50. It Can Make Grown Men Cry
Simon Pegg's line in
Spaced wasn't just a joke - it's true! John having to say goodbye to the T-800 remains one of the most genuinely heart-rending moments of action cinema, unexpected perhaps but not
that surprising given the moving treatment by Cameron of Ripley in Aliens. It's an extremely bitter-sweet climax, with the villain vanquished but John having to lose the only viable father figure he has ever had; it's tragic but important for mankind's greater good. Furlong is a magnificent young actor here, and Arnie's line "I know now why you cry", if not dismissed as cheesy, might just tug away at your heart. With a gentle thumbs up as he is lowered into the steel, telling them everything will be alright, accompanied by Fiedel's affecting yet uplifting score, this is one of action cinema's most humane and honestly emotional moments.
