Part 2: The Terminator Sequels
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
Terminator 2: Judgment Day is the 1991 sequel to the original Terminator film and was released by TriStar Pictures. It was co-written, directed, and produced by James Cameron and stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong, Robert Patrick, and Joe Morton. After robots fail to prevent John Connor from being born, they try again in 1995, this time attempting to terminate him as a child by using a more advanced Terminator, the T-1000. As before, John sends back a protector for his younger self, a reprogrammed Terminator, who is a doppelgänger to the one from 1984. After years of preparing for the future war, Sarah decides to use the same tactics the robots used on her: preventing Skynet from being invented by destroying Cyberdyne Systems before they create it. It was released on July 3, 1991, to critical acclaim and grossed $523.7 million worldwide. It also won several Academy Awards, one most notably for its then-cutting-edge computer animation.
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003)
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, released by Warner Bros. Pictures in North America and Columbia TriStar Film Distributors internationally, is the 2003 sequel to Terminator 2 and is written by John Brancato, Michael Ferris, directed by Jonathan Mostow and starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Nick Stahl, Claire Danes and Kristanna Loken. As a result of the destruction of Cyberdyne, the Skynet takeover has been postponed, not averted. In an attempt to ensure a victory by the robots, a new Terminator, the T-X, is sent back to terminate the lives of as many of John Connor’s future lieutenants as is possible, including his future wife Kate Brewster, and also John himself. Kate’s father, General Robert Brewster (David Andrews), who is supervising Skynet’s development, is also targeted for termination by the T-X. After Connor’s future self is terminated by a doppelgänger of his previous protector, Kate reprograms him and sends him back to save them both from the T-X. It was released on July 2, 2003 to generally favorable reviews and grossed $433.4 million worldwide.
Terminator Salvation (2009)
Terminator Salvation is the fourth installment of the Terminator film series, and was made by The Halcyon Company and distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures and Columbia Pictures. It was released on May 21, 2009 to mixed reviews and grossed $371.4 million. It was written by John Brancato and Michael Ferris, directed by McG, and stars Christian Bale as John Connor and Sam Worthington (who was personally recommended by James Cameron) as Marcus Wright. Following the events of Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, after Skynet has destroyed much of humanity in a nuclear holocaust, John struggles to become the leader of humanity as he is destined, while Marcus Wright finds his place in an unfamiliar post-apocalyptic world. In this future, altered by the events of the second film, the T-800 Terminators (Roland Kickinger with CG-rendered facial likeness of Arnold Schwarzenegger) are coming online sooner than expected.
Terminator Genisys (2015)
Terminator Genisys is the fifth installment of the franchise and also serves as a reboot that features the main characters from the first two films created by James Cameron, Gale Anne Hurd, and William Wisher, Jr., portrayed by a new cast, with the exception of Arnold Schwarzenegger reprising his role as the eponymous character. Additionally, J. K. Simmons joined the cast as Detective O’Brien, serving as an ally for the film’s protagonists. The film was written by Laeta Kalogridis and Patrick Lussier, and directed by Alan Taylor. It was made by Skydance Productions and distributed by Paramount Pictures. The story takes place in an alternate reality resulting from a chain of events related to Skynet’s (Matt Smith) actions throughout a previous timeline. Prior to this alteration, on the verge of winning the war against Skynet, John Connor (Jason Clarke) sends his trusted right-hand officer Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney) back through time to save his mother’s life and ensure his own existence. However, Kyle arrives at an alternate timeline where Skynet had never launched its initial attack in 1997, and Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke) was brought up by a reprogrammed Terminator (Schwarzenegger), sent by an unknown party to be her guardian ever since childhood. Now Sarah, Kyle and the Guardian need to escape the T-800 Model 101 (Brett Azar with CG-rendered likeness of Schwarzenegger from the first film), the T-1000 (Lee Byung-hun) and Skynet’s T-3000, in an attempt to stop Judgment Day from ever happening; while trying to uncover the secrets behind Cyberdyne Systems’ new application software: Genisys. Assisting the trio is Detective O’Brien (Simmons), whose investigation into time travelers (especially Terminators) leads him to learn about Skynet, and helps the protagonists in their mission to avert Judgment Day. The film was released in the U.S. on July 1, 2015 and grossed $440.6 million worldwide. Its commercial performance was lower than anticipated, resulting in two planned sequels and a spin-off television series being cancelled.
Terminator: Dark Fate (2019)
Terminator: Dark Fate is the sixth installment of the franchise and a direct sequel to Terminator 2: Judgment Day. It is directed by Tim Miller and was released in the U.S. on November 1, 2019. It stars Linda Hamilton and Arnold Schwarzenegger, reprising their roles as Sarah Connor and the Terminator, respectively. The film also stars Mackenzie Davis, Natalia Reyes, and Gabriel Luna. Jude Collie and Brett Azar were also cast as a young John Connor and a younger T-800, respectively.
In the film, the machines send a Terminator, Rev-9 (Luna), back in time to eliminate Dani Ramos (Reyes), whose destiny is linked to the Human Resistance’s war against them. The Resistance sends one of their soldiers Grace (Davis) back to protect her, and a chain of events lead Grace and Dani to join forces with Sarah Connor and the T-800.
This film was intended as the first in a new trilogy of Terminator films but these plans were canceled due to mixed audience reactions and the film’s underperforming box office record.
Coming soon ………..Part 3: Terminator Genisys boxed game.