Ranking The Terminator Franchise From Worst To Best

The Terminator is a scary science fiction thriller with an eternal love story in the center. Propelled by the relationship between Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) and Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn), it is one of the greatest films of all time made on a low budget ($6.8 million).

Featuring propulsive action, giant Future War battle sequences, and a variety of stop motion/puppetry effects, James Cameron's first movie is the greatest first movie of any director. Not only that, but this film made Arnold Schwarzenegger the greatest action star of all time.

The story of Terminator mixes complexity with simplicity, and the film benefits accordingly. In a future war with the machines, John Connor saves humanity. In a last ditch attempt to stop Connor, the machines send a Terminator back to 1984 to kill his mother Sarah, before John was even conceived. John Connor sends back loyal soldier Kyle Reese to protect Sarah and destroy the Terminator. The rest of a film is a chase to save Sarah and destroy the Terminator.

The film was a breakout hit in 1984, playing positively with a female audience as it featured a strong and emotional love story between Sarah and Connor, reflecting the hit relationship of Cameron's career: Rose and Jack. But only in The Terminator does Cameron pay off on that relationship, with Sarah being impregnated with Kyle's child and John Connor himself. Kyle's heart goes on...