# A Brief History of Terminator Movies \[spoilers for all movies\]

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-brief-history-of-terminator-movies-spoilers-for-all-movies/839519>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [August 31, 2019, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-brief-history-of-terminator-movies-spoilers-for-all-movies/839519 "2019-08-31T14:53:44Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 5\
**Page:** 4

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**Author:** ![DWMarch](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwmarch/32/1010_2.png) [@DWMarch](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DWMarch)\
**Post date:** [November 12, 2019, 5:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-brief-history-of-terminator-movies-spoilers-for-all-movies/839519/61 "2019-11-12T05:45:48Z")

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> [@muldoonthief](#):
>
> Considering that the T-1000 took multiple different human forms with significantly varying volumes, including the somewhat bulky Don (or Dan?) Stanton, it must either be able to change its own density, or have voids inside it’s structure.

This is shown to some degree in Genisys, with hints that the T-1000 is reconfiguring itself internally to avoid damage:

1st encounter: Kyle shoots it in the head with a revolver, stops it cold for a minute.  
2nd encounter: Sarah shoots in in the head with a Desert Eagle, slows it down for a few seconds.  
3rd encounter: Kyle empties an M4 assault rifle into its head, it gives him a dirty look and walks away.

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**Author:** ![ebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/c57346/32.png) [@ebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ebb)\
**Post date:** [November 12, 2019, 3:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-brief-history-of-terminator-movies-spoilers-for-all-movies/839519/62 "2019-11-12T15:20:04Z")

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> [@Chronos](#):
>
> And I suspect that an incomplete T1000 would just leave a hollow space inside so that, superficially, the disguise would continue to hold.

And that hollow space… was his heart.

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**Author:** ![Quimby](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/q/22d042/32.png) [@Quimby](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Quimby)\
**Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 2:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-brief-history-of-terminator-movies-spoilers-for-all-movies/839519/63 "2019-11-13T02:35:00Z")

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I saw it and yeah wow that was not good. Boring villains. Basically Terminator 1 + 2 who is completely invulnerable until he isn’t because the movie is almost over. Boring heroes. The savior of humanity hands a gun back to a starving creep who was about to murder a kid or worse and instead of shooting her in the face, starts worshipping her after a bad speech because the script says so. Boring action . Just boring all around.

The only interesting idea was the idea of a Terminator that actually fulfilled its mission and learns to feel remorse for what it did and the movie hardly does anything with it. I would have liked to see a movie about a Sara Conner enraged by vengeance hunting a Terminator that refuses to kill because it learned it was wrong.

I guess back to the drawing board and in a few years they will try again.

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**Author:** ![digs](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/digs/32/14889_2.png) [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)\
**Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-brief-history-of-terminator-movies-spoilers-for-all-movies/839519/64 "2019-11-13T04:28:05Z")

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I just walked in the door from seeing it on Cheap Movie Tuesday. Wife asked how it was and I answered “Well, it was worth five bucks. If I’d paid six, I’d be resenting it.”

I wanted mindless action with a few interesting characters, a few one-liners and a few nice touches. And a big bag of popcorn. That’s exactly what I got.

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**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\
**Post date:** [November 13, 2019, 3:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-brief-history-of-terminator-movies-spoilers-for-all-movies/839519/65 "2019-11-13T15:31:37Z")

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Not the greatest film. Good use of Linda Hamilton and Arnold but in a weak effort.

Only 8 hours afters seeing it, I’ve already spotted more flaws than in The Terminator after 30+ years. To quote another famous move, "Did IQs just drop sharply while I was away?” There’s just too much stupidity that is partially masked by the action.

But the biggest thing would be some hint of exposition as to how the terminator\* worked. Are the nano-skin and metal chassis fully independent? Are there limitations to what the bot skin can not do (like heavy lifting, tearing down doors) without the chassis? Because it was not clear. It wasn’t even clear when the two were separated or together…

Interesting bit - the trailers before the movie were an odd lot. Not what I would normally think would be linked with an actioner. Until my friend pointed out they were all strong female “empowerment” type films.

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so, in the new alternate future of 2040 why are they still called “terminators”? They aren’t the same thing. They don’t do the same job.

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