Still holds up over 30 years later

Rating: 9/10 (11 June 2016)

I just re-watched this movie; the last time I saw it was approximately 1987. For a 1984 production, this is superb science fiction. The Terminator, like Blade Runner, represents the best of the early '80s and even today has not really been surpassed despite decades of advances in CGI, digital processing, etc.
The Terminator robot behaves more or less as one might expect. James Cameron is intelligent enough not to ruin the movie by anthropomorphizing the robot, in other words making it display emotions and behave too humanly. It's a computer created by computers, and acts accordingly. Arnold Schwarzenegger was at his physical peak and did a superb job conveying the sheer evil that this machine represents.
Sarah and Kyle were well played. She was an "average girl" working at a busy family restaurant and dating mediocre guys in her spare time. We watch her grow into the strong soldier that she must become to defeat not only the Terminator but to raise a revolutionary hero who will save humanity.
Kyle came across as a soldier who is very good at his profession, but has little exposure to the finer things, having grown up in a horrible post-apocalyptic world. He finally softens and opens up to Sarah, sparking a love affair that is heartbreakingly brief.
You can enjoy the Terminator and simply ignore the fact that there are sequels. #2 is not bad, but quite superfluous and contradictory to the first movie in which it was made clear that "no one goes home, and no one else comes through" the time machine which was smashed by the humans. The first movie is an epic story and needs no sequels. But #2 is fun if you must see a little more Arnold-as-robot.