5. The Terminator (1984)
Of course, today it’s mostly remembered as the beginning of a decades-spanning franchise. Worse, its reputation has sadly been tarnished by the poor quality of some of its sequels. Judged on individual merit, though, The Terminator is without a doubt one of the best sci-fi movies of the ’80s.
It follows Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) as she’s hunted by the titular killing machine (Arnold Schwarzenegger), who has travelled from the future in order to prevent the birth of her son, who grows up to lead the Human Resistance in the war against the machines. Connor is protected by Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn), a soldier sent back to impregnate her with that very same son. Is it convoluted? Maybe. Is it brilliant? Undoubtedly.
Schwarzenegger’s turn as the Terminator is outstanding. He perfectly captures the cold, calculating presence of a machine sent to kill, and solidly delivers on The Terminator’s action premise. In fact, he played the part so well that he returned as a hero for the sequel. It’s a sci-fi classic for a reason: like the genre itself, it’s effortlessly cool, complicated, and just a little chaotic.