The Terminator series has received its fair share of criticism, but there have been some truly great moments in the franchise after Terminator 2: Judgment Day. While the original 1984 movie and its all-time great sequel stand as the series’s pinnacle, like Skynet itself, it’s never dormant for long, as soft reboots and follow-ups continue to shape its legacy.

Messy timelines and confusing retcons aside, the Terminator franchise stands as one of the most acclaimed and successful sci-fi series of all time. While audiences didn’t like misguided story decisions, like turning John Connor into a villain, it’s important to give the later installments credit for the things they got right.

6

Linda Hamilton Is A True Badᴀss In Terminator: Dark Fate

Sarah Connor has always been one of the most fascinating characters in the Terminator franchise. While Linda Hamilton gave iconic performances in the first two movies, she was recast with Lena Headey in the TV series Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles and Emilia Clarke in Terminator Genisys.

This meant that by the time Terminator: Dark Fate was released, it had been 28 years since we saw Hamilton portray the legendary heroine, and this long-awaited return didn’t disappoint. Not only did Hamilton re-emerge as the battle-ready warrior we’d missed since T2, but she also had an aged cynicism that made her all the more badᴀss.

As an unapologetically blunt protagonist, it was clear Sarah had been dealing with the impact of Skynet since 1984, and she didn’t sugarcoat anything or waste any time taking on her enemies. Hamilton was the best thing about Dark Fate, and her inclusion proved there was still potential in this franchise yet.

5

Terminator Salvation Actually Spent Time In The Post-Apocalyptic Timeline

Since the very first Terminator movie, we had been given bleak explanations of what the post-apocalyptic society in a post-Judgment Day world looks like. However, Terminator Salvation is the only movie that lets us spend extended time in this world and explores humanity under the subjugation of Skynet.

Terminator Salvation traded the urban chase sequences of previous installments for a dusty, bombed landscape where the last remnants of humanity struggle to survive in the obliterated ruins of civilization. This installment had its own stylistic idenтιтy and wasn’t simply trying to retread past glories like so many other sequels in the series.

By giving us a more direct look at John Connor’s role in the resistance, Terminator Salvation shows audiences why his birth was so essential and just how catastrophic it would be if Skynet managed to retroactively stop him from ever being born. With this, Terminator Salvation finally depicts what had previously only been implied in the franchise.

4

Terminator Genisys Saw Kyle, Sarah, And The T-800 Fight Alongside Each Other

In all other installments in the Terminator series, the trio of Kyle Reese, Sarah Connor, and T-800 were either separated across different timelines or fighting on opposite sides in the war with Skynet. However, Terminator Genisys brought them all together to fight alongside each other for the very first time.

This was an exciting aspect of Terminator Genisys’s reimagining of the series lore that flipped the dynamic of Kyle and Sarah on its head. Here, Sarah has the expertise and leadership, rather than being the damsel in distress we met in the original film, and it’s Kyle and the T-800 known as Pops who must adapt to her plans.

With a protective father-daughter bond between Sarah and Pops, Kyle was forced to rethink his relationship with machines as he was now compelled to fight alongside one. It’s easy to point out the plot holes and inconsistencies of Genisys, but it at least gave us this interesting new dynamic between this unlikely trio.

3

Arnold Schwarzenegger Still Delivers In Terminator 3: Rise Of The Machines

When people think of Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator, they generally imagine his acclaimed performances in the first two films. Yet, in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, Schwarzenegger was still young enough to reprise the role without his advanced age making it less convincing, like in Genisys or Dark Fate.

As a brooding, determined, and stoic presence, Schwarzenegger’s portrayal of a reprogrammed T-850 sent back in time by the resistance to protect John Connor and Kate Brewster was just as believable as his villainous version back in 1984. Despite being a bit older, Schwarzenegger still looked like a machine built for combat.

Even witty one-liners like “Talk to the hand” aligned well with the campy humor of the first two movies, and despite some narrative issues, Terminator 3 felt like a worthy continuation of the franchise. Schwarzenegger’s action scenes were top-tier, and watching him face off against the female-presenting T-X Terminator was one of the series’ best sequences.

2

Terminator: Dark Fate Respected The Franchise’s Legacy

While Terminator: Dark Fate may have bombed at the box office, it stands as the best entry in the series since Terminator 2: Judgment Day. With James Cameron back as a producer and story contributor, this release stuck closer to the style and tone of the original movies and felt like it understood and respected the legacy of those films.

Bringing Linda Hamilton back as Sarah Connor made this feel like a sequel that was actually trying to get things right. Terminator: Dark Fate was also rated R for violence and didn’t try and tone down the mature edge of this franchise to artificially try and appeal to more viewers.

Arnold Schwarzenegger’s advanced age was also incorporated in a natural way, as this version of the T-800 went by the name Carl and had integrated into society. With complex emotional relationships, Carl’s characterization forced us to ask questions about machines’ ability to feel empathy and felt like the natural continuation of the emotional development seen in T2.

1

Terminator Salvation At Least Tried To Move On From Arnold Schwarzenegger

For all its faults, nobody can deny that Terminator Salvation actually tried something new and took major risks with this franchise. As a series that’s always had the iconic legacy of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s unmatched performance hanging over it, this was the only film that made a real effort to move on.

By shifting the focus to a post-Judgment Day timeline and having Christian Bale as the new John Connor, Terminator Salvation was a story about resistance leaders and the challenges of adapting to life during wartime. Showcasing Skynet’s rule without relying on Schwarzenegger’s presence allowed the series to expand its mythology in a way we hadn’t seen before.

While Schwarzenegger’s digital likeness did briefly appear, this was more a symbolic nod to the series’ past than a main focus. Terminator Salvation may not have lived up to audience expectations, but it deserves credit for trying to take the franchise in a new direction and not continually retreading past glory.