The Terminator

The Terminator is a 1984 science fiction/action film directed and co-written by James Cameron. It features Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton and Michael Biehn. more...

Home
Knives, Swords & Blades
Militaria
Science Fiction
Tobacciana
Trading Cards
Action, Adventure
Alias
Benchwarmer
CSI
James Bond
Other
The Terminator
Tomb Raider
Animation
Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Comic
Credit, Charge Cards
Historical, Military
Other Non-Sports
Phone Cards
Sci-Fi, Fantasy
Transportation

The film takes place in 1984, introducing the concept of a "terminator", specifically the titular character (Arnold Schwarzenegger), a seemingly unstoppable cyborg assassin who has been sent back from the year 2029 by a race of artificially intelligent computer-controlled machines bent on the extermination of mankind. The Terminator's mission is to kill Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) whose future son founds a resistance against the machines. A human, Kyle Reese, is also sent back from the future to protect her.

Plot

In 2029, machines control the world, bent on the extermination of mankind, and they have sent back someone from the future to May 12, 1984. This mysterious musclebound man begins to hunt all of the Sarah Connors in the phone book, successfully killing two of the three listed. When he attempts to kill the last, he is stopped by another time traveler, Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn), sent back to protect her. While hiding in a parking garage, he explains to her that the man after her is actually a Terminator, a machine and assassin. These Terminators were invented by Skynet, an artificially intelligent computer that, in the near future, takes over all military hardware and launches a nuclear war against humanity. John Connor, Sarah's son, leads a human resistance against the machines. In a last ditch effort, Skynet sent a Terminator back in time to kill Sarah before John is born, preventing the resistance from ever being founded, allowing the machines to win by default. John sends Reese back in time to protect her, allowing him to be born.

The Terminator feels no pain and will stop at nothing to accomplish its mission. Time travel can only send living tissue back, preventing Reese from bringing any advanced weaponry, and 20th century small arms are not enough to destroy the Terminator's hard metal skeleton. With its disguise of real living tissue over the metal, it is indistinguishable from normal humans, so no one will believe Reese's story.

After finishing his story, they are attacked by the Terminator again, resulting in a chase that leads to their arrest. At the West Highland Police Station, Sarah is looked after by Lieutenant Traxler (Paul Winfield) and Detective Vukovich (Lance Henriksen) while Reese is questioned by a criminal psychologist, Dr. Silberman (Earl Boen). He concludes that Reese's story is a delusion, constructed in a such a way that it requires no evidence, preventing anyone from refuting it.

The Terminator arrives at the police station, uttering his catch phrase "I'll be back", before going on a rampage through the building, killing everyone it sees, including 17 police officers. Reese manages to escape and rescue Sarah. They hide out in a motel, where Reese makes pipe bombs, teaching Sarah how to make the explosive from household supplies. Sarah asks Reese if she measures up to the stories about her and if he's ever been in love. While replying no to both questions, he confesses that he is in love with her. At first, Reese thinks he has made a fool of himself, but Sarah feels the same way, and they make love.

Read more at Wikipedia.org