History YMMV / TheTerminator

* HilariousInHindsight: Before Arnie was cast, James Cameron actually considered Lance Henriksen and O.J. Simpson to portray the killer robot of the title. Henriksen ended up getting a different role in the first movie, but Simpson wasn't cast in the role because Cameron apparently "couldn't imagine such a nice guy playing the part of a ruthless killer" (it can also be a FunnyAneurysmMoment to some). And Henriksen eventially ''did'' wind up playing a human-looking robot in [[Film/{{Aliens}} another James Cameron film]].

* {{Squick}}: John Connor spent his whole friendship with Kyle getting him to fall in love with John's mother so they would have sex and John could exist.

* TheyWastedAPerfectlyGoodPlot: A deleted scene showed Kyle Reese suffering a brief breakdown over being a man out of time, complete with a NoPlaceForMeForThere monologue. Kyle's thoughts and feelings over the world before the war are never touched on in the finished film, which is too bad since it would have added some more depth to him.

* DracoInLeatherPants: The T-800 is a classic example of this trope, gathering so many fans at his debut that it becomes a heroic character in the sequel, as well as giving Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger a rise to stardom. He may be a merciless mass-murdering monster, but something about his massacre at the police station clicked with the anti-authoritarian youth culture of Reagan Era 1980 America. Not to mention that he's actually wearing leather pants for most of the series.#

* RetroactiveRecognition: Bill Paxton as the blue-haired punk in the opening scene.

* DracoInLeatherPants: The T-800 is a classic example of this trope, gathering so many fans at his debut that it becomes a heroic character in the sequel, as well as giving Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger a rise to stardom. He may be a merciless mass-murdering monster, but something about his massacre at the police station clicked with the anti-authoritarian youth culture of Reagan Era 1980 America. Not to mention that he's actually wearing leather pants for most of the series.

* HilariousInHindsight:
** Before Arnie was cast, James Cameron actually considered Lance Henriksen and O.J. Simpson to portray the killer robot of the title. Henriksen ended up getting a different role in the first movie, but Simpson wasn't cast in the role because Cameron apparently "couldn't imagine such a nice guy playing the part of a ruthless killer" (it can also be a FunnyAneurysmMoment to some). And Henriksen eventially ''did'' wind up playing a human-looking robot in [[Film/{{Aliens}} another James Cameron film]].

* NightmareFuel: Just after Kyle blows up the tanker, he and Sarah find each other near the flames where the Terminator collapsed in flames. As they hug each other, thinking it's over... [[OhCrap the skeleton of the T-800 rises up from the wreckage]], all flesh burned away revealing a nightmarish death-skull...
** Essentially the whole reason the film franchise exists based on that one scene, derived from a nightmare Cameron had of an unstoppable skeleton pursuing him.

* NightmareFeul: Just after Kyle blows up the tanker, he and Sarah find each other near the flames where the Terminator collapsed in flames. As they hug each other, thinking it's over... [[OhCrap the skeleton of the T-800 rises up from the wreckage]], all flesh burned away revealing a nightmarish death-skull...

* UncannyValley: T-600s would be easily given away by their rubber skin.

* StrangledByTheRedString: Reese claims to have been in love with Sarah ever since seeing her picture. Sarah is suspicious of him at first, but comes to trust him. Then, thanks to the fast pacing of the movie, [[CoitusEnsues they suddenly have sex]], followed by them being too busy fighting the Terminator to develop their relationship for the rest of the movie. At the end, Sarah says in a recording she's making for her son that she and Reese "loved a lifetime's worth".

** Considering who the star of ''Film/TheDarkKnightSaga'' is, that would make ''Film/BatmanAndRobin'' the SECOND time Arnie's tried to kill Batman.

** Before Arnie was cast, James Cameron actually considered Lance Henriksen and O.J. Simpson to portray the killer robot of the title. Henriksen ended up getting a different role in the first movie, but Simpson wasn't cast in the role because Cameron apparently "couldn't imagine such a nice guy playing the part of a ruthless killer" (it can also be a FunnyAneurysmMoment to some). And let's not forget that Henriksen eventially ''did'' [[{{Franchise/Alien}} wind up playing a human-looking robot in a James Cameron film.]]

* DracoInLeatherPants: The T-800 is a classic example of this trope, gathering so many fans at his debut that it becomes a heroic character in the sequel, as well as giving Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger a rise to stardom.
** Not to mention that he's actually wearing leather pants for most of the series.
*** He may be a merciless mass-murdering monster, but something about his [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome massacre at the police station]] clicked with the anti-authoritarian youth culture of Reagan Era 1980 America.
* HilariousInHindsight: Before Arnie was cast, James Cameron actually considered Lance Henriksen and O.J. Simpson to portray the killer robot of the title. Henriksen ended up getting a different role in the first movie, but Simpson wasn't cast in the role because Cameron apparently "couldn't imagine such a nice guy playing the part of a ruthless killer" (it can also be a FunnyAneurysmMoment to some). And let's not forget that Henriksen eventially ''did'' [[{{Franchise/Alien}} wind up playing a human-looking robot in a James Cameron film.]]

* SpecialEffectFailure: Watch the background when the skeleton rises out of the fire. Someone partially stands and grabs the lever, pulling it down to lift the endoskeleton. There's also the scene when the Terminator preforms open-eye surgery with an incredibly fake Arnold head.
** In fact, Arnold is real. The scalpel, however, has no blade.