In 1984, dystopian sci-fi action movie, The Terminator made its way onto cinema screens. The film – directed and co-written by James Cameron – told the story of a soldier from the future who is sent back in time from the year 2029, to protect a woman from an unstoppable killing machine, hellbent on murdering her in 1984.
Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Biehn, Linda Hamilton, Paul Winfield, and Lance Henriksen, The Terminator was a powerful picture loaded with imaginative ideas, a seriously dark heart, and plenty of state-of-the-art special effects. Part horror story, part fantasy nightmare, The Terminator wowed audiences and was a commercial success.
Because The Terminator did so well at the box-office, and because audiences continued to connect with the film long after it stopped screening, a sequel soon followed. This second instalment – Terminator 2: Judgement Day – arrived in 1991, expanded the story further, and was an even bigger hit.
From here, further Terminator movies followed (as did games, toys, and anime, etc), with sequels appearing in the 2000s and 2010s. Arnold Schwarzenegger played a significant part in the success of the film series, remaining on board for almost all of the pictures as the eponymous Terminator, and the movies continued to mix science fiction with larger-than-life special effects.
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How many Terminator movies are there?
As noted above, the first entry in the Terminator movie series was 1984’s The Terminator. This film established the time-travel premise, which would remain a mainstay of the series, introduced key characters, and essentially fired up the audiences’ imagination with endless possibilities.
Because of the success of this initial film, as well as the subsequent success of its immediate follow-up, Terminator 2: Judgement Day, the Terminator movies spawned a number of sequels. To date, the series contains six movies.
The Terminator (1984)
The first movie opens in Los Angeles in 1984, with two mysterious figures seemingly arriving out of nowhere. One is a human soldier named Kyle Reese, while the other is a humanoid cybernetic assassin, known as a Terminator.
Both Reese and the Terminator have travelled back in time from the year 2029, and both are on a mission. For Reese, it is to save a young woman named Sarah Connor; while for the Terminator, it is to kill Connor as soon as possible.
The reason Sarah is so important is because very shortly she will fall pregnant. Her son John, will then grow up to become the supposed saviour of the human race, when he leads a battle against an artificially intelligent defence network known as Skynet.
If Reese can protect Sarah, John will be born and humanity stands a chance of survival. However, if the Terminator kills Sarah, Skynet will win and all human life will be wiped off the face of the Earth. (107 mins)
Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991)
Although The Terminator was deemed a significant success upon making its debut, with Arnold Schwarzenegger viewed as a vital part of the film’s popularity, seven years passed before a sequel arrived. The delay was down to backstage issues, included some disagreements over the film’s rights, but once things were cleared up, Terminator 2: Judgement Day soon arrived.
Cranking things up a gear from what its predecessor had already delivered, Terminator 2: Judgement Day was bigger, bolder, and according to many fans even better than the first movie. Part of this was down to the advances in technology, which brought some eye-popping visuals to the screen, and part was due to the film’s premise, which turned the original concept on its head.
Whereas in the original movie, Arnold Schwarzenegger played the villain of the story, taking on the role of the cybernetic Terminator (aka the model T-800), in Terminator 2: Judgement Day he was now the hero of the piece. Schwarzenegger still played a Terminator, but in this sequel he is ‘good’ Terminator who has been re-programmed and sent back to the past to protect John Connor.
And with Schwarzenegger playing the protector, a new villain is introduced in the form of the shape-shifting T-1000. This advanced prototype, played by Robert Patrick is made of virtually indestructible liquid metal, and he won’t stop until John is dead. (137 mins)
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003)
With Terminator 2: Judgement Day being a huge box-office smash, and a critical success too, plans soon formulated for a sequel. Once again, it would take a while for a third film to materialise, but in 2003, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines made its debut.
Arnold Schwarzenegger returned for this next entry, once again playing a heroic Terminator, while this time he was up against the villainous T-X, played by Kristanna Loken. Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines was set ten years after the events of Terminator 2: Judgement Day, with Sarah Connor dead, and John now living a nomadic existence.
In the film, the Terminator must once again protect John, but this time he also must ensure the safety of John’s future wife, Kate Brewster. Meanwhile, the T-X has murder in mind, and irrespective of her actions, a holocaust is on the horizon. (109 mins)
Terminator Salvation (2009)
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines was not as well-received as its predecessor, but it was still a financial hit. The result of this box office success was the arrival of a fourth film, titled Terminator Salvation, which made its debut in 2009.
Unlike the previous movies, the time travel element was abandoned this time around, with the story picking up in 2018. In this time period, John Connor and Kate Brewster lead the fight against Skynet, in a world ravaged by death and destruction.
With Arnold Schwarzenegger being unavailable to appear in the movie, due to his then real-life role as Governor of California keeping him busy, this film marked the first entry without the actor being directly involved. However, his facial likeness was briefly incorporated into the story for a small scene using digital technology. (115 mins)
Terminator Genisys (2015)
Despite its attempts to offer something a little different, Terminator: Salvation was not that popular with critics or fans. The movie made money, suggesting there was still an appetite for further stories in this universe, but it appeared as if the series needed to move back towards the glory days of the first two entries, in order to move forward.
With this in mind, a fifth film called Terminator Genisys was conceived as a sort-of reworking of the series, with Arnold Schwarzenegger back on board. The film wouldn’t necessarily erase what had come before, but it set up a new timeline, that would offer an alternative to what had already been established.
The film would begin in 2029, with John Connor and Kyle Reese launching one final attack on Skynet. However, before they can achieve their goals, Skynet sends a Terminator back to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor.
But things don’t quite follow suit with the events of 1984’s The Terminator, as a time anomaly occurs and when Kyle Reese arrives back in ’84, he discovers another Terminator has previously arrived in 1973, and has been protecting Sarah Connor since she was a child. The film then tells a new story, as Sarah, Kyle, and the Terminator (dubbed ‘Pops’) fight for survival while more time-hopping madness takes place. (126 mins)
Terminator: Dark Fate (2019)
Once again, Terminator Genysis made money, but once again it was not the critical hit that had been envisioned. Plans to move the series forward using Terminator Genysis as a new starting point were quickly abandoned, and instead, it was back to the drawing board.
After some consideration, it was decided the best way to move forward was to return to the continuity of the first two movies and ignore everything that followed. It was widely known that The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgement Day were considered the peak entries in the franchise, so that was seen as the only material vital to the success of the franchise and everything from Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines onward was abandoned.
Bringing back Arnold Schwarzenegger, as well as Linda Hamilton (Sarah Connor in the first two movies), 2019’s Terminator: Dark Fate ignored all of the sequels after Terminator 2: Judgement Day, then created a new story and new timeline from here on out. In this film, Sarah and a Terminator have to team-up with a futuristic augmented soldier named Grace, to protect Dani Ramos – the new saviour of the future. (128 mins)
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The order of the Terminator movies
To date there are six Terminator movies. If you wish to watch the Terminator movies in release order, please follow this list:
- The Terminator (1984)
- Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991)
- Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003)
- Terminator Salvation (2009)
- Terminator Genisys (2015)
- Terminator: Dark Fate (2019)
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The Terminator: Dark Fate timeline
Because Terminator: Dark Fate ignores all of the movies after Terminator 2: Judgement Day, the series can be watched in the production order suggested above, or the Terminator movies can be divided as follows:
The original timeline
- The Terminator (1984)
- Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991)
- Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003)
- Terminator Salvation (2009)
- Terminator Genisys (2015)
The Dark Fate timeline
- The Terminator (1984)
- Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991)
- Terminator: Dark Fate (2019)
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Who are the cast of the Terminator movies and are the films the work of the same director?
Arnold Schwarzenegger is the most prolific actor in the Terminator movie series, appearing (in some shape or form) across all six entries. Schwarzenegger is an action icon, and one of the biggest film stars of all-time, and while the Terminator is arguably his signature role, he has enjoyed success with films such as Predator, True Lies, and The Running Man, amongst many others.
Outside of Schwarzenegger, other notable cast members in the Terminator movie series include Linda Hamilton, Michael Biehn, Paul Winfield, Lance Henriksen, Earl Boen, Robert Patrick, Edward Furlong, Joe Morton, Nick Stahl, Kristanna Loken, Claire Danes, Christian Bale, Sam Worthington, Anton Yelchin, Bryce Dallas Howard, Helena Boham Carter, Michael Ironside, Jason Clarke, Emilia Clarke, J. K. Simmons, Matt Smith, Mackenzie Davis, Natalia Reyes, and Gabriel Luna.
In terms of the directors, the Terminator films are the work of the following:
- James Cameron directed The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgement Day
- Jonathan Mostow directed Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
- McG directed Terminator: Salvation
- Alan Taylor directed Terminator Genisys
- Tim Miller directed Terminator: Dark Fate
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What is the best Terminator movie?
According to IMDb, the Terminator movies are rated as follows:
- The Terminator (1984) – 8.1/10
- Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991) – 8.6/10
- Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003) – 6.3/10
- Terminator: Salvation (2009) – 6.5/10
- Terminator Genisys (2015) – 6.3/10
- Terminator: Dark Fate (2019) – 6.2/10
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Thank you for stopping by It’s A Stampede! to read this post about the Terminator movie series. For more movie posts, be sure to check out the recommended reads below.
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