In honor of Terminator Genisys being released tomorrow, I will share with you all my thoughts about James Cameron’s beloved Terminator franchise.

First, let’s talk about the original 1984 classic that started it all. The Terminator is an absolutely amazing movie. The performances from Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, and Michael Biehn are all unforgettable. They all do a perfect job in their roles, especially Arnie as the iconic cyborg antagonist. The action is beautifully done, and the character development is always excellent. James Cameron wonderfully depicts the film’s setting and the dialogue, and the way he directed the film is beyond compare for its time. A few of the visual effects do look fake, but it’s not like they had that much editing technology at the time, like we have today. The one problem I do have with this movie, and it’s a very minor problem, is that when everything in this movie is finally warmed up, it ends very soon after! The battle that ends the film is definitely a great one, but I think there could have been some more action with the Terminator before the concluding fight. But nonetheless, this movie is amazing, and definitely had a huge legacy over action and science fiction movies to this day. The Terminator is one of my favorite movies and receives a rating of: 

Next, let’s talk about the movie’s sequel, which came 7 years later, and was even more acclaimed by fans. Terminator 2: Judgment Day is easily another one of my favorite movies. Linda Hamilton’s transformation of Sarah Conner from a helpless young woman in the first movie to a trained bad-ass in the second one is amazing. Edward Furlong also delivers a great performance as Sarah’s son, John Conner, and of course, Arnie is fantastic with his return as the Terminator, this time sent to protect Sarah and her son. James Cameron’s directing is once again brilliant, and so is the script and dialogue. The action is way better than the first, given a longer run-time, which means more time for the action to develop and warm up, and there are so many great lines in the movie, including the iconic, “I’ll be back.” Terminator 2 is a brilliant action movie, and is without question on the top 5 movies of my favorite movies list. It is a huge improvement over the first, and earns a rating of: 

I have decided to avoid Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, given that I have heard awful things about it, and I have seen Terminator Salvation, the failed attempt at a reboot, that I pretty much hated, and would give a rating of  (Arnie’s absence and Christian Bale and Sam Worthington’s terrible performances contribute to that rating). Now here’s what I think about the upcoming reboot. To me, Terminator Genisys looks like a very bad movie, overall. First off, I love the fact that Arnold Schwarzenegger reprises his iconic role as the T-800, but it doesn’t look like he’ll be able to capture the charm of his character like he did back in the old days. None of the other cast members look good, either. Emilia Clarke looks a lot like Linda Hamilton and fits the role of Sarah Conner well, look-wise. However, I am still concerned about her acting skills. Jason Clarke as John Conner looks alright, overall. I’m not a huge fan of him, despite his amazing performance in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, and I don’t like the twist they add to him, since the trailer gave that away. I am not a fan of Jai Courtney at all, and he looks horrible as Kyle Reese. I loved Michael Biehn as the role in the original Terminator movie, and Jai Courtney just looks like this guy in peril with no fighting skills, instead of the protective soldier he’s supposed to be. The story doesn’t look so good. I don’t like the director, and I think instead of going with this new story, they should’ve sticked to the original plot. Hollywood can’t quite always make a perfect reboot, and this is an example of one that will most likely fail. I love the original franchise, and we should appreciate the amazingness of the original films instead of trying to hopelessly remake it in search of more money. Find out what I thought after I watch and Review Terminator Genisys in the very near future.