Terminator Speed Art and Film Ranking
Today I am gonna rank all 6 films in the Terminator films, from worst to best. I know a lot of people are calling this franchise dead after the last few films, but I'm not gonna let anyone’s opinion change my own, and without any further ado, let's get to the rankings.
6. Terminator Salvation
In last place is Terminator Salvation. Okay, so I see some people giving this film points for trying something different, unfortunately, what it tries isn't really good. This is probably one of the most boring films I have ever seen, and I've had to watch many bad films on this and the other channels, but at least some bad films are interesting, Salvation is just dull. Now there are some good parts, I think Christian Bale and Sam Worthington do a good job in the film, and Anton Yelchin is a great young Kyle Reese, but the action feels generic and the soundtrack feels like a roided-up re-tread of the previous films, so even though some of the concepts, machines, and CGI on display are good, I just don't find it very captivating. Also, it bothers me that the future looks nothing like the flash-forward scenes we saw in the previous films, but that's enough said about this film, let's move on.
5. Terminator Genisys
Number 5 is gonna be Terminator Genisys. So I wanted so much to like this film when it first came out, it brought back Arnie and was promised to feel like more of an action spectacle, but it was just a little too convoluted and relied too heavily on past films to justify its existence. The first part, which more or less follows the 1984 film with added Terminators, including an older T-800, reprogrammed to protect Sarah Connor, and I'm not gonna lie it's fun to see him take on a younger Arnie and another T-1000, but once they go into the future the film falls flat for me. While I appreciate them doing something different with John Connor, the whole “he's a Terminator” plot feels a little janky, although I do like the final battle with him and the T-800 at the end. So all in all, it's not the worst Terminator movie for me, but I can't see myself choosing to watch it over the next few on the list.
4. Terminator: Dark Fate
So this next film is quite a bit better than Genisys, although it has its own problems, so coming in at number 4 is Terminator: Dark Fate. I feel the same way about Dark Fate as I do I Halloween 2018, it's competently directed, it forgets a bunch of sequels that the fans have learned to accept, it features a bad-ass older lady kicking butt, and it promised to be a new evolution in the franchise but mostly feels like a re-tread of the previous films. Now a lot of people complain that killing John Connor was what was wrong with this entry, but I feel like it was killing John Connor to then just give his role of man-kinds savior to a new person is what felt cheap. They could have had his death mean something, but they choose to just have him be replaceable. With that said, the music, the acting, and the CGI – especially the de-aging effects at the start – are really good, it's unfortunate that it's basically a beat-for-beat remake of T2 but with a new leader because all the ingredients for a great Terminator are here, it just doesn't feel right. With that said my ex-girlfriend who I dragged to the theatre to see this liked it quite a bit, probably more than myself, so it definitely has its defenders.
3. Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
And rounding out the top 3 is number 3 itself, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. So it may be nostalgia, as I was maybe 12 when this came out, but I have a lot of fun with T3, sure it's a little goofy and feels like T2 but in the daylight, but there's a certain charm to the film that I just like. Jonathon Mostow took over the directing reigns – he also directed Surrogates with Bruce Willis, which I feel is a little underrated – and yeah T3 feels a little more workman quality and lacks the keen eye from James Cameron, but Arnie gives it his all and I think Nick Stahl does a pretty good job as John Connor. This is also the only film that feels like a proper progression for the series, the first one was about the Terminator hunting down Sarah Connor, the second was about a Terminator hunting down her young son, and this one is about a Terminator hunting down a grown-up John Connor and his wife. I also think Kristanna Loken does a great job as the T-X, she plays her with a certain grace and underlying menace. So yeah, this one I still toss on from time to time, so if you have avoided all the T2 sequels like the plague, this one I recommend.
2. The Terminator
So at this point in the list, like most rankings of this franchise, the top two are almost always between T1 and T2, and I was pretty close to placing them differently but in the number two spot, I'm gonna have to go with The Terminator. It's a little by the book as far as slasher films go, but the greater world that it shows beyond its scope and the amazing performances by Linda Hamilton, Michael Biehn, and Arnold Schwarzenegger elevate it to nearly fine art. The soundtrack is also hauntingly simplistic but perfectly fitted for the movie, the stand-out scene is probably the disco-tech showdown, but really it's a pretty seamless film that does a lot with its premise and no scene feels out of place. On top of the action, sci-fi, and slasher goodness you have a really well-done romance between Kyle and Sarah that somehow feels fully realized, even though they only spend a couple of days together. All in all, this is probably one of those lightning-in-a-bottle movies that you can't really recapture, but you can expand on it and that's exactly what the next entry does so well.
Terminator 2: Judgement Day
Coming in at number 1 is Terminator 2: Judgement Day. Somehow James Cameron is able to take his simplistic sci-fi slasher film and follow it up with maybe one of the best action movies of all time. Instead of a romance, you have a father-son story between the reprogrammed T-800 and John Connor, and a new Terminator hunting him down, the T-1000. The T-1000 is probably my favorite Terminator, every sequel since this one has sort of been trying to one-up on his abilities but they just come off as gimmicky, while this feels natural and essential to the story. Robert Patrick does a great job in the role and Linda Hamilton is completely bad-ass and probably my favorite take on Sarah Connor to date. Everything here just feels bigger and better visually and it still holds up perfectly to this day, I saw the 3-D re-release they did a few years back and it really is a timeless film. So if you haven't somehow seen the first 2 or maybe 3 Terminator films, give them a binge I think they're always worth a watch.
So what did you guys think of my rankings? Do you agree or do you have your own opinions about the franchise? Feel free to leave your thoughts down below. Subscribe to Tell It Animated and Tell It Aaron on YouTube if you’d like to see more videos on your favorite film franchices!