Remember the age of this film, kids
More than 20 years ago (1984?). Laser sights for pistol at that time were science fiction. Laser sights for rifles at this time were about 2 feet long, 4 inches wide and about 6 inches deep. And they were the smallest that could be built with existing technology!
In an interview (when the movie was new), the director made a point of saying the gunshop(pawnshop) scene had deliberate factual errors, (the shotgun ammo on the counter making it simple for the terminator to load) in order to enhance the dramatic content of the scene.
There are a many great scenes in the movie, including the seldom shown penetration of firearms. In the police station, the Terminator shoots the detective through the wall. How often does this happen? Not very often. Common are the scenes of the heroes hiding behind things that are not even remotely bulletproof, and emerging completely unscathed!
Terminator is virtually non stop action. Other than the motel love scene, ( which I think is only there to allow the audience to catch their breath) the entire film drives along with the pace of the relentless killing machine from the future. As much as the special effects, it is the pace of the film that put it in a class by itself when it was released.
FYI, Schwartzenegger was originally considered for the "Kyle Reese" character, but after reading the script, insisted he be the Terminator! Even with the accent, I'd say that one worked pretty well.
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