The Terminal Man

PG

1974

1h 47m

Sci-Fi

List

50%

16 Reviews

Tomatometer

40%

250+ Ratings

Audience Score

A man becomes a guinea pig involving electrode implanting when he suffers from blackouts which make him violent.

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dave s

Truthfully, it's hard to imagine a movie that is more bland than The Terminal Man. It's the vanilla of ice creams, the Air Supply of rock and roll and the cloudy day of summer all rolled into one and equally forgettable. Other than the intriguing premise of a society that can implant electrodes in the brain to modify behavior, the whole exercise is rather dull. From a technical perspective, it's not horrible, as it is competent in most regards. The problem stems from the incredibly bland characters and the incredibly bland way in which they are portrayed, with actors slouching their way through scenes and reciting their lines without emotion. This is a film that will be forgotten soon after the credits roll.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Typical of Crichton, this film is well ahead of its time. It explores the different natures of human and machine intelligence, and the consequences of the latter interfering with the former. The first half might seem slow to today's audiences. For those who enjoy being provoked into seeing the human condition in a different light, there will be no boring moments.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/03/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Michael Crichton books tend to be fairly technical, and getting that to play on screen while still making an engaging movie is a fine balance that more often than not - with a couple of notable exceptions - has been difficult for filmmakers. Robert Wise did it pretty effectively with The Andromeda Strain. This one, another early book and adaptation, comes off pretty much as sterile as an operating theater. The science is there, but it lacks a pulse.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/19/23

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kevin w

The central idea here is that, as advances in computer sciences continue the possibility of a human cyborg, a six million dollar man if you will, becomes real and that that might not be a good thing. In this particular consideration, a computer chip acting as a mood enhancer fouls up. The director spends way too long in rooms with doctors mulling over hypothesis after hypothesis, too much time at surgery. Get to the point already! I fell asleep waiting for that to happen. It's a slow mover.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

This shit is BAD! :D homey flipped out!

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

02/12/23

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Audience Member

This is an intense 70's thriller done right. Bleak and freaky, it's also really well shot and the use sound and soundtrack is exceptional.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/09/23

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Mike Hodges

Director

George Segal

Harry Benson

Joan Hackett

Dr. Janet Ross

Richard Dysart

Dr. John Ellis

Jill Clayburgh

Angela Black

Donald Moffat

Dr. Arthur McPherson

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Michael Crichton Passes Away (1942-2008)

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Empire Magazine

Hodges takes a cool, detached approach, designing most scenes in monochrome with disturbing flesh-colours, and manages to make Segal's semi-android a strangely sympathetic monster.

Rated: 4/5

Nov 5, 2008

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Time Out

A thoughtful and unusually pessimistic sci-fi pic.

Jun 24, 2006

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Nora Sayre

New York Times

While this movie seems unsalvageable, it might have had some punch if we'd been told more about the Segal character's past, before his operation.

Rated: 1.5/5

May 9, 2005

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Brian Orndorf

Blu-ray.com

A glacial study of a scientific breakthrough, medical hubris, and the broken genius at the center of it all.

Rated: C

Feb 25, 2024

Full Review

Dick Lochte

Los Angeles Free Press

The malady here is icy unconcern, and it has spread, unchecked, throughout the picture, so that most life signs have been stilled.

Dec 13, 2019

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David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

...a massive misfire...

Rated: 1/4

Jul 6, 2019

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Synopsis

A man becomes a guinea pig involving electrode implanting when he suffers from blackouts which make him violent.

Director: Mike Hodges
Production Co: Warner Bros.
Rating: PG
Genre: Sci-Fi
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 3, 2009
Runtime: 1h 47m

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