I remember it like yesterday. It was 1984 and I was 17. I was skipping class to go see this movie called "The Terminator" with this guy called Arnold Schwarzenegger, who's two previous movies - Conan the Barbarian ('82) and Conan the Destroyer ('84) - I had seen as well. So, me and this friend of mine, head out to the theather in Amsterdam, got us some popcorn and sat back to enjoy the ride. And what a ride it was. The storyline was provocative and intelligent. The action was non-stop. The characters where cool. What else would one want? Afterwards my friend and I watched it like 20 times on video. We could even quote whole parts of the movie.
Without a doubt 'Terminator' was Arnold Schwarzeneggers ticket to fame, just as it was for director James Cameron (Aliens, The Abyss, Titanic). The movie created a character bigger than life. So when in '92 the sequel T2 (Terminator 2: Judgment Day) came out, I was incredibly happy; I waited 7 years for it, but it was worth it. The storyline was very good and it seemed it wrapped up the storyline from the previous movie (preventing the rise of the machines and a nuclear holocaust) nice and neatly. The twist where the T800 terminator from part 1 now is the good guy, was just a brilliant idea in my opinion. I just loved it.
Needless to say, the fact there is a new Terminator film out (Terminator Salvation), has me tickled with anticipation!
So, how about the Terminator franchise?
Well, after T2, there was a in-between production called "T2 3-D: Battle Across Time", presented at Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal Studios Florida as a mixture of live action and film, with performers who closely resemble the film's stars performing on stage in synch with the movie footage. I had the pleasure of watching this in Florida myself and it was pretty cool, if I say so myself.
To me, T2 wrapped up the storyline and the whole Terminator 'universe' quit nicely. So when I heard that there was going to be a 3rd movie (2003) called "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines", I had my doubts. Afterall: T2 ended with John Connor destroying Skynet before it became active and all was well. Personally I think that T3 is the weakest of the the terminator franchise. I didn't like the plot to much and having a female terminator was a bit far fetched from the previous films. I enjoyed it anyway, but not as much as the previous ones.
As a result the film failed to match both its predecessors in terms of cultural significance: both The Terminator and Terminator 2 were cultural phenomena, and in two cases noted by the AFI twice in the same list (100 Years...100 Quotes for I'll be back and Hasta la vista baby as well as AFI's 100 Years... 100 Heroes and Villains for the T-800 in both incarnations). Furthermore Terminator 2 won 4 Academy Awards, where this sequel didn't get a single nomination.
To make things more confusing, Warner Brothers came up with a television series called "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles" in 2008. The backstory is as follows: at the end of Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Sarah Connor, her son John and the 800 Series Terminator successfully destroy the T-1000, as well as the arm and computer chip from the first film's Terminator. The T-800 from the second film, at its own request, is then also destroyed in order to eliminate any future technology that could be used to create Skynet. Only at the beginning of the television series do Sarah and John discover Judgment Day was not averted, but delayed until April 21, 2011. Now wanted fugitives, they must also face the reality that other enemies from the future could be after them.
Personally I haven't seen any of the episodes of these TV-series (I should download them I guess).
Salvation for the franchise?
So the big question is; will Terminator Salvation be the salvation of the franchise? Will this movie without Linda Hamilton and Arnold Schwarzenegger? I honestly cannot say, but so far the movie got mixed reviews. It seems that people do agree on a few things: the movie is better than T3 (duh!), not as good as T2 (double duh!) and never will beat T1 (triple duh!). Personally I am exited to go see it! I love Christian Bale ever since he did American Psycho and Batman. And it look so far he will do a great John Connor.
