Series Review: Terminator

Back in the year 1984, I was just a 10-year-old with a love of science fiction and fantasy with a dad that was cool enough to take me to R-rated movies as long I pleaded for long enough.  One of these films was, of course, the Terminator.  Although the movie was really just a fancied-up action film, the presence of a robot antagonist was enough to have me enthralled. 

When another film came out seven years later, I was right there at the movies (along with millions of others) and came out smiling. But unfortunately, all good things must come to an end.  The franchise went away for some time and when it returned it wasn't quite the same.  Today, I will attempt to break down the four existing movies and examine a bit why they got steadily worse with each subsequent production.

Terminator (1984) 

The first Terminator film follows a simple story with a science-fiction premise. There is a race of machines that has taken over the world in the future, but they have been overthrown by a human hero. In order to stop that hero, they send one of their own back in time to kill his mother, Sarah Connor, before he’s ever born. To thwart the machines’ plans, the humans do the same, although their agent is sent back to protect the mother.  Many action scenes and chases ensue until the final clash between human and human-looking robot killing machine.

The first in the series was directed by James Cameron and also happened to have him as one of the writers. This is one of the reasons that a film with such a basic story line (albeit made more complicated by the sci-fi spin) managed to become such a classic. The design of the terminator has become ingrained as iconic and Arnold Schwarzenegger will forever be known for his role in the film.  It may not be a masterpiece of complex storytelling, but it’s the simplicity that really allows the film to be so great.  Never has a hunt-and-kill action film been as fun.

Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) 

The second installment in the franchise brings back Sarah Connor, this time with her young and destined son, John Connor.  They've been hiding out in the jungle, mother training son to be a bad-ass for the day when everything goes to hell.  Upon returning to the city, they have to face yet another attempt by the machines to kill the Connors, this time using a more advanced, shape-shifting version of the terminator.  In order to combat this one, future John sends back another Arnie-type terminator to help his past self survive.  While they run from the bad guy, Sarah decides that the best way to stop the machines from ever destroying the world is to kill the people involved in the rise of Skynet, the machines’ leader-brain. More chases, more action and a final showdown between new and old model terminators.

Again James Cameron co-wrote and directed the film and again it turned out pretty well.  Many claim this to be superior to the first film, but after rewatching it I can say that there are certain points where it falls into the routine of the cliché action film.  The chases, while they must have been thrilling at the time, leave me yawning.  The story is the most compelling part of the film but Cameron seems to prefer spending more time with the action, taking away from the script’s greatest strength.  Still, it’s a good entry into the overall franchise.

Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003) 

The third film picks up sometime later, with the timeline slightly changed due to the events of the second film.  But Skynet isn't done yet.  This time around, it’s the same story of sending a robot back in time to kill important people, but the targets are anyone involved with John Connor’s successful future revolution (along with John and his wife, of course).  Again the Arnie-bot is sent back to protect John and again we get a fair share of chases, action and a final confrontation.  This time, however, the end of the movie isn't a pleasant one.

After waiting 12 years for the franchise to continue, people were seriously disappointed with Terminator 3.  And while I can not fault them that, I do appreciate the underlying story that this movie tried to tell.  The message that fate is inevitable and all you can do it prepare for it is a strong one and again, if they’d just cut back on the action-theme of the flick and gone more with the story, it could have turned out great.  As it stands, it’s not necessarily the worst in the series, but it has a close run with the next and final Terminator film.

Terminator Salvation (2009) 

Because everyone demanded it, the Terminator franchise finally has its time during the man vs. machine war of the future.  In this one, we follow John Connor as he makes his rise through the rebel ranks to become their leader and enact his destiny as savior of the human race.  He is forced to save his father from getting killed (so he can go back and knock-up his mother) and has to ally with what is one of the first terminator flesh-and-machine prototypes, a man who doesn't really know what he is.  The resistance is lured into a trap and must fight against the forces of Skynet in order to survive long enough to finally win the war.

Ironically enough, the fourth film stars Christian Bale (an amazing actor), has great special effects and design, and even features a soundtrack by the over-talented Danny Elfman, though it still fails miserably.  The script just isn't engaging enough to do anything more than take the audience on an action-filled ride.  Part of the dissatisfaction probably has something to do with the fact that in 2009 - 25 years after the first movie came out - the Terminator had built up quite a cult following.  People, myself included, wanted to see the story get deeper, but it stayed at about the same level.

In the end, the failure of the Terminator franchise to grow was its biggest downfall.  None of the films is really any better or worse written than the others, but the presence of Cameron as director of the first two allowed them to be more than their script.  The second film builds off the first, but the third and fourth just stick to the same formula and thus fail to improve and elaborate on a story that was ingrained in fans’ minds.  With Terminator 5 reportedly in the works (complete with the return of Arnie), I have to wonder if they’ll be able to take it further or whether they’ll just settle for more chases and more explosions.

There was also a television series by the name of Sarah Connor Chronicles that received some really good reviews, but it was cancelled after two seasons. I haven’t seen it (yet), but I imagine there might have just been too much story involved for the copyright owners’ tastes.  For though the fans loved it, it doesn’t seem likely that it will ever be coming back to the TV.  I guess we’ll just have to wait for T5 to get another fix.

The Terminator still courtesy of daleelak.tv

Terminator 3 poster courtesy of terminator.wikia.com