Featured characters:
Sarah Connor (First appearance)
Kyle Reese (First appearance)
Supporting characters:
Los Angeles Police Department (First appearance)
Lieutenant Ed Traxler (First appearance)
Detective Hal Vukovich (First appearance)
Antagonists:
T-800 (The Terminator) (First appearance) (Apparent death)
Other characters:
Ginger (First and only known appearance; dies)
Matt (First and only known appearance; dies)
Races and species:
Human (homo sapiens) (First appearance)
Artificial intelligence (A.I.) (First appearance)
T-800s / Terminators (First appearance)
Organizations:
The Resistance (First appearance) (Referenced)
Skynet (First appearance)
Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) (First appearance)
Locations:
Earth-80085 (First appearance)
Earth (First appearance)
North America (First appearance)
United States of America (First appearance)
California (First appearance)
Los Angeles (L.A.) (First appearance)
Los Angeles Police Department (First appearance)
Sarah Connor's Apartment (First appearance)
Items:
The Terminator's Shotgun (First appearance)
Vehicles:
LAPD cop car (First appearance)
Plot
Two men arrive separately in 1984 Los Angeles, having time traveled from 2029. One is a cybernetic assassin known as a Terminator, programmed to hunt and kill a woman named Sarah Connor. The other is a human soldier named Kyle Reese, intent on stopping it. They both steal guns and clothing.
The Terminator systematically kills women bearing its target's name, having found their addresses in a telephone directory. It tracks the last Sarah Connor, its actual target, to a nightclub, but Reese rescues her. The pair steal a car and escape, with the Terminator pursuing them in a stolen police car.
As they hide in a parking lot, Reese explains to Sarah that an artificially intelligent defense network known as Skynet, created by Cyberdyne Systems, will become self-aware in the near future and trigger a global nuclear war to exterminate the human species. Sarah's future son (John Connor) will rally the survivors and lead a successful resistance movement against Skynet and its army of machines. On the verge of the resistance's victory, Skynet sent the Terminator back in time to kill Sarah and prevent John from being born. The Terminator is an efficient and relentless killing machine with a perfect voice-mimicking ability and a durable metal endoskeleton covered by living tissue that disguises it as a human.
Police apprehend Reese and Sarah after another encounter with the Terminator. It attacks the police station, killing police officers while hunting for Sarah. Reese and Sarah escape, steal another car, and take refuge in a motel, where they assemble several pipe bombs and plan their next move. Reese admits that he has adored Sarah since he saw her in a photograph John gave him and that he traveled through time out of love for her. Reciprocating his feelings, Sarah kisses him and they have sex, conceiving John.
The Terminator locates Sarah by intercepting a call intended for her mother. She and Reese escape the motel in a pickup while it pursues them on a motorcycle. In the ensuing chase, Reese is badly wounded by gunfire while throwing pipe bombs at the Terminator. Sarah knocks the Terminator off its motorcycle but loses control of the truck, which flips over.
The Terminator, now bloodied and badly damaged, hijacks a tank truck and attempts to run down Sarah, but Reese slides a pipe bomb into the tanker's hose tube, causing a giant explosion that burns all the flesh from the Terminator's endoskeleton. It pursues them into a factory, where Reese activates the machinery to confuse it. He jams his final pipe bomb into its midsection, blowing it apart at the cost of his life. Its still-functional torso grabs Sarah, but she breaks free and lures it into a hydraulic press, crushing and finally destroying it.
Months later, Sarah, pregnant with John, travels through Mexico, recording audio tapes to pass on to him. At a gas station, a boy takes a polaroid picture of her, and she buys it. It is the exact photograph that John will one day give to Reese.
Cast
Michael Beinh as Kyle Reese: The future son and father of John Connor, Sarah's lover and future grandson, and a soldier in the human resistance from a post-apocalyptic future assigned to protect Sarah.
Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor: The future mother of John Connor and Kyle's lover and future grandmother, who eventually is the co-leader of a resistance movement against Skynet and is targeted for assassination by the Terminator.
Paul Winfield as Lieutenant Ed Traxler: A lieutenant officer at the Los Angeles Police Department who tries to protect Sarah.
Lance Henriksen as Vukovich: A member of the LAPD.
Arnold Schwarzenegger as The Terminator / T-800: A cybernetic android disguised as a human being sent back in time to assassinate Sarah Connor.
Bess Motta as Ginger: Sarah's roommate who the T-800 murders after mistaking her for Sarah.
Rick Rossovich as Matt: Ginger's boyfriend whom the T-800 also murdered.
Alex went to the Max app, and typed "The Terminator" and pressed play.
The "HBO Movie Presentation", Metro Goldwyn-Mayer, and Orion Pictures Logos appear as white text appears in a black background, reading "Hemdale Presents A Pacific Western Production of A James Cameron Film". We see the remains of a dystopian society as white text appears, reading "Los Angeles, 2029 A.D.". We hear a noise as a flying device appears overhead. A tank appears, rolling over the heads of dead skeletons. We see people shooting lasers at each others' opposing sides. White text appears, reading "The machine 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. Tonight…". Dramatic music is heard in the background. As actors appear in the opening credits, "The Terminator" title is revealed slowly. In the next scene, which takes place in the night, we see a garbage truck as the discharge plate slowly lowers. White text below reads "Los Angeles: 1984: 1:52 a.m.". The discharge plate rises as the garbage man tries to take the key out.
Garbage Man (with a cigar in his mouth): What the hell? Goddamn son of a bitch… Outside, it is windy as newspapers blow in the wind. Electricity appears as the garbage man looks out the window as lightning is heard. Suddenly, a futuristic looking machine appears, baffling the garbage man, who exits the truck. What the hell?
Outside, a nude man, T-800 / The Terminator, is seen. As dramatic music plays in the background, the Terminator looks nearby, seeing Los Angeles, clearing amazed as in his post-apocalyptic future, the world is in ruins and it is clear that he has never seen a functional city before. Nearby, a couple of gangbangers are drinking alcohol.
Gang Member #2: Hey, my turn!
Gang Member #1: Me. The first gang member pushes the second one out of the way playfully. Come on.
Gang Member #2: Hey. What's wrong with this picture?
As they take a picture of a nearby building, the Terminator walks up to them. The group snickers.
Gang Member #1: Nice night for a walk, eh?
"Shouldn't have said that." Hagrid said.
The Terminator / T-800: Nice night for a walk.
Gang Member #2: Wash day tomorrow! Nothing clean! Right?
The Terminator: Nothing clean. Right.
Gang Member #1: I think this guy is a couple cans short of a six-pack.
The Terminator: Your clothes. Give them to me. Now.
Gang Member #1: Fuck you, asshole.
"Shouldn't have said that." Hagrid repeated.
They pull out knives as The Terminator easily throws them aside like their beanbags and stabs one of them in their stomach, killing them. One of the gang members takes his jacket off as the police show up and a siren is heard wailing. Nearby, a bunch of people are drinking.
Man #1: Hey, sugar, what about it?
Man #2 (slurring): I don't have to put up with that bullshit, man. She's always after me. I don't… I don't… The same lightning with where The Terminator appears occurs again, as another nude man, Kyle Reese, appears. Kyle walks up to one of the drunk men. Hey, buddy. Did you just see a real bright light? The cops appear in the alleyway as Kyle puts some pants on. The cops pull up as police chatter on the radio is heard.
Cop #1: He the guy? Hold it right there!
"He didn't do anything illegal." Sarah exclaimed.
Kyle runs.
Cop #2: He's rabbiting!
Cop #1: Hey, I said hold it! (to Cop #2) Go!
Cop #1 exits the cop car as the other cop takes off.
Man #2 (slurring): That son of a bitch took my pants!
"You can't be naked walking in town!" Sarah exclaimed.
As Kyle runs down the alleyway with the cop chasing him, the cop car appears and the other cop runs after Kyle as he runs into another alleyway. To escape the cop, Kyle vaults over another car. As Kyle escapes, the cop wonders where has gone only to be ambushed by him. Kyle grabs the officer's gun in a struggle.
Kyle Reese: What day is it? The date!
Cop #1: 12th, May. Thursday.
Kyle (shouting): What year?
"1984." Sarah said to nobody in particular.
Kyle and Sarah held hands.
Cop #1: What? The cop car pulls up as Kyle escapes into a warehouse as Cop #2 approaches Cop #1. He's got my gun! Let's go.
Kyle escapes into three separate sections of the warehouse as he crawls to avoid detection and puts on a cloak as cops try and fail to detect him. Kyle puts some Nike shoes on when cops nearly catch him in a photograph booth. However, Kyle runs up two sets of stairs. The cops look up the first set, but don't go up it when Kyle is nowhere to be found. Kyle goes to a balcony and climbs off the building, before sneaking behind a cop car and stealing something.
Dispatcher: Uh, 3831, they lost the suspect… Uh, you can go southwest.
Kyle walks into town, wearing a trenchcoat as cop cars appear nearby.
"Why do you appear naked when you time-travel?" Sarah asked.
"It was a flawing mechanism." Kyle explained.
With the cops off his tail, Kyle runs across the street to a phone booth and tears off a page, revealing "Connor, Sarah", which he tears off. We see Sarah Connors riding a motorcycle as Sarah parks her motorcycle at a bike lock, before walking into a fast-food restaurant.
Sarah Connors (to floatable): Guard it for me, big buns. Sarah walks into the restaurant (where she works), where people are seen chattering. (to Nancy) I'm late.
Nancy: So am I.
"Working in the fast-food industry must be the worst." Tim said while shuddering.
Sarah punches in her time card as The Terminator appears outside, punching a car's window and getting into the car and driving off.
Sarah: I'm in it.
Nancy: So am I.
Sarah serves some food, one of which is some burly meat.
Customer #1: Honey, could I have that coffee now, please?
Sarah: Yes, sir.
Sarah (sighing): Okay. Who gets the burly beef?
"Um, that sounds good actually." 19999-Peter said.
Customer #2: Um, I ordered barbecued beef.
Customer #3: I think that's mine, but I didn't order fries.
Woman Customer #1: He gets the barbecued beef. Mine's the chili-beef deluxe.
Sarah: Okay, so who gets the burly beef?
Woman Customer #2: Miss, we're ready to order now.
Sarah: Yes, ma'am.
Sarah puts the food on the table, as it drops into the customers' laps.
Customer #2: Ah!
Sarah: I'm so sorry.
"You didn't mean it." Kyle said.
Sarah grabs a cloth and rubs the man's leather jacket to remove the stain.
Sarah: This isn't real leather, is it?
Man 1 (muttering): This special sucks.
A boy dumps ice cream on Sarah's uniform.
Man 2: Nice going, kid. Ought to give you the tip.
Sarah looks at the mark and is disgusted.
Nancy: Look at it this way. In 100 years, who's going to care?
Sarah sighs as The Terminator arrives at Alamo's Sport and Gun Shop. The Terminator goes into the store and tells the employee to grab an autoloader.
The Terminator: The 12-gauge autoloader.
Employee: That's Italian. You can go pump or auto.
The Terminator: The .45 long slide, with laser sighting.
Employee: These are brand new. They just came in. That's a good gun.
"Guns have evolved from the revolver to the rifle to the shotgun to the autoloader." Tony said.
The Terminator loads up the gun.
Employee: You just touch the trigger, the beam comes on, and you put the red dot where you want the bullet to go. You can't miss.
The Terminator raises the gun.
Employee: Anything else?
The Terminator: A phased plasma rifle in the 40-watt range.
Employee: Hey, just what you see, pal.
The Terminator looks at a shotgun above the employee's head.
The Terminator: The Uzi 30mm.
Employee: You know your weapons, buddy.
"He was programmed to." Kyle explained.
Employee: Any one of these is ideal for home defense.
"Or killing somebody." Sarah and Kyle muttered.
Employee: So, uh, which will it be?
The Terminator: All.
Employee: I may close early today. There's a 15-day wait on handguns, but the rifles you can take right now. The Terminator loads the gun. You can't do that.
The Terminator: Wrong.
The Terminator shoots the employee dead. In an alleyway, Kyle cuts off the end of a shotgun and puts on a coat as he cocks the shotgun and walks off into the city. Meanwhile, The Terminator parks on a street corner as a couple is seen walking as The Terminator walks up to a phone booth, seeing a man named Morris talking on the phone.
Morris: Hi, baby. Yeah, yeah, it's me. Listen, I need you to come pick me up. My bike just broke down. I don't care what you're doing. Come and get me. The Terminator pushes Morris out of the way. What the…
Woman on Phone: Morris?
Morris: Hey, man, you got a serious attitude problem.
Terminator opens a phone book to find the name "Connor, Sarah".
"That's how you looked people up in the 1980s." Marty explained.
Woman on Phone: Morris, where are you? Come on, Morris. What are you doing?
In a neighborhood, a little girl plays on a trike on the sidewalk as The Terminator runs over a toy truck and steps out out of the car as a dog is heard barking as The Terminator opens a screen door and knocks on the door. A woman, Sarah Ann Connor, opens the door midway.
The Terminator: Sarah Connor?
Sarah Ann Connor: Yes?
He opens the door and shoots her dead. In the next scene, Sarah walks into the break room.
Sarah: I'm on my break, Chuck. Carl's got my station.
Nancy: Sarah, come here! It's about you. I mean, sort of. Sarah and Nancy walk into the break room. It's so incredible. You're not gonna believe this. Sit down. You are going to love this.
Sarah: What?
She is shushed as a TV is shown, broadcasting a news report.
News Anchor: …has been compiled from several witnesses. Once again, Sarah Connor, 35, mother of two, brutally shot to death in her home this afternoon.
Nancy (to Sarah): You're dead, honey.
Sarah looks at Nancy in shock.
News Anchor: In other late-breaking news, Teamster representatives have issued a statement.
"Thank God I got you before The Terminator got to you." Kyle said.
End of scene.
And that's the end of the chapter. In the next chapter, we will go over the next 17 minutes of The Terminator. (17:00–34:00)