The Terminator Blu-ray Review


The year is 2029, the supercomputer in control of all military power, decides that humans must be destroyed and begins a massive nuclear war that destroys most of the population. The survivors form a resistance against the computer and its mechanical army, and eventually defeat it, thanks to their leader John Connor. In a final effort to win, the computer sends a Terminator back in time to kill John’s mother, Sarah, before he is born. The humans send back a lone soldier, Kyle Reese, to protect Sarah from the seemingly unstoppable cyborg.

James Cameron was at the helm of this now modern day classic sci-fi flick and truth be told many studios past up this script until he finally landed a deal with the meager budget of 6 million. What really sets this movie apart is that even today it still holds its quality. Cameron and Arnold truly brought intensity to the big screen on this one. If you don’t already own this, buy it. If you haven’t already seen this, get up from under that rock!



Although this is the same transfer from the 2nd release of this blu-ray it isn’t all too bad. As stated before these digibooks are nice on the outside, but nothing extra has been added to them. The blacks in the video quality are not the blackest of blacks, but the film still looks pretty damn good on blu-ray. Some parts give off a gritty feel, but I’m not too sure that was truly intended. The evidence of scratches and stuff wasn’t great for this particular blu-ray’s judgment. However this is by far the best picture quality of The Terminator thus far.

Blu-ray Screen Shot Gallery:



The Terminator comes to blu-ray with an uncompressed PCM 5.1 audio track that has pleased many a folks. From casual movie watchers to extreme audiophiles everyone is happy to finally hear The Terminator in such great form. For where the video quality may lack the audio quality definitely makes up for it. I think many will be satisfied and pleased with the audio outing for The Terminator on blu-ray.



The Terminator in digibook form features no extra features from any of its prior releases. Definitely weak sauce. Although coming in as a digibook with more content in the form of text has helped the scoring in this category.

Creating the Terminator: Visual Effects and Music (480p)
Terminator: A Retrospective (480p)
Terminated Scenes (480p)
1080p trailers



If you don’t own the classic that is James Cameron’s “The Terminator” then by all means do so now. The digibook version from MGM is definitely a very nice edition with some great artwork and information buried inside the pages in the book itself. It may not feature new extras but the addition of the book does allow for some new content if you don’t mind reading. The video quality while leaving much to be desired is still very fulfilling in terms of it being the best transfer to date for The Terminator. The audio quality on the other hand is probably by far the best part of this edition. Once again, if you don’t own this film then this would be the best version of the film for you to purchase.

About the author

is a pop culture fanatic who loves to collect things from films that leave a lasting impression on him. A big fan of such brands like SteelBook, Mondo, and Sideshow. Favorite films or franchises include Braveheart, HEAT, Book of Eli, Ip Man, Nolan's Batman, Everything Marvel, and practically anything Quentin Tarantino touches. Proudly owns The Notebook, drives 88 mph, and know's exactly what was in Marsellus Wallace's briefcase!