The Terminator is a 1984 American science fiction action film directed by James Cameron, written by Cameron and Gale Anne Hurd and produced by Hurd. It stars Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator, a cybernetic assassin sent back in time from 2029 to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton), whose unborn son will one day save mankind from extinction by Skynet, a hostile artificial intelligence in a post-apocalyptic future. Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn) is a soldier sent back in time to protect Sarah.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Terminator
Well it was the 80s and standards for special effects were a lot lower. Nobody expected this to be a huge hit let alone spawn a franchise, and it had a pretty modest budget. Nevertheless I like this one a lot better better than the second, and I haven't even seen the others.
Same, same...