Do we like them?

Do we like Sarah Connor?

A character from The Terminator (1984)

Our score: 9 out of 10. Yes. She starts out ordinary and scared, then proves tough, resourceful and brave enough to protect the world's future. We'd back her all the way.

In 1984 Los Angeles, Sarah Connor is a young waitress with a normal life and ordinary worries. Then a relentless cyborg assassin arrives from the future and starts hunting women who share her name. She has no idea why, and no training for any of it.

Her appeal is how she grows under pressure. She is frightened and out of her depth at first, but she is quick to adapt, stays stubborn and doesn't freeze. Over the film she moves from victim to fighter, and the story is built around that change.

She scores a 9 because she is brave, decent and determined, and what she does is mostly protective. Her story is high-stakes and often grim, so she isn't a flawless saint. But she is someone we'd gladly follow into a fight.