Arnold Schwarzenegger has appeared in five Terminator movies as various iterations of the T-800, so what happened to make the once-terrifying figure a forgettable afterthought in recent outings? The Terminator franchise has been through more iterations than most sci-fi cinema staples. Beginning in 1984 with James Cameron’s slasher-influenced The Terminator, the series soon progressed from R-rated action to more family-friendly blockbuster territory with 1991’s bigger budget Terminator 2: Judgment Day.
The tone stayed roughly the same for 2003’s Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, albeit with more goofy humor and less intensity. However, the lackluster critical response to that second sequel led director McG to completely revamp the franchise with 2009’s post-apocalyptic Terminator: Salvation, a war movie whose future setting and grim tone had little in common with its predecessors. Salvation was not well-loved by the fandom either, resulting in 2015’s Genisys trying another new track for the series.
A muddled misfire, director Alan Taylor’s Genisys brought in new, contradictory timelines and attempted to retcon much of the series and start over anew. This attempt failed with critics and fans, finally prompting a third attempted reboot in the form of 2019’s Dark Fate. Helmed by Tim Miller, this 2019 outing proved the least successful of the series so far despite bringing back the contentious R-rating. Attempting to establish another, third version of the timeline left viewers frustrated with Dark Fate, but the movie’s biggest misstep was reinventing the once-formidable T-800 as a harmless, lovable family man. So, what changed throughout the beloved action series that made Arnold Schwarzenegger’s original villain-turned-unlikely-hero into an annoyance for many viewers, rather than the highlight of each installment?
The Original T-800 Was A Villain
Arnie’s original turn as the T-800 is still seen by many as the best incarnation of the role, with the actor’s deadpan delivery and imposing physique ensuring the part balances total menace and a dry humor. However, despite the movie’s moments of levity, there is no mistaking that Arnold’s android assassin is the villain of the original Terminator and a violent, apathetic one at that, who spends the movie shooting first and never asking questions. The pitiless brutality of the character made the movie tense and terrifying but also set the stage for one of the most dramatic about-faces in cinema history.
Terminator 2: Judgment Day Humanized The T-800
Terminator 2: Judgment Day flipped the original movie’s dynamic, turning the T-800 into a surprise good guy and replacing him with an even more threatening villain. The first sequel in the series did the impossible, reinventing the robot assassin as a surprisingly good-hearted father figure and deepened the character in the process, allowing Schwarzenegger to flex his comic and dramatic muscles alongside his actual muscles. However, this proved almost too effective a reinvention, as Schwarzenegger’s growing stardom and status as a leading man meant he was now expected to pay the hero of the next Terminator movie—an issue that would haunt the T-800 throughout the rest of its screen appearances.
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines Humanized The T-800 (Again)
The troubled production of Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines means that the movie’s tone was never going to be smooth, and the finished film bounces between a bleak apocalyptic ending and moments of cringy, over-the-top comedy in a way few fans cared for. However, the biggest victim of this tonal wobbling was the T-800, with this sequel’s version of the heroic protector leaning a little too hard into comic relief territory (the disco shades were a big mistake). Arnie is still an undeniably solid action hero at this point in his career and, as such, turns in a perfectly passable performance in a movie that never justifies its silliness; this isn’t the same T-800 John Connor knew in childhood and therefore has no reason to be so warm. Still, the lesser sequel just about gets away with it.
Terminator: Salvation Barely Included The T-800
The nadir of the T-800’s screen career is Terminator: Salvation’s T-800 appearance, a scene so brief it was achieved entirely without Arnie’s involvement. A momentary cameo, Schwarzenegger’s recognizable visage appears in this sequel for a few seconds via CGI before being reduced to his skeletal form. Arnie didn’t even reprise the role for this outing, and it’s the least consequential appearance the T-800 makes in the franchise. While this may not appear to be a major problem, it does mean the actor’s return in the next movie was met with resignation as much as excitement, since the failure of a Schwarzenegger-free outing made this comeback seem blandly pragmatic.
Terminator: Genisys Humanized The T-800 (Yet Again)
As far as aging Terminators with misty-eyed moments go, Pops is not quite as embarrassing as Dark Fate’s Carl would later prove to be. However, the T-800 sent back into the past to raise Sarah Connor is still a paternal figure whose status as her stepdad confuses the franchise chronology and smacks of a desperate attempt to recreate Judgment Dat’s cute dynamic. That movie’s humanized T-800 worked primarily because viewers went on a journey with the character, seeing him start to defrost and connect with John despite his literal inhumanity. Introducing a character like Pops as an already-harmless, sweet old man defangs his potential as an action hero and gives his character nowhere to go, making Genisys’ attempt to recreate the dynamic a failure.
Terminator: Dark Fate Humanized The T-800 (One Time Too Many)
Terminator: Dark Fate is a movie filled with good ideas that often fail in terms of execution, as epitomized by its opening scene's merciless T-800. Reinventing the T-800 as a cold-blooded killer who dispatches John Connor in his childhood was extremely controversial, but also an undeniably bold move. Reintroducing this assassin as an aging stepdad named Carl who settled down in the suburbs after this assignment is much less impressive. Bringing back the T-800 yet again exhausted audiences and left them uninterested in Schwarzenegger’s character, who had now been a humanized shell of his intimidating self more times than he was ever an effective Terminator villain in the first place and, sadly, completed the machine's onscreen devolution.