CHARACTER STUDY A liquid-metal improvement on the original Terminator, the T-1000 is sent from the future to kill John Connor (Edward Furlong) and battle Arnold Schwarzenegger's T-800. In his evildoing, this shape-shifter takes on the form of a coffee-sipping rent-a-cop, a linoleum floor, and his favorite disguise: an aviator-spectacled Los Angeles police officer (Robert Patrick). Scary.

SOUND BYTE Mimicking John Connor's foster mother, who lies dead on the floor: ''John, I've been so worried! If you hurry home, we can have dinner together. I'm making beef stew.''

WHY WE LOVE IT The relentless T-1000 combines a timeless fascination with shape shifting and the technical ability to finally do it right. More than a decade later, audiences still are awed by the liquid metal (witness the excitement over its appearance in a ''T3'' teaser) -- and Robert Patrick (''The X-Files'') is as creepy as ever.