In a post-apocalyptic future, a powerful artificial intelligence system, Skynet, becomes self-aware and decides to destroy humanity. A lone Terminator, a cybernetic organism (played by Arnold Schwarzenegger), is sent back in time to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor, the mother of John Connor, the future leader of the human resistance. A soldier, Kyle Reese (played by Michael Biehn), is also sent back in time to protect Sarah and ensure the survival of humanity.