Ginger and Matt getting pwned, no description needed. Evidence of yet another plentiful overkill.
Tech-Noir scene, Terminator enters, pushes some guy out of the way like hes a door, walks past the line. "HEY THAT GUY DIDN'T PAY", nor does he intend to little darlin', CRUSH the hand of the bouncer.
Wade through a crowd of unsuspecting innocents and pull out a damn .45 longslide with laser sighting, casual as afternoon tea. Take 6 12 gauge rounds to the chest, to me this is one of the "pivotal" scenes, where all doubt of the Terminator's humanity is removed, then he gots shot AGAIN. "Come with me if you want to live", cause really, no cop will be able to save you Sarah.
Running through flames, punching through a windshield, knocking out that small cop against the side of the cop car and throwing him away like a empty soda can into the trash.
I could go on and on and on, but this would turn into a damn essay(if it hasn't already). That is why I think Arnold's The Terminator is the most badass villain ever on film.
The T-800 (in this flick) is one of my all time fave villains ever, along with The Kurgan from Highlander. Not forgetting Hans from Die Hard.
However the "greatest" for me is John Ryder from The Hitcher.
The T-800 is great, but pretty "shallow" overall. Where as Ryder is a fascinating villain with depth and a hell of a lot of character.
If I were to make a list of my top 10 favorite movie villains I would vote The Terminator for that list. Along with The Emporer from Return of the Jedi, Hans Gruber in Die Hard, Bill Sykes in Oliver!, and also Bela Lugoisi's Dracula.