The Terminatorseries has received its fair share of criticism, but there have been some truly great moments in the franchise afterTerminator 2: Judgment Day. While the original 1984 movie and itsall-time great sequelstand as the series’s pinnacle, like Skynet itself, it’s never dormant for long, as soft reboots and follow-ups continue to shape its legacy.
Messy timelines and confusing retcons aside,theTerminatorfranchisestands as one of the most acclaimed and successful sci-fi series of all time. While audiences didn’t like misguided story decisions, liketurning John Connor into a villain,it’s important to give the later installments credit for the things they got right.
6Linda Hamilton Is A True Badass In Terminator: Dark Fate
Sarah Connor has always been one of the most fascinating characters in theTerminatorfranchise. WhileLinda Hamilton gave iconic performances in the first two movies, she was recast with Lena Headey in the TV seriesTerminator: The Sarah Connor Chroniclesand Emilia Clarke inTerminator Genisys.
This meant that by the timeTerminator: Dark Fatewas released, it had been 28 years since we saw Hamilton portray the legendary heroine, and this long-awaited return didn’t disappoint. Not only did Hamilton re-emerge as the battle-ready warrior we’d missed sinceT2, but she also had an aged cynicism that made her all the more badass.
As an unapologetically blunt protagonist, it was clear Sarah had been dealing with the impact of Skynet since 1984, and she didn’t sugarcoat anything or waste any time taking on her enemies. Hamilton was the best thing aboutDark Fate, and her inclusion proved there was still potential in this franchise yet.
5Terminator Salvation Actually Spent Time In The Post-Apocalyptic Timeline
Since the very firstTerminatormovie, we had been given bleak explanations of what the post-apocalyptic society in a post-Judgment Day world looks like. However,Terminator Salvationis the only movie that lets us spend extended time in this world and explores humanity under the subjugation of Skynet.
Terminator Salvationtraded the urban chase sequences of previous installments for a dusty, bombed landscape where the last remnants of humanity struggle to survive in the obliterated ruins of civilization. This installment had its own stylistic identity and wasn’t simply trying to retread past glories like so many other sequels in the series.
By giving usa more direct look at John Connor’s role in the resistance,Terminator Salvationshows audiences why his birth was so essential and just how catastrophic it would be if Skynet managed to retroactively stop him from ever being born. With this,Terminator Salvationfinally depicts what had previously only been implied in the franchise.
4Terminator Genisys Saw Kyle, Sarah, And The T-800 Fight Alongside Each Other
In all other installments in theTerminatorseries, the trio of Kyle Reese, Sarah Connor, and T-800 were either separated across different timelines or fighting on opposite sides in the war with Skynet. However,Terminator Genisysbrought them all together to fight alongside each other for the very first time.
This was an exciting aspect ofTerminator Genisys’sreimagining of the series lore thatflipped the dynamic of Kyle and Sarah on its head. Here, Sarah has the expertise and leadership, rather than being the damsel in distress we met in the original film, and it’s Kyle and the T-800 known as Pops who must adapt to her plans.
With a protective father-daughter bond between Sarah and Pops, Kyle was forced to rethink his relationship with machines as he was now compelled to fight alongside one. It’s easy to point out the plot holes and inconsistencies ofGenisys, but it at least gave us this interesting new dynamic between this unlikely trio.
3Arnold Schwarzenegger Still Delivers In Terminator 3: Rise Of The Machines
When people think of Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator, they generally imagine his acclaimed performances in the first two films. Yet, inTerminator 3: Rise of the Machines, Schwarzenegger was still young enough to reprise the role without his advanced age making it less convincing, like inGenisysorDark Fate.
As a brooding, determined, and stoic presence,Schwarzenegger’s portrayal of a reprogrammed T-850sent back in time by the resistance to protect John Connor and Kate Brewster was just as believable as his villainous version back in 1984. Despite being a bit older, Schwarzenegger still looked like a machine built for combat.
Even witty one-liners like “Talk to the hand” aligned well with the campy humor of the first two movies, and despite some narrative issues,Terminator 3felt like a worthy continuation of the franchise. Schwarzenegger’s action scenes were top-tier, and watching him face off against the female-presenting T-X Terminator was one of the series' best sequences.
2Terminator: Dark Fate Respected The Franchise’s Legacy
WhileTerminator: Dark Fatemay have bombed at the box office, it stands as the best entry in the series sinceTerminator 2: Judgment Day. With James Cameron back as a producer and story contributor, this release stuck closer to the style and tone of the original movies and felt like it understood and respected the legacy of those films.
Bringing Linda Hamilton back as Sarah Connor made this feel like a sequel that was actually trying to get things right.Terminator: Dark Fatewas also rated R for violence and didn’t try and tone down the mature edge of this franchise to artificially try and appeal to more viewers.
Arnold Schwarzenegger’s advanced age was also incorporated in a natural way, asthis version of the T-800 went by the name Carland had integrated into society. With complex emotional relationships, Carl’s characterization forced us to ask questions about machines' ability to feel empathy and felt like the natural continuation of the emotional development seen inT2.
1Terminator Salvation At Least Tried To Move On From Arnold Schwarzenegger
For all its faults, nobody can deny thatTerminator Salvationactually tried something new and took major risks with this franchise. As a series that’s always had the iconic legacy of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s unmatched performance hanging over it, this was the only film that made a real effort to move on.
By shifting the focus to a post-Judgment Day timeline and having Christian Bale as the new John Connor,Terminator Salvationwas a story about resistance leaders and the challenges of adapting to life during wartime.Showcasing Skynet’s rule without relying on Schwarzenegger’s presenceallowed the series to expand its mythology in a way we hadn’t seen before.
While Schwarzenegger’s digital likeness did briefly appear, this was more a symbolic nod to the series' past than a main focus.Terminator Salvationmay not have lived up to audience expectations, but it deserves credit for trying to take the franchise in a new direction and not continually retreading past glory.
