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Started By
Message
I rewatched the first 3 Terminator movies
Posted on 12/31/25 at 10:25 am
Posted on 12/31/25 at 10:25 am
Hadn’t done so in many years.
T1 is easily the best of the 3, It has an elevated John Carpenter feel, with so many little moments and cinematography decisions that add to the tension. For example, when Sarah hears the news report at the pizza place and runs to the pay phone there’s a sort of creepy guy standing there just kind of looking at her, it adds a lot to that moment and was something that they could have easily not done. A lot of time and care was put into making this and it shows. A very good movie in its own right for any genre.
T2 is still T2, definitely the best summer blockbuster ever (except maybe Jurassic Park). It holds up but the sheer number of callbacks to T1 was a little annoying and some other scenes don’t land quite as well as i remember. When Arnold goes to the biker bar is slightly more a parody than i remember and detracts a bit IMO. Still awesome.
T3 holy hell this movie is bad. I remember it not being as good but still fun but boy was that wrong. There’s a couple action scenes that are pretty good but the script is AWFUL and John Conner is stilted and nothing at all like the Eddie Furlong character, which really hurts.
I may watch Salvation at some point, haven’t seen that since theatres. Not bothering with Genysis or No Fate.
T1 is easily the best of the 3, It has an elevated John Carpenter feel, with so many little moments and cinematography decisions that add to the tension. For example, when Sarah hears the news report at the pizza place and runs to the pay phone there’s a sort of creepy guy standing there just kind of looking at her, it adds a lot to that moment and was something that they could have easily not done. A lot of time and care was put into making this and it shows. A very good movie in its own right for any genre.
T2 is still T2, definitely the best summer blockbuster ever (except maybe Jurassic Park). It holds up but the sheer number of callbacks to T1 was a little annoying and some other scenes don’t land quite as well as i remember. When Arnold goes to the biker bar is slightly more a parody than i remember and detracts a bit IMO. Still awesome.
T3 holy hell this movie is bad. I remember it not being as good but still fun but boy was that wrong. There’s a couple action scenes that are pretty good but the script is AWFUL and John Conner is stilted and nothing at all like the Eddie Furlong character, which really hurts.
I may watch Salvation at some point, haven’t seen that since theatres. Not bothering with Genysis or No Fate.
This post was edited on 12/31/25 at 10:44 am
9
Posted on 12/31/25 at 10:32 am to Draconian Sanctions
quote:
T3 holy hell this movie is bad
No argument here
quote:
I may watch Salvation at some point
BUT this is where the franchise totally goes off the rails.
Posted on 12/31/25 at 10:45 am to Crimson K
i remember kind of liking some of it and appreciating that they were doing something different but after T3 i don’t trust my original feelings about it.
Posted on 12/31/25 at 11:39 am to Draconian Sanctions
Am I the only one that likes Salvation?
Posted on 12/31/25 at 11:45 am to RedPants
I've only seen it once. I remember thinking it was fine, just kind of forgettable. I need to do a rewatch
Posted on 12/31/25 at 11:46 am to RedPants
quote:
Am I the only one that likes Salvation?
No. It had a lot of potential and I remember reading that it was supposed to be the first part of a trilogy. But that never manifested. The only movie I ever wanted after T2 was one dealing with the future war. It at least gave us that. Not great, but not bad.
And I am of the opinion that T3 is underrated. The storyline is actually pretty good. The execution was a swing and a miss. The casting choices were especially bad.
Posted on 12/31/25 at 11:55 am to Draconian Sanctions
This is correct.
T1 > T2
T1 > T2
Posted on 12/31/25 at 12:01 pm to PillageUrVillage
quote:
No. It had a lot of potential and I remember reading that it was supposed to be the first part of a trilogy.
I think also Christian Bale flexed while making it and kind of sort of increased his character's role which kind of derailed the story.
But the director was also McG, so it had a defined ceiling no matter what.
I have never seen this
Posted on 12/31/25 at 12:59 pm to Draconian Sanctions
I thought the first two were mid at best and the rest were arse.
Posted on 12/31/25 at 1:34 pm to Draconian Sanctions
T1 was the best.
Arnold killed it as the villain. Sorry, but none of the other villains in the sequels came close to his performance. Not to mention the shock of seeing him get up time and time again.
T2 was great as well but not as good. The shock was reduced as we knew what to expect on that front. The T2000 didn't have the chops Arnold did in first one. They also injected humor into it as well.
Arnold killed it as the villain. Sorry, but none of the other villains in the sequels came close to his performance. Not to mention the shock of seeing him get up time and time again.
T2 was great as well but not as good. The shock was reduced as we knew what to expect on that front. The T2000 didn't have the chops Arnold did in first one. They also injected humor into it as well.
Posted on 12/31/25 at 2:37 pm to Draconian Sanctions
Terminator 1 is pretty much a slasher but with an Uzi 9 millimeter instead of a machete
Posted on 12/31/25 at 2:47 pm to SlowFlowPro
quote:
think also Christian Bale flexed while making it and kind of sort of increased his character's role which kind of derailed the story.
Yeah, I remember hearing that Marcus was the main character and Connor had a small role at first. Bale rewrote that lol
Posted on 12/31/25 at 2:50 pm to Godzilla jr
quote:
Terminator 1 is pretty much a slasher but with an Uzi 9 millimeter instead of a machete
Cameron said in a recent interview that John Carpenter and Halloween inspired T1. Arnold is basically a robot Michael Myers in that movie.
Posted on 12/31/25 at 3:00 pm to Draconian Sanctions
It's amazing how good the first two are and everything else is absolute garbage.
Posted on 12/31/25 at 3:30 pm to Draconian Sanctions
I was glad I recently watched the video of James Cameron discussing all his movies. I would talk with friends about the Terminator movies and always point out that T1 is a horror movie and T2 was just pure action and I loved that they each have their own tone. I love them both for that.
I can't put one ahead of the other for that reason. I love them both but at the age I was when I saw the movie and the impact it had plus the rewatchability of it....T2 will always be my favorite of the franchise and my favorite action movie ever.
The rest of the movies, aside from Salvation, aren't worth discussing at all and an abomination.
I can't put one ahead of the other for that reason. I love them both but at the age I was when I saw the movie and the impact it had plus the rewatchability of it....T2 will always be my favorite of the franchise and my favorite action movie ever.
The rest of the movies, aside from Salvation, aren't worth discussing at all and an abomination.
Posted on 12/31/25 at 3:35 pm to theunknownknight
I saw T2 at the movies with friends in the summer of 91. I was 11. I had never seen T1 at the time-it came out when I was 4. I agree with the OP that T1 is the best, but I still really like T2. I do not like any of the others.
I decided to rewatch the first two movies with my kids. They were the edited for tv versions of course. I explained to my kids that T2 was the biggest summer hit that summer and one of the world’s most popular bands at the time was Guns N’ Roses, who had a major hit song in the movie (this was right before Nirvana and Pearl Jam supplanted GNR if I remember correctly). In any event, in the scene at the mall when Arnold takes out his gun, he had been hiding it in a box of roses and my 5 year old son yells out “Hey guns and roses!”. I’m in my mid 40s and have seen the movie at least 10 times and I’ve never picked up on that hidden message! Sometimes it takes a child.
I decided to rewatch the first two movies with my kids. They were the edited for tv versions of course. I explained to my kids that T2 was the biggest summer hit that summer and one of the world’s most popular bands at the time was Guns N’ Roses, who had a major hit song in the movie (this was right before Nirvana and Pearl Jam supplanted GNR if I remember correctly). In any event, in the scene at the mall when Arnold takes out his gun, he had been hiding it in a box of roses and my 5 year old son yells out “Hey guns and roses!”. I’m in my mid 40s and have seen the movie at least 10 times and I’ve never picked up on that hidden message! Sometimes it takes a child.
Posted on 12/31/25 at 4:01 pm to Draconian Sanctions
T1 and T2 are very similar, T2 just expanded on T1 and revved it up more. T1 is more thriller in that Kyle and Sarah are really on their own to beat this thing and the unknown of it’s capabilities. T2 the villain is upgraded but so is the help for Sarah and John and it’s more of an action movie with heart. Both great, really depends on what mood you’re in to pick one over the other.
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