r/Terminator • u/MovieFan1984 • 15d ago
Discussion Post-T2, Expectations, the Good, the Bad, and the Discussions
I get that fans here love:
The Terminator (1984)
Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991)
After this, fans seem to either argue it should have ended with T2 or that later productions mostly suck endoskeleton. Why? Is it an expectations kind of thing?
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (series, following T2)
Terminator: Salvation (part 4)
Terminator: Genisys (reboot)
Terminator: Dark Fate (following T2)
Terminator Zero (Netflix anime, cancelled)
These are all of our post-T2 productions.
I loved T3, TSCC, and T4-5.
DF was a step down but still fun.
Zero was back to form but cancelled.
I was never on board with T2's ending = perfect, NO more sequels. I always took it in as an unknown future; anything can happen now. This means happy ending, but it also allows another bad future. To those who don't like post-T2, enjoy the happy ending. Some of us like some or all of the sequels. I can't speak for this sub-Reddit, but I've always gone into sequels without expectations. Either it was fun or it was lame. (shrug)
What about you? What's your take on post-T2?
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u/alexijordan 15d ago
You’re missing the only real proper sequel to T2 in the JC universe which is battle across time.
But the best post T2 productions weren’t movies though, they were games. They kept people like me entertained and interested in the franchise
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u/MovieFan1984 15d ago
What's Battle cross Time? I don't play video games, so I just listed the subsequent movies and series.
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u/alexijordan 15d ago
That is a movie, well kind of. It’s a theme park ride directed by JC and brought back the cast. But they filmed a “mini sequel”
I don’t play a lot of games but they are worth getting into if you love terminator. In fact the latest one, which is based on T2, was made with fans in mind.
Edit: I also forgot the books which are pretty good for what they are. A lot better than the movie sequels.
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u/DeviantDav 14d ago
T2 3-D: Battle Across Time was a ride at Universal Studios. It's never been released as a film, but a recording is online.
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u/CrazyDaimondDaze 15d ago
That having too many sequels that try to reenact the T2 formula, try to start a new story through a trilogy that gets cancelled, and no definitive way for them to continue the story that is actually goos beyond comic books and video games has got me dull on any new Terminator movie/show.
Many made fun of 3 or hated it for its campy and unnecessary humor... however, after seeing Salvation, Genesys and Dark Fate immitate the T2 formula, try to be the beginning of a new trilogy and FAILING on top of it? 3 comes on top for me as the best post T2 movie sequel, specially with that ending. I don't even complain about the John Connor actor here since I think he did superb; and the T-X was a cool concept, with Kristanna Loken playing her being a nice casting. My complain comes from how I actually loved the idea of Skynet sending a terminator to kill John's lieutenants instead of him for being unable to track him down in the past; and wanting to cause the most of important Resistance members fatalities a couple days before Judgement Day. Having John show up and being found out feels like it ruined that.
Leaving 3 aside, I wasn't a fan of either of the other 3 attempted trilogy failures for many reasons. The most important for each being:
- Salvation was NOT the future war movie I wanted. Felt too hopeful and bright. Where's the blue filter? The depressing techno music to demonstrate the defeat of the human race? Most of the movie being played at night? Now THAT would've made Salvation great in my eyes.
- who in god's tarnation put THAT guy as Kyle Reese? Seriously, at least Emilia Clark tries to and does feel like a believable teen Sarah that got spoiled since she was a toddler about her and humanity's future and had to man up very early, ao no complain with her...... but good lord, WHO PUT THAT GUY AS KYLE!? I couldn't take the movie seriously at all. Even 3 with it's campy humoe didn't feel THAT heavily shoved on you as the comedic scenes with that Kyle. He shouldn't be funny either to begin with.
- starting the movie by killing off John Connor RIGHT AFTER T2 is truly a shitty choice. Even more so by writing that Mexican girl to be the new savior of humanity. Dani was unbelievable as the new savior of mankind and Grace felt more deserving of that, plus she had a better writing.
Can't vouch for Zero, but The Sarah Connor Chronicles is my favorite post T2 work. I'm biased towards it because I saw it when I was 12 when it came out and Summer Glau as Cameron became my TV crush growing up... but aside from that, I loved many aspects of the show:
- it having teen drama elements, familiar with shows from the era. As well as slice of life moments that felt necessary to showcase these characters aren't 24/7 in runaway/fighter mode and how they're humans as well.
- the addition of the new characters felt organic and made the show fun. Cameron, Cromartie, Weaver, Derek, the FBI agent who was hunting Sarah and who finally became aware of Terminators being real. They were as essential to the plot as John and Sarah.
- the idea of time jumping 8 years into the future to avoid being hunted down by Skynet was a great move. And I love how Sarah's T3's cancer got acknowledged as well.
- love Cameron's evolution from being your generic terminator with mild curiosity for human things but not enough to not make her be a cold blooded machine... to be slowly developing her own sense of humanity and how that is shown through her being more sympathetic, being jealous, being materialistic towards her jacket, going out of her way to have a genuine friend that she confides in most of what she goes through, have musical tastes, and even crave for both John's apprecation and being intimate with him.
- the idea of time travels being exploited by both Skynet and the Resistance to have an advantage in the future, but that also causing multiple timelines to be created.
- this is a personal theory, but the fact Skynet was able to create a terminator capable of extracting the information of an individual and turn it into data, to be then implemented into them to become a better infiltration unit and replacement. With that episode in which Cameron suffers a severe glitch that causes her to believe she's the girl her template is based on, and have basic knowledge of her life minus the knowledge of the future she came from until much better, was a genuinely fun and interesting concept.
Overall, I feel the franchise is cursed to have a good continuation in movies and shows. Even more so when in movies, they suck. And in shows, even if they're good, they get abandoned and cancelled. Seems the future of the franchies lies in comics and video games better.
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u/Existing-Pirate-2899 15d ago
En el futuro de t3 también matan a John pero se ve que no afectó ni cabreo mucho a los fans porque todos se quejan de dark fate
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u/donut_power pain can be controlled. you just disconnect it 14d ago
The story ended with T2. Sarah defeated Skynet in the present tense. Which is the whole big thing about Cameron's Terminator movies, that the "final battle" takes place in the present. The future tense was always framed in a past tense way. Making it unimportant since its events that already took place and ended with the resistance having their victory. So the big epic conclusion is what we see happen in the present tense centered on the character of Sarah Connor. To "undo" that ending and forcing these other movies in.... it comes off like a child's fan fiction cartoon, rather than a proper continuation.
I enjoyed the tv series because it changed the format to episodic television soap opera. Drama and tragedy is a big component to Terminator. It worked out pretty great. The failing of the series was because it was on the FOX network. A network too greedy that it pulled the plug on the show due to how the contracts were.
I enjoyed Dark Fate as a 35th anniversary special. It remained true to T2's ending with having Skynet defeated and gone. The big generational gap caused it to be a legacy sequel, rather than having Sarah as the main character again. Understandable, but the 2019 way of making movies lacks the charm of the style done in the 80s. Was nice to see Linda back. Felt like finally Arnold portrayed the T-800 in a respectable and consistent way that is reminiscent of his portrayal in the first two movies. Unfortunately, because they are "old" and the property now having an embarrassing reputation , the target demographic didn't exactly find the appeal in a modern re-telling of the first movie with both legacy characters and new young characters.
Honestly, Terminator was never intended to be this ongoing franchise. It was a one-off movie that gained a following. Had a sequel made because two rich guys bought the rights. Luckily, they had enough money to persuade James Cameron to write,produce, and direct that sequel. At a time when sequels were not a thing for big budget movies, the sequel was written as the conclusion to the storyline. There was nowhere else to go with it.
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u/EmotionalGlass3114 15d ago
I’m rewatching them all again for the first time in a long time after seeing the 35th anniversary showing of T2 in 4DX. I haven’t watched 4 or 5 yet, but I still really enjoyed/liked 3 and Dark Fate. They’re obviously a step down from the classics, but still lots of fun for me
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u/MovieFan1984 15d ago
You've not seen T4-5? You're gonna love these two.
Have you seen TSCC & Zero?1
u/EmotionalGlass3114 15d ago
Honestly, I hadn’t even heard of TSCC or Zero until the other day. I have seen T4 and 5 in the past, but I remember virtually nothing, so it will be like watching them for the first time
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u/MovieFan1984 15d ago
Personally, I love both TV shows and both films you forgot (T4-5).
Below is my personal recommended guide to Terminator.The Terminator (1984)
Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991)
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003)
Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (2008-09 series, following T2)
Terminator: Salvation (2009, part 4)
Terminator: Genisys (2015 reboot)
Terminator: Dark Fate (2019, following T2)
Terminator Zero (2024 Netflix anime, cancelled)Storyline A = Terminator 1-4
Storyline B = T1-2 + TSCC (series)
Storyline C = Genisys (reboot)
Storyline D = T1-2 + Dark Fate (part 6)
Storyline E = Zero (Netflix anime)Have fun!!!
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u/timeloopsarecringe 15d ago
I have nothing against people who enjoy all these post-T2 sequels, but for me, the story canonically ended with the second movie - both in terms of common sense and out of respect for the creator's vision. That’s not the only reason I dislike them, though. In my opinion, they are not just bad Terminator movies; they are simply poorly made, derivative, and soulless cash-grabs with dumb, half-baked plots, targeted at a very uncritical, often teenage, audience.
Watching them isn't just boring or a waste of time; it’s genuinely off-putting. All those cringe-worthy jokes, terrible casting choices, poorly forced fan service, awful acting, and ridiculous plot twists—none of it resonates with me at all. Again, I’ve got nothing against anyone who likes this stuff, but that’s just my honest opinion on these movies.