I love Michael Crichton movies - Coma, Looker, Westworld, The Andromeda Strain, etc. These movies are fantastic. They're engrossing and exciting and interesting.But yikes, "The Terminal Man" was hard to watch. It was boring. I don't mind it was slow - one of my favorite movies of all time is "Barry Lyndon." What I minded was that nothing happens. *Spoilers Below* The movie is 105 minutes long and 2 things happen: the protagonist has a surgery and later he kills someone. Surgery scene lasts about 5 minutes, murder scene lasts about 2 minutes. So out of 105 minutes, only in 7 minutes does something actually happen (an event).I guess you could argue the scene when he breaks out of the hospital an event, but - they don't show it on screen. It's implied."The Terminal Man" is far from being the worst movie I've seen, but it is certainly in the running for the most boring. People sit and talk gently. In the next scene, people stand and talk. Then in another scene they walk and talk. Repeat. That's it. That's the whole movie if you include the 2 scenes mentioned above.Unreal. I wonder if the novel is this boring, I can't imagine it is. I tried hard to like this movie, since I think so highly of Michael Crichton I wanted to like it like I like Coma or Looker - but those movie have so much action, suspense, and mystery. "The Terminal Man" by contrast there's nothing to it, it's just people talking to each other. Even during the surgery scene I counted as one of the events of the movie - they just stand around and talk to each other in monotone. This is a rather tone-deaf effort. I fault the screenwriter (didn't even bother to look who it is) because the script is trash. Neat idea, without a doubt, but jeez the screenplay is awful.

This is a superior film with brilliant set design and costuming. From the sterility of the Hospital (known only as "Babel" from the subtly placed and nearly invisible emblems), to the mind-numbing anonymity of the staff uniforms, few films are as well dressed as this. Only the dissenting staff, Dr's Ross and Manon, show any hint of individuality in their work apparel. Ironically it is Benson the patient, supposedly insane, who displays the most humanity of all, with the possible exception of Dr. Ross. Segal was brilliant, and severely under-utilized in the film. Perhaps the filmmakers thought it necessary to de-emphasize Benson, in order to illustrate the dehumanization of the hospital and its staff. But a bit more contrast could have been provided IMO. Still, the film is excellent nonetheless.Today's audiences however, with their short attention spans, will likely be permanently disappointed. To those who complain that this film is "slow" (and they are legion); I would say to either learn some patience, or simply avoid the film and go back to watching action/adventure.While made in the early 1970's, it is highly relevant to today's world as well. Replace the "wires in the brain" with today's over-prescribed Ritalin, SSRI's, and other similar drugs, and you will see the point.This is an excellent movie which deserves to be on DVD, with commentary by Crichton, Hodges and/or Segal. They are all still with us as of 4/2008 (Sadly Ms. Hackett is not). The sooner the better.

Segal plays a man who has had an accident and suffered some sort of cranial injury (I'm sorry Micheal Crichton, It really isn't explained well enough in my opinion). He is then subjected to a pioneering new medical treatment previously only ever tried on monkeys.This is where the film falls down. Has Micheal never heard of all the testing, trials and licensing procedures that drugs and medical procedures have to go through. So basically the entire idea for the plot is scuppered right away before the movie even really gets a chance to start.The film pursues the idea anyway, and Segal has a micro implant into his brain to control impulses that cause him want to kill.Yep, of course it fails and the implant starts giving him the impulses. Segal escapes the hospital after his operation (how is he even able to do anything after major surgery on his brain?) he starts having attacks and kills his girlfriend and runs off on a frenetic killing frenzy. his implant is being monitored and the scientists are able to predict when he will strike but not where. (surely the nuclear implant would have been traceable?) finally after killing a priest Segal thinks about killing himself and finds himself in a cemetery (didn't understand how he got here either) and falls into an open grave but is carrying a pistol. he has a seemingly fatal fit but is near catatonic - not dead. the police kill him despite the fact he has dropped his gun (the marksman would have seen this through his telescopic sight and LEGALLY could not fire his weapon so he committed murder) and the end is very bad and totally impossible to understand.are they planning to try this procedure again with another prisoner? weird but strangely watchable like THX-1138.

"The Terminal Man" is a classic Michael Crichton story. The science fiction is based in reality. For the time, the novel represented the cutting edge of our understanding of the brain and its pain and pleasure pathways. It seems hard to believe, but in 1974 little was known about the mechanism of addiction and substances like endorphins. The concept of harnessing them was a dream. Today, they are entering lay speech and find their way into everything from diets and meditation to sports.As a physician with a talent for using current research to feed his imagination, Crichton constructs unique novels. 1971's "Andromeda Strain" was the first big success, and studied our concept of life and biologic evolution. "The Terminal Man" asked the question of what would happen when main gains control of himself. How will he use that power? Will it change him? Will it work?In character with many of his novels, the scientific detail is impossible to big to the screen. A film can only run so long. Many Crichton fans will always prefer his books to the movie. However, this under appreciated film brings the story to life. It is relatively free of the soliloquies of background data that are seen in many science fiction films. The viewer learns threw the eyes of the patient. The main story line still comes across well, and the viewer experiences the emotions and dilemmas of the patient.The irony here is that a science has now proven the film's premise correct. Animal studies confirm the side effects vividly depicted in the film. As we enter the new millennium, severe pain and cancer patients use the techniques envisioned by Michael Crichton. "The Terminal Man" is an example if fiction becoming fact, and film previewing our future.If one likes science and science fiction, it is a good film to pick. The drama of the patients predicament will also entertain drama fans. This was made in 1971, so if you are a great CGI and action fan you may be disappointed. So use your imagination.