The Terminator is not an "action movie" because that would imply it has lots of choreography that conveys storytelling through the actors' actions. Really, The Terminator is more of a sci-fi thriller with some post-apocalyptic tech-noir stuff mixed in for good measure. It's thrilling because the movie focuses on a big bad that can't easily be dealt with, and it's tech-noir heavily tied to themes like how technology could ruin the world and only the protagonist can save this potential bad future. None of the scenes in The Terminator rely upon complex combat or subtle narrative. In fact, it's the opposite. Everything is loud and abrasive, leaving little room for personal interpretation. This is good! It means that the focus is on the high budget effects and crazy stunt sequences, and less so on abstractions that a cheaper film would have needed to rely upon. However, it also devalues what the action genre is, because too many people now see action as a catch-all term when it is firmly within its own box separate from mystery, drama, horror and so on. It also doesn't help that Arnold Schwarzenegger is seen as the quintessential action movie star, simply because he has large muscles and looks cool. Again, this isn't bad for The Terminator and elevates its spectacle, it's bad because it means the public consensus on what constitutes a movie being "action" gets dissolved into nothing. Arnie is a great actor in this movie because he's believable as the Model 101, not because he delivers action-packed excitement. Even the gunfights in The Terminator lack any real narrative thrust, where in a proper action movie each bullet would be fired for a reason, an artistic decision on the part of the filmmaker.
>>216534726tl;dr lol
>>216534793fpbp
>>216534726>tech-noir stuff I remember it even featured a dance club called Tech Noir.
>>216534726There’s a great movie out there called Terminator 2, you should watch it
>>216534726*sniff* *sniff*AI
>>216534726I agree it's not a pure action movie, still 10/10 though.
