The Terminator franchise has been on a downward skid since the release of T2, and each new sequel has made different mistakes that have kept the films from being truly great. When Arnold Schwarzenegger first appeared onscreen as the тιтular killing machine in James Cameron’s The Terminator, it was clear that the sci-fi film had sequel potential.

1991’s Terminator 2: Judgment Day upped the ante and turned Arnie’s android into the hero. It also set a new standard for what a sequel could be, continuing Cameron’s tradition of delivering excellent follow-ups by adding in even more action. Unfortunately, the Terminator franchise would go off the rails after two movies, and has yet to get back on track.

Judgment Day was an act that was impossible to follow, but that didn’t stop Hollywood from trying to replicate the success of the first two movies. Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines was a more straightforward sequel, while Salvation flashed forward to the future. Genisys and Dark Fate tried to right the ship, but both were convoluted messes.

Unlike other franchises with lots of sequels, the Terminator series isn’t consistent with its shortcomings. Each new movie tried and failed in different ways, which makes fixing the problems of the sci-fi universe quite difficult. It has relied on nostalgia, and tried to blaze a new trail, but every time it finds new ways to miss the mark.

Terminator 3: Rise Of The Machines (2003)

T3 Tries Too Hard To Copy Its Predecessor

There were so many great elements in Terminator 2 that the next sequel didn’t have much left to work with. Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines came about 10 years too late, and was too focused on copying elements of T2 that it forgot to be an interesting sequel. Schwarzenneger returned, but the Terminator didn’t grow as a character.

While the movie’s action scenes are well-made, they lack stakes, since the movie itself just isn’t nearly as gripping as T2. Also, Terminator 3 went a bit too far in the direction of humor, and didn’t understand how the little character beats in T2 were meant to endear the Terminator, and not transform him into a clown.

Some of the frustrating Terminator plotholes are a bit confusing, such as John Connor’s age, but the movie is still one of the more understandable follow-ups. Terminator 3 got decent reviews, and isn’t a terrible film when taken on its own merits. However, it fails as a sequel because it doesn’t build upon the foundation established by its predecessor.

Terminator Salvation (2009)

The Biggest Missed Opportunity Of The Bunch

After Terminator 3 was guilty of trying too hard to be like its predecessor, Terminator Salvation seemed like a breath of fresh air for the stale franchise. The decision to jump forward in the timeline was clearly what the series needed, and the inevitability of judgment day couldn’t be put off forever.

Unfortunately, Salvation very quickly squandered all of its goodwill by being an utterly lackluster action film with a completely unsatisfying ending. The finale of Terminator Salvation featured no surprises, and almost felt like it was made in a vacuum with no connection to the larger franchise.

While it certainly doesn’t suffer from the confusing timeline issues of the next two sequels, Salvation falters by being completely unambitious. Time travel is at the heart of the Terminator franchise, and the movie chooses to do nothing particularly clever with the sci-fi elements of its own lore. Action is great, but the series has always been action/sci-fi in tandem.

Perhaps the film’s biggest sin is that it doesn’t utilize its A-list cast at all. Christian Bale leads the film as John Connor, but other actors like Bryce Dallas Howard and Helena Bonham Carter aren’t given much to do, and feel somewhat superfluous.

Terminator Genisys (2015)

A Timeline Reset That Nobody Asked For

Terminator Salvation could have easily been the end of the road for the franchise, and the events had largely looped back on themselves in a simple-but-effective way. However, the moneymaking potential of the franchise couldn’t be ignored, and Terminator Genisys arrived and attempted to pull a hard reboot on the established Terminator canon.

Unlike Salvation, which was completely unambitious in its approach to the science fiction aspects of the Terminator series, Genisys leaned too heavily on them and sacrificed storytelling. Resetting the timeline made everything that came before seem pointless, and it offers too many narrative challenges to make sense.

By invalidating its own mythos, Terminator Genisys blew the lid off of the franchise, and made it so that any event could be changed or erased for convenience. This cheapened the overall experience, though the rest of the film didn’t do much to help either. The action was mediocre, and the new cast felt woefully miscast.

Terminator: Dark Fate (2019)

Nostalgia Gets In The Way Of The Franchise’s Future

Six movies in, Terminator: Dark Fate threw up its hands and decided to go with the safest route possible. The legacy sequel intentionally ignores Terminator 3 and is set in the modern day after the death of John Connor. Dark Fate intentionally cuts out its own loose ends so that it can start a new chapter in the franchise.

Sadly, the movie gets tangled up in its own nostalgia, with the T-800 (Schwarzenneger) and Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) getting in the way of new characters. However, the new storyline is still copying elements from the first and second movies, and Dark Fate really has nothing new to offer.

The Terminator sequels usually alternate between safe nostalgia and poorly-written original ideas, and Dark Fate swung the pendulum firmly toward the former. It’s a competently made film overall, but it is also incredibly mundane, and isn’t trying to add anything fresh to the tired franchise.