Ranking all the Terminator films from worst to best
James Cameron’s The Terminator (1984) was praised for its smart concept and effective use of its micro-budget to deliver a relentless (and quite violent) science fiction actioner. Released during the mid-80s was an opportunity for plenty of filmmakers to make more genre related content as opposed to the more social justice thematically filled 70s. Armed with a menacing performance from the Austrian behemoth, Arnold Schwarzenegger, the film showcased a race against time to keep Linda Hamilton’s Sarah Connor alive from the meagre in comparison Michael Biehn against a powerful and unstoppable foe. Come with me if you want to live makes sense indeed.
Like any other property of the 80s though, its success led to a plethora of sequels, prequels, and reboots to no one’s desire denigrating the once mighty franchise into almost direct-to-video territory despite copious amounts of dollars being thrown in. Between 1984 and 2019, the Terminator flicks have basically taken the original’s idea and attempted to blend modern day politics, subpar special effects, dull car chases, and culled violence. To add insult to the injury, each entry introduced a pointless rectification in the once straightforward story of Skynet trying to kill John Connor generating more plot holes, less intrigue and laughable dialogue delivered by miscast actors (Christian Bale, Mackenzie Davis, Nick Stahl, Emilia Clarke), excessive CGI, and farcical direction. Worst of all is the lack of relatable characters - who can remember Sam Worthington’s character today? - and Arnie’s T-800 who by the third film had become a moving parody (“Talk to the hand”).
Reception
Budget and box office
Setting: L.A. (x3), San Francisco (x2), Livingston, Mexico City, Laredo,
Terminator models: T-800, T-1000, T-X, T-5000, Rev-9
Most successful entry: Terminator 2: Judgment Day - $517 million
Most expensive entry: Terminator: Salvation - $200 million
Highest critical score: Terminator - 84 at Metacritic
Lowest critical score: Terminator: Genisys - 38 at Metacritic
Highest IMDB score: Terminator 2: Judgment Day - 86
Lowest IMDB score: Terminator: Dark Fate - 62
6. Terminator: Dark Fate (2019)
A trainwreck from start to finish, Dark Fate was marketed as a direct sequel to T2 hyping the fans with its Hamilton-Arnie reunion. However, the woke script (yes!) attempts to mirror the back-then US politics leading to disastrous results. In addition, it wastes Sarah Connor and erases T2’s well-deserved ending by killing John in order to replace him with a forgettable Latina who has to cross the border (illegally) to save mankind (get it?). Lines such as “Dani, you are not the mother of some man who saves the future. You are the future.“ are in bad taste while the murky, CG action, copy-paste theatrics from T2, and the absurd use of T-800 as a carpet salesman make this the worst Terminator movie and a strong case of how movies from 1991 are thematically and technically superior to those of 2019.
Chase
🚗
Action
🎬
Quality
👌
Characters
🌟
AI threat
🤖
Best moment: None.
5. Terminator: Genisys (2015)
After the plank of wood that was Sam Worthington in Salvation, fellow countryman Jai Courtney took over the reigns of the human hero fighting Skynet. A hybrid reboot/sequel of Cameron’s own T2, Genisys wants to be too many things at the same time. But the dominant Marvel like humor - having T-800 being called Pops is a tad too much, an unconvincing Emilia Clarke as a chubby Sarah Connor, the lack of chemistry with Courtney’s love interest and a final twist spoiled in the poster grounds Genisys as a bad Terminator movie whose sole existence is to rip off its better predecessors. One of the few positives is Alan Taylor’s solid action despite of varying quality effects and Lee Byung-hun’s charismatic but criminally short turn as the new T-1000.
Chase
🚗🚗
Action
🎬
Quality
👌👌
Characters
🌟
AI threat
🤖
Best moment: T-1000’s inventive ways of using his skills.
4. Terminator: Salvation (2009)
Continuing the PG-13 rating trend to sell more tickets, Salvation managed to do the exact polar opposite. While it is competently crafted and directed by McG (Charlie’s Angels (2000)), it lacks sophistication. This generic looking post-apocalyptic dystopia is seen in many films of similar themes (Book of Eli (2010) comes to mind) and if it did not had the Terminator name on it, nobody would care. The Christopher Nolan visuals hurt the movie while the underwhelming cast fails to register particularly when they have blunt lines. Sam Worthington’s mysterious character adds nothing to the mythos and Bale for all his acting glory is utterly miscast, remembered more for his DoP rant than his presence. As for that CGI Arnie cameo, forget it!
Chase
🚗🚗🚗
Action
🎬🎬🎬
Quality
👌👌👌
Characters
🌟
AI threat
🤖
Best moment: A bloodless car chase is well-put together with cool sound mixing.
3. Terminator: Rise of the Machines (2003)
Treated too harshly initially, T3 is Citizen Kane (1941) in comparison to the later installments. Slapped with a numbing PG-13 rating and lame jokes hurt T3’s big budget scope, destruction and bonkers, almost cartoonish action. Director Jonathan Mostow is solid even though he can’t capture the tension Cameron had in the first two entries. While having a “female” terminator in Kristanna Loken is an interesting idea, its design is sloppy. So we are left with a film in search of an identity operating on auto-pilot and relying exclusively on set-pieces than heart except in its final twenty minutes where things take a much needed dramatic turn. Yet, its lengthy car chase, the terminator fight, some awesome animatronics and Arnold’s last role before politics are pure highlights.
Chase
🚗🚗🚗🚗
Action
🎬🎬🎬🎬
Quality
👌👌👌
Characters
🌟🌟
AI threat
🤖🤖
Best moment: The highly expensive crane chase that demolishes buildings, tracks, police cars and more.
2. Terminator (1984)
James Cameron’s nifty idea of time travel to prevent the birth of mankind’s savior by killing his mother has an unnerving first half where Schwarzenegger’s robot kills people and targets with zero remorse. It’s a machine after all. So naturally, in the second half, the story is transformed into in a chase maximizing its small budget to give us so many iconic moments and lines. From “Come to me if you want to live” to “Sarah Connor?” and the assault on the police station, The Terminator remains a quintessential 80s movie, a timeless science fiction piece commenting sharply on humanity’s race to wipe itself out due to its infatuation with so-called progress (ie, AI). Linda Hamilton is fantastic, Biehn kicks ass but it is Arnie who create another icon of cinema after his Conan the Barbarian(1982) turn.
Chase
🚗🚗🚗
Action
🎬🎬🎬
Quality
👌👌👌👌👌
Characters
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
AI threat
🤖🤖🤖🤖🤖
Best moment: The reveal of T-800’s true form, nightmare fuel for the audiences of that time.
1. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
The ultimate science fiction movie, the best action flick of all time, and the most worthy sequel in cinema history are some of the characterizations of James Cameron’s monumental follow up to the first film. Organically expanding a finished story, T2 showcases how a director can deliver the goods through a witty script that plays against expectations. Ironically the new Terminator takes the form of a cop in all of its liquid metal, shape-shifting glory, a jaw dropping effect still to this day leading to exhilarating action with bikes, helicopters, trucks and lots of explosions. However, it is never done at the expense of the characters’ authenticity: Furlong’s attitude, Arnie’s cool apathy, Linda Hamilton’s ferocity who redefined action heroines and Robert Patrick’s T-1000’s cold stare are staples of cinema history. Hasta La Vista, Baby!
Chase
🚗🚗🚗🚗🚗
Action
🎬🎬🎬🎬🎬
Quality
👌👌👌👌👌
Characters
🌟🌟🌟🌟🌟
AI threat
🤖🤖🤖🤖🤖
Best moment: That thumbs up makes a grown man cry.