The Terminator

The Terminator is an interesting piece of science fiction cinema, being that rare creature, a good film that was eclipsed by an even better sequel. For those few people who have only a passing acquaintance with the Terminator movies, this is the the one in which Schwarzenegger is the bad cyborg, who comes from a future dominated by machines back in time to become the Governor of California. Oops, sorry, getting my "reality is stranger than fiction" files mixed up... In fact, the Terminator comes back to prevent the birth of the one man who can stop the machines from achieving their dominance: the unborn son of Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton).

The Terminator (remember, there's only one in this movie) has a number of things going for it. It has a nifty time-travel / changing the past to change the future storyline, which is always a lot of fun when it's handled competently, as it is here. It has a strong female lead in Linda Hamilton, which gets a major thumbs up from this reviewer. It has an exciting, fast-paced plot, running 107 minutes; that's a nice refresher after some of the more bloated action films that are running around out there. It has cool cyborgs and some pretty decent special effects, even considering that it's 1984 and James Cameron didn't have a particularly generous budget. It has the first "I'll be back" line.

And hey, it's The Terminator. If you like science fiction or action movies, of course you'll want to watch it.

Robocop

I remember watching Robocop when it came out in theaters. At the time, in 1987, it was downright shocking. The language! The violence! Robocop not only didn't pull any punches, but it went deliberately over the line. Almost twenty years on, how does Robocop stand up? After all, it's no longer able to wow viewers with its raw newness; extremely violent films are common, as are science-fiction action films.

Surprisingly, Robocop turns out to be a much more durable film than I'd ever have expected, coming across as minimally dated and thoroughly entertaining. That fact is due to the film being (as it happens) more than just a celebration of gore and blasting guns. That's a good thing, since simply stunning the viewer through excessive violence is hardly new nowadays, and the violence quotient in Robocop is hardly notable nowadays (though in fact the one really disturbingly violent scene is still just as awful now.)

The story itself is relatively straightforward, but not without merit. In near-lawless Detroit, when a good cop (Peter Weller) gets slaughtered by a gang of criminals, his body gets co-opted into a high-tech program to make law-enforcement cyborgs. A hint of awareness seems to remain in the new Robocop, however... enough to desire revenge on his murderers. Mix this with the parallel plot of cut-throat big-business dealings and maneuvering, and you get a respectable plot that fills in the 103 minutes of running time with no fluff.

What makes Robocop more interesting now, though, is the creative way that it's put together. Intercut with the story are clips of television programs and news, giving us a glimpse into the film's future world. Yes, it's a future in which people seem to have decidedly 1980s hair styles, but apart from that, Robocop is remarkably prescient; its view of what a near-future could look like turns out to be very believable. With those touches of slightly creepy accuracy tossed in, it's much easier to see the film's inventions of cyborg or robot law enforcement and think that we might hear an announcement of something like that on the real television news...

The DVD

The Terminator / Robocop Double Feature is a two-disc set. Each film has its own ultra-slim plastic keepcase, with the two discs inside a nicely narrow glossy paperboard slipcase.

Video

Both films are presented in their original aspect ratios of 1.85:1, and are anamorphically enhanced. The image quality is satisfactory; these films are from the 1980s, and so they're not as sharp and crisp as something produced last year, but they look fine here. The Terminator is a bit soft, Robocop slightly less so. The prints are clean, colors are handled fine, and overall there's nothing to complain about.

Audio

These two action films benefit from the inclusion of Dolby 5.1 surround tracks. In the case of Robocop, there's the film's original 5.1 track, along with French and Spanish dubbed 5.1 tracks. For The Terminator, the film's original mono soundtrack is included for purists, but there's also the later remastered 5.1 track (along with French and Spanish 5.1 tracks). The sound quality is good in both cases, giving an enjoyable surround experience.

English, French, and Spanish subtitles are included for both films.

Extras

There's not much here by way of special features. The Terminator has its theatrical trailer; Robocop has its trailer, plus trailers for Carrie and The Terminator.

Final thoughts

For viewers who haven't picked up these films yet, the Double Feature package is an inviting way to catch up with two entertaining action films that have weathered their passage from the 1980s very well. Whether you buy it for yourself, or as a gift (something about this package just says "buy me for someone as a present"), it's a reasonable purchase for viewers who are looking for the films with no concern about fluffy extras. Recommended.