A cyborg assassin (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is sent back in time from 2029 to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor (a particularly badass Linda Hamilton), whose unborn son is fated to become humanity’s savior against machines bent on mankind’s extermination. Inspired by an illness-induced dream where a metallic torso dragged itself from an explosion while holding a kitchen knife, The Terminator launched director James Cameron’s blockbuster career and solidified Schwarzenegger’s place in the pantheon of action stars. It also spawned a multimedia franchise that includes four sequels (only one of which rivals – and some say exceeds – the original). But the film is as thematically rich as it is filled with bloody mayhem. Skynet, the self-aware artificial intelligence network that brought ruin to humanity, has entered the lexicon as a warning against the proliferation of AIs and the potential threat they pose humanity – not in fiction but in real life. Hamilton’s role as Connor is one of cinema’s iconic female action stars, an attribute cemented in the sequel where she further holds her own against the machine onslaught. Before Arnold was back, he arrived.