Name & Rank: The Terminator

[Neon Ignition]

Cameron Talks "Terminator: Dark Fate" Failure - Dark Horizons
Cameron has had three years to think about Dark Fate's dark fate and believes that ultimately the film failed because you could have Arnie return or you could have Linda return but you couldn't have both because that meant there were too many old people in the film.

......


So, do you agree with his assessment or is a it sign that he doesn't understand the franchises issues either?

Time to rank the films in your preferred order - Listed in release order:

01 - The Terminator
02 - Terminator 2: Judgment Day
03 - Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
04 - Terminator: Salvation
05 - Terminator: Genesys
06 - Terminator: Dark Fate

Which order would you rank them in and why?

[Asura]

1, 2, AND THERE ARE NO OTHERS.

In seriousness, for me, Terminator is like Alien where a subset of the movies are fantastic and what follows, while in some cases entertaining enough daft action movies, is such a step down that arguing among them feels like picking between Double Decker and Caramac bars.

[Dogg Thang]

Okay, here we go:

01 - The Terminator
.
.
(one big drop off)
.
.
02 - Terminator 2: Judgment Day
.
.
06 - Terminator: Dark Fate
04 - Terminator: Salvation
.
.
03 - Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
.
05 - Terminator: Genesys


The original has a tension and grittiness and darkness that none of the others ever captured, or even tried to capture. The Terminator is absolutely relentless and Arnie's power really shines through in that movie. T2 is like a big happy silly popcorn version for young teens. It's a huge amount of fun and well made and I can see why it is so appreciated but, as I've often argued here, it really set in motion everything that isn't so great about the sequels.

After that, things get quite a bit worse. I enjoyed Dark Fate, although I must admit I don't remember much so a rewatch might greatly affect its ranking here. Salvation wins so many points for me for being the only Terminator sequel to attempt being more than a remake of T2 - I honestly think it's a decent scifi film on its own merits, even if it doesn't live up to what people want or expect from a Terminator film.

Terminator 3 is pointless and rubbish. It's a sillier remake of T2, a film that outshines it in every way and so renders 3 utterly pointless. And Genesys had a decent idea at its core but is absolutely ruined by the worst casting for every single character.

[beecee]

near perfect first film
01 - The Terminator

was great in the day, seen it loads, i do prefer the extended cut though.
02 - Terminator 2: Judgement Day

that is it. the rest are just action films.

[Neon Ignition]

01 - Terminator 2: Judgment Day
02 - The Terminator
03 - Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
04 - Terminator: Genesys
05 - Terminator: Dark Fate
06 - Terminator: Salvation


For top choice I have to go with the sequel. It's just great from end to end. The original is its great companion but I just enjoy it less. From the much more dated effects, and simpler plot through to not quite being sold the same as others on the relentless nature of Arnie. At least not to more of an extent than Patrick in T2, T1 is just a little too simple and ropey to work the suspense as well as its less dark sequel but it's by the by as both still make the top spots with ease.

Terminator 3 is next for me. I will still happily bat for it as if you set aside that they made a sequel in the first place (which isn't too unfair to do as pretty much only Back to the Future has ever remained locked into its original entries) and take T3 on its own merits there are two main issues with it. The first is that the film is too similar to T2 however with T1 and T2 already covering both sides of the coin this is an easy one to let pass. The harder one is tone. It's too light in too many places, that action movie tone coming on too strong. However, unlike the other entries it isn't attempting to spawn a dozen more sequels. I like that it takes the approach of making Judgment Day something that is unavoidable, the ending of T2 isn't as neat as it appears and T3 extends that aspect by pushing us on to the more likely outcome. The action sequences in the film are actually quite good, the future sequence at the start is the best looking one, the fake out is good, Arnie is solid in it and the ending is *chef's kiss*. It's a distant third but given we somehow have four attempts at making a Terminator 3 this is the one I'd stand by out of them all.

Terminator Genesys is next. To be honest, the film feels like a further dilution of Terminator 3's lighter tone to the point where it is just an action film. The casting is awful but it's fun, I find it an easy watch and of the T4-T6 attempts are creating a new trilogy this is the one I'd have rather have seen continue if any simply for the action.

Terminator Dark Fate, to be honest, it's not terrible but it's dour and lacks any reason to exist. For all its dismissal of the prior sequels events, it's a regurgitation of T3 and Genesys plot points told less well. Cameron is hugely off base in his assessment of the film, Arnie and Linda are pretty much all that holds this one together in terms of interest. Without them it'd be even more of a shell. Once again, poor casting is a factor and really the film is the least bold of them all. T3 aimed to provide a new conclusion, Salvation to provide a fresh setting and focus, Genesys a semi-reboot allowing for more possibilities. Dark Fate offers none of these, literally just a poorer version of prior efforts.

Terminator Salvation. I agree with the merit points it deserves, to be honest there are none of the films I think are terrible or unwatchable, they simply fail to live up to the bar the first two established. But, ultimately, Salvation is very dour and lacks anything that kind of hooks the way the others at least do in some way.


Looking back, the biggest mistake the studios made was getting cold feet after Genesys. It might have critically not been amazingly well received but it ended on a note where new ideas were possible moving forward and in box office terms it was the second highest grossing in the franchise. They should have held the course with a sequel to that instead of doing Dark Fate.

[QualityChimp]

T1
T2
Genysis
Salvation
Dark Fate
T3

I used to think T2 was the best for ages, because it's just an excellent example of how it takes the first film and just amplifies it to 11.

However, on later reflection, it's the first film that works the best for me.
I've mentioned before that the likes of me and [MENTION=2725]Baseley09[/MENTION] get a lot from small-budget films that do a lot with what they have available.
I like this grittier take, too, with no thumbs-up and so on.
I like how Reece is always on the back foot, never being able to formulate a plan beyond "don't die".
The Terminator is an absolute badass too. I think people can relate to not wanting to take any **** from anyone.
Finally, I totally bought the relationship between Reece and Connor. I felt like I was intruding on a really tender moment between two doomed lovers in their sex scene.

T2 is still mint, though.
I recently bought the 3D version and it's such a thrill ride.
I like how long the film is too - not just rushing from one explosion to the next, but contemplating life and fate too.

I've put Genysis 3rd, but it really is a 2-film franchise.
I really liked the start where it's the same as T1.
I was so convinced, I thought they'd re-used the footage from the first film until the point where not-Paxton says "Nice night for a walk."
I actually liked the story too, with parts of the original film changed to show that they were retconning the story (eliminating the ending of the awful T3). Why was there a T-1000 in 1984? Who programmed Papa?
The twist would have been amazing if they hadn't spoiled it in the trailer. WTF?
Part of the reason why I skip them, now.

Salvation was decent too.
I think setting it in the future was a good decision, allowing for new characters.
Looooved the sequence where we see "Arnold" come out of the T-moulding machine, but it's hilarious as we see his face for 2 seconds and then it's all shots from behind (of his naked behind) because CGI in 2009 was more expensive than Genysis in 2015!
Did you ever read the original ending - crazy bleak but definitely brave!
In the released film,

->Open Spoiler<-

John Connor is lured to SkyNet when it kidnaps Kyle Reece and unknowing cyborg, Marcus, is supposed to lead Connor their to be killed by his own forces when they blow it up.
Connor saves Reece, but it mortally wounded. The film ends with Marcus sacrificing his life by donating his heart to Connor.

The original script would have ended the film on a major cliffhanger with the death of John Connor, with his skin, including his face, being grafted onto Connor's ally, the human-Terminator hybrid Marcus Wright, played by Sam Worthington.
Following Marcus taking on the likeness of John Connor, his Terminator programming would have then activated, leading him to kill Connor's onlooking allies in the Resistance, including Kyle Reese and Connor's wife Katherine. Bloody hell!

This major change would have sent the series in a new trajectory. We'll never know if it would have worked.

Dark Fate was pretty poor.
I liked the enhanced soldier angle and the nanobots thing was OK, but it wasted Sarah Connor by just having her as a relentless grump. They wasted Schwarzenegger even more by just having him as a comedy footnote.

T3 is the worst, IMHO for several reasons.
Firstly, it's pretty forgettable. There's a vet's, there's a fire engine.
The terminator was lame, they turned the walking tank T-800 into the smaller T-1000 in T2, but just saying "let's make it a woman" lacked imagination, IMHO.
Finally, there's that ending, which sits up there with Alien3 as undoing all the good work of the preceding film.
Just rubbish.

[Neon Ignition]

That's why T3 is cheeky, it doesn't actually undo T2's plot but actually cements it. T2's ending is nice and happy but doesn't actually make any sense unless events continue to lead to judgement day in the end ala T3.

Bow before it!

[wakka]

I've only seen up to Salvation and can offer little of value in terms of impressions as I've not watched any of them in many years.

I've long laboured under the view that T2 is the best one, but I'm thinking I probably have that wrong. I think I'm going to sit down and rewatch the first two.

Maybe if I'm feeling really spicy I'll watch the rest of the saga too.

[Cassius_Smoke]

Terminator 2
Terminator



Nothing else exists to me

[Baseley09]

Like many as a kid loved T2, was hysterical leading upto it having seen T1 a few times, was one of my fave movies for many years, even now I've got like 5 versions on Laseridsc from various regions, DVD's and Blurays....but also like many upon adulthood I realised it is a bit....annoying. Don't get me wrong, it's superbly made and has thrills, but compared to the singular horror scifi event of OG T1, its miles off that in my mind. T2 is excellent, just diminished as the years roll on.

I recall coming out of the pictures after seeing Terminator Salvation appalled. Over the years I've come to respect that it treads its own path. I might be more lenient on Genysis if the trailer hadn't ruined the big reveal, absolutely cannot stand Jai Courtney tho.

Terminator
T2
Salvation
T3
Dark Fate
Genesis.

[fuse]

I don't think the drop off is as big as some of you say re: Terminator / T2. I'd say it's almost like Alien / Aliens where I'd certainly understand people coming down on it either way based on genre preference, feelings about whichever one you saw first, and so on.

I don't think I've watched Dark Fate, I remember next to nothing about Salvation, and I'm fairly sure when I saw Genisys I thought it was the best post-T2 entry. T3 is without question the one I remember enjoying the least, but that was perhaps tainted with unfair expectations. I'm still sticking it at the bottom, though.

So I guess I'm at:

The Terminator
Terminator 2: Judgement Day
Terminator: Genisys
Terminator: Salvation
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines

[Finsbury Girl]

Terminator then daylight. As soon as John told the terminator to stop killing people the rest of the movie was dead to me. Have a soft spot for Salvation I must admit T3 was hot garbage and I haven't seen Genisys yet

[QualityChimp]

We need to remember the UK name for Terminator: Genysis is actually Terminator: Mega Dryve.