The Terminator (1984)
d. James Cameron, 108 minutes

Film Plot Summary

The film opened in the year 2029 in a dark, ruined post-apocalyptic Los Angeles, a scene of devastation where machines ruled the world ("The machines rose from the ashes of the nuclear fire. Their war to exterminate mankind had raged for decades, but the final battle would not be fought in the future. It would be fought here, in our present").

The film then returned to the present-day of 1984 Los Angeles where an indestructible cyborg Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) materialized next to a dumpster after electrical flashes; a second individual named Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn), a member of the Tech-Com human resistance movement of the future, was also teleported back; the search was on by both individuals (equipped with weapons) for restaurant waitress Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) for different reasons: the Terminator was there to eliminate Sarah, the mother of future unborn son and resistance leader John Connor, and Kyle Reese's mission was to rescue and protect Connor's mother - and to father the child.

When Kyle located the right Sarah and convinced her that he was there to protect her ("Come with me if you want to live"), he told her that the Terminator was an assassin that was targeting her ("It can't be bargained with. It can't be reasoned with. It doesn't feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are dead!") - it was built by AI computer Skynet (defense network computers) created by Cyberdyne Systems.

After being apprehended by police, Kyle told them that he and the Terminator were the last to be transported back: "It's just him and me" since the time travel equipment was afterwards destroyed by the resistance, but his complete story was regarded by Dr. Silberman (Earl Boen) as paranoid delusions ("He's a loon").

The Terminator performed two surgeries upon himself (his damaged forearm and his left eye) after crashing a stolen police vehicle; the Terminator assaulted the police station where Sarah and Kyle were held, uttering his famous words to the desk captain: "I'll be back" (before ramming the building with his car), although they escaped and hid out in the Tiki Motel, where they made love [their child was the future John Connor!].

During further pursuit after they were traced to the motel, the Terminator chased them on a motorcycle and then commandeered an oil company tanker-truck; when the truck was blown up in a fiery inferno, only the unstoppable Terminator's metal exo-skeletal frame (with glowing red eyes) remained; Reese blew up the Terminator into pieces, but lost his life, and Sarah escaped death by crushing the cyborg in a factory's hydraulic press.

The final scene showed Sarah pregnant and in Mexico about 7 months later - where her Polaroid picture was taken (the torn and faded one given to Reese by Connor in the future). The film's final words: "He said there's a storm coming in" with Sarah's reply: "I know".

Film Notables (Awards, Facts, etc.)

This box-office hit, budgeted at $6.4 million, brought in almost $38 million in revenues (domestically), and $78 million (worldwide).

The low-budget film made Arnold Schwarzenegger a star; "I'll be back" became a popular catch-phrase.

Set-pieces: the shootout in the Tech-Noir bar/nightclub, the car chase pursuit, the police station assault, and the final pursuit by motorcycle and tanker-truck.