Terminator Ranked

Welcome to the latest edition of "Ranked", where I rank a franchise or the filmography of an actor/director and hand out related accolades. This week, I'm profiling the "Terminator" series.

Terminator Franchise Ranked:
6.Terminator Genysis (B-)
5.Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (B)
4.Terminator Salvation (B)
3.Terminator: Dark Fate (B+)
2.The Terminator (A-)
1.Terminator 2: Judgement Day (A+)

Top Dog: Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991)
Not only did Terminator 2: Judgement Day deliver massive breakthroughs in the visual effects/action department, it permanently raised the bar for sequels across the industry. James Cameron did an absolutely stellar job of advancing the mythology and adding emotional layers to the iconic characters (Sarah Connor, John Connor, T-800) that considerably upped the stakes of their showdown with the latest Skynet creation (Robert Patrick in an awesome performance as the shape-shifting T-9000) that's been sent back in time to kill John Connor. Nearly 30 years later, the film holds up as a genre-defining masterpiece with a legacy that hasn't been rivaled by any sci-fi action film outside of The Matrix since.   

Lowlight: Terminator Genysis (2015)
Terminator Genysis marks an instance where good intentions didn't nesscairly lead to a great movie. While the action sequences are handled pretty well and Arnold Schwarzenegger's return to the fold after sitting out Salvation was more than welcome, clumsy writing and poor central performances from Emilia Clarke and Jai Courtney prevent its interesting ideas for retooling the origins of Skynet from paying off fully. 

Most Underrated: Terminator: Dark Fate (2019)
Dark Fate is nostalgic fan service done right. Franchise staples (Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton-making her first appearance as Sarah Connor since Judgement Day) crush the new takes on their classic characters , the new heroes (Mackenzie Davis, Natalia Reyes) are charismatic badasses and the story brings back the emotional undercurrent that was missing from the post-Judgement sequels. Top it off with couple of crucial, cleverly-constructed middle fingers to the whiniest portion of the fanbase that treat every new entry like a personal attack and you have a damn fine Terminator movie.

Most Overrated: N/A
What's impressed me the most about the Terminator franchise is that's avoided the complete bottoming out that a lot of other decades-spanning series have experienced. Sure the post-Judgement entries outside of Dark Fate have varying degrees of issues, but there isn't a Rise of Skywalker, Covenant or A Good Day to Die Hard in the bunch that completely disgraced the integrity of the brand. Even in their lowest moments, these films still managed to be relatively compelling products that got more shit than they deserved. Since the franchise is very likely to be put on pause for now after the underwhelming box office of Dark Fate last fall, that pretty clean track record should remain in place for at least the next 5-10 years.

Casting a Prospective Reboot:
As I mentioned above, it's unlikely that the Terminator franchise will be continuing anytime soon. However, I'm going to overlook that educated guess and pretend for a second that a new, completely overhauled reboot just got greenlit. Here's who I'd cast for this hypothetical movie.

Sarah Connor: Charlize Theron:
Getting an opportunity to play one of the most iconic badasses in cinematic history would be another insane entry on Theron's stacked action star resume.

John Connor: Jaeden Martell:
While this casting choice would make John Connor quite a bit older than he was in Judgement Day, Martell is a dynamic talent that would be able to expertly navigate all of the layers that comes with Connor's reluctant heroism.

T-800: Dave Bautista
Cool, deadpan characters with expert comedic timing have become Bautista's specialty as an actor, so why not give him a chance to apply that skill set to a character that's known for those things?

New Skynet Minion: Keanu Reeves
Reeves is long overdue to be on the other side of the protagonist/antagonist coin and his signature stoic demeanor makes him an ideal candidate to portray a robot assassin. Plus the opportunity to see him and Theron finally square off in an action movie would be epic.