The Terminator

The Terminator is a 1984 sci-fi action film which became the break-through role for former body-builder Arnold Schwarzenegger. Directed by James Cameron, the premise of the movie is that a "cybernetic organism" (living tissue over an android skeleton) the Cyberdyne Systems Model 101 800 Series Terminator (played by Schwarzenegger), has been transported back in time from 2029 A.D. to May 12, 1984 to assassinate a woman named Sarah Connor (played by Linda Hamilton). At the same time a man, Kyle Reese (played by Michael Biehn), is sent back to protect Connor from the cyborg. Issues raised by the film include time travel, causal loops, and artificial intelligence.

Plot

A young woman, Sarah Connor, finds herself pursued by a relentless killer for reasons completely unknown to her. She is eventually approached by Kyle Reese, who explains that in the future, an artificial intelligence called "Skynet" will be created by military software developers to make strategic decisions. The program becomes self-aware; in a panic, the humans attempt to destroy Skynet. In the interest of self preservation, Skynet seizes control of most of the world's military hardware (including various highly advanced robots), and launches an all-out attack on human beings. However, a man named John Connor eventually leads the human resistance to victory, only to discover that in a last-ditch effort, Skynet had researched time travel and sent a robotic killer back in time in the 1980s to destroy John Connor's family before he can be born. John Connor, of course, is Sarah's future son, and he sends back a trusted assistant (Reese) to protect his mother at all costs.

Related Topics:
Sarah Connor - Kyle Reese - Artificial intelligence - Skynet - Military - Software - Strategic - Self-aware - Self preservation - Robot - John Connor - Time travel - 1980s

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The key difficulty in Reese's mission is that the Terminator is a powerful machine of an extremely durable construction that can sustain a considerable amount of damage. Since the time travel mechanism precludes the traveler from carrying non living matter outside the being's body, Reese was forced to arrive unarmed, and the small arms of the 1980s that are available are simply not powerful enough to affect the Terminator. Furthermore, a Terminator's organic covering, when intact, makes it indistinguishable from an average person. This makes the task of convincing anyone of that time that this assailant is actually an extremely advanced machine - without being written off as crazy - almost impossible.

Related Topics:
Terminator - Small arms

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As it ultimately turns out, Reese, of all humans, was sent back in time for a special reason--he is John's father. During the course of the film, Kyle and Sarah fall in love, and eventually have sex. At the movie's end, Reese is dead at the Terminator's hands, leaving Sarah to finally destroy it. The last few minutes of the movie show Sarah, already pregnant with a son, deciding that she will one day tell John that his father was the man he himself sent back in time.

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