2. Terminator 2: Judgement Day - As much as I love the first one, I will say that I'm personally more entertained by this one. I love Edward Furlong so much - he was so good as a child actor (this and American History X are among my favorite films and performances). The audience instantly falls in love with this smart-ass kid, John Connor, and believes that he's the key to saving the world. I also grew up in Southern California and used to ride my bike and play with my friends in those flood tunnels. It was the perfect place for kids to play! So to see it be a part of an intense chase scene was really cool as a kid. Sarah Connor becomes one of the most iconic female characters of all-time in this, and I love that it starts with her in a mental institution because it feels very realistic (that's what happens to women who tell the truth! Nobody believes them! They are crazy!). But the true genius of this is that Arnold's Terminator is no longer the enemy. It was such a good twist when I first watched it - now it seems so normal, but if you really think back to the first time you watched this it was SO COOL the moment you realize he's not there to kill them. WHAT A TWIST!! Plus, the actual "bad guy" the T-1000, played brilliantly by Robert Patrick, is actually terrifying. The technology and special effects are a MILLION times better than the first one (my husband says this is when "CGI peaked"), and it's also funny! Apparently we watched an extended addition but this is the only version I remember. My husband had not seen it though and was freaking out with every additional scene. LOL.
3. Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines - This was extremely shocking to me because I assumed the 3rd movie was bad. Most 3rd movies of franchises are bad. I remember it being bad. BUT IT'S NOT. I don't think it's great, but it's still a super fun watch with a shocking, unexpected, brutal-as-fuck ending. And if Eddie reprised his role???? It would have been another 4 star banger. I also think Claire Danes is a bit of a miscast, but probably made sense in 2003. She was more of a movie star then with Romeo + Juliet being such a big hit (I've never been the biggest Claire Danes fan - she's a good crier and that's about it, but also I would not describe her as a "movie" star now, she is definitely a TV queen, though). I also think the "bad guy" in this is a bit weak - if you get a woman to do it, she needs to be an actual badass - not some petite Baywatch looking young girl. Like, Michelle Rodriguez would have been great. I would have believed it! But overall, I was shockingly entertained. I like the story, some of the chase sequences are outstanding, and like I said, the ending really hits hard. Just superb.
4. Terminator Salvation - It's tough to continue the story after such a brutal ending from the 3rd one, but I remember being really excited for this when it was released. It was my first Terminator movie that I saw in the theater (I was too young for the first two, and I don't think I even watched the 3rd one until years after release). I remember that I liked it, but I thought Christian Bale was awful, and I was confused by the timeline. It definitely helps watching this right after watching the first 3 as far as the timeline is concerned, but also this one is where the timeline starts to get really muddled. It takes place in the future after the nuclear bomb explodes and the machines have taken over, and we see an adult John Connor (played by Bale - absolutely excruciating in this role) and we see a teenage Kyle Reese (who is Connor's father) played by Anton Yelchin (RIP), which is already confusing. And then they add a new character - the surprising highlight because Sam Worthington is actually good in this! There's also Bryce Dallas Howard - who is supposed to be an older Claire Danes?? Weird. The cast is definitely hit-or-miss. Plus, no Arnold (the digital cameo doesn't count). I think McG does a good job with the post-apocalyptic universe vibe, but also it's very colorless and the shaky cam becomes very grating. It just kind of feels like it's in a different universe from the first 3, there's no humor or campiness. But it certainly isn't a bad movie, just...different.
5. Terminator Genisys - Personally, I think this is the only bad one of the bunch, which is quite a feat with a total of 6 movies (so far!). And by bad, I mean average - I rated 2.5 stars. There's a lot of things that I don't like about it. First of all, the CGI is described as "ground breaking" - I'm guessing it's described that way because of all the de-aging tech used (and this was early days de-aging tech), but NO THANK YOU! I hate it now and I hated it then. I would prefer them to cast younger actors than to de-age someone. It always looks bad. Second, the timeline for this is really confusing because it's an "alternate" timeline - so not only do we need to follow a linear past/present/future timeline, but now we have this side timeline too??? WHY??? There's still a lot of story you can tell with the REGULAR timeline! Third, Emilia Clarke as Sarah Connor is probably one of my least favorite casting decisions of all time. I mean, I'm glad they didn't just use a de-aged Linda Hamilton, but at least find someone with Hamilton's essence?? Clarke is so dull! Fourth, the John Connor "twist" is utterly ridiculous - they are trying to pull off the Arnold twist in T2, and it just doesn't work at all. The film really takes a steep decline with this reveal. FIFTH (!!), I hate Jai Courtney AND Matt Smith, sooooo UGH to both of them in this. Okay, I think I'm done with all the reasons I hated it. The positives are - Lee Byung-hun as a T-1000 (LOVE HIM!!), Arnold is BACK, and J.K. Simmons says one of my favorite lines of the whole franchise ("Goddamn time traveling robots!" - it's the way he says it.). I also think some of the effects are strong, and the chase sequences are always on point. I think I actually liked it better with this rewatch (again, this is definitely a franchise that benefits from watching them close together otherwise I think it's just too confusing).
6. Terminator: Dark Fate - When I first decided to rewatch all of the Terminator films, I thought this one would rank 3rd. I really liked it when I first watched it. Solid 3 star movie (meaning higher end 3 star - almost 3.5). I still think that, but I do think T3 is more in the spirit of the films (they seem to get too serious after T3. Camp is good when it's done well! I wish they kept more of the campiness.). And honestly, I went into this franchise rewatch thinking that I would only enjoy the first 2 and this one, and that's completely wrong - I actually had a lot of fun watching all of them. But the real highlight with this one is that I love seeing Arnold and Linda Hamilton together again - and Hamilton is SO GOOD in this. It almost makes you forget about the Emilia Clarke fiasco. I'm also a big fan of Mackenzie Davis - and I think this is a good example of a woman who doesn't necessarily look tough, but she IS. She has that essence about her that you don't want to fuck with. I'm not a fan of the woman who seems to be taking over the franchise, though. She's very weak in this - and not believable in the role of the next "savior" character. That whole plot is dumb, and again, it's creating a completely different timeline?? I think?? I'm so confused. Anyway, I think Arnold does a great job in this as an older Terminator - he's taking care of a mother and her son, after realizing that killing people is wrong. His line reading of "And I'm extremely funny" is still hilarious. I'm really hoping that the next one brings back Edward Furlong! I think he's doing good now! Give him another chance! The fans would LOVE it.
Ranking:
The Terminator
T2
T3
Dark Fate
Salvation
Genisys
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