The Terminator
It's hard to believe that it's been twenty five years since Arnold Schwarzenegger uttered the infamous line 'I'll be back' for the very first time.
And a quarter of a century later it's McG in the director's chair for the fourth movie in the franchise terminator Salvation. Set in the future it's Christian Bale's character John Connor, who has fulfilled his destiny of leading the resistance against Skynet, that drives the movie as opposed to Schwarzenegger's terminator.
Rewind to 1984 and Terminator was James Cameron's baby and made on a tiny budget of $6.4 million, unlike Salvation's whopping $200 million.
Schwarzenegger was in the lead role as the cyborg sent back from 2029 to kill Sarah Connor, the future mother of John. But John Connor has a plan of his own as he too sends someone into the past, a human in the form of Kyle Reese to protect his mother.
The eighties was the perfect time to produce a movie driven by technology as the eighties was looking at it with some caution, while it could be a help it could also be a danger.
And after a dream that included a metal skeleton creature walking through flames Terminator was born. But it almost wasn't to be for Cameron as many of the studios weren't keen on allowing a first-time filmmaker take on the project.
But it was Hemdale Pictures that came to the rescue.
And Schwarzenegger in the lead role also almost didn't happen as the actor was told that to take on the role of the villain may hurt his career, he was Conan the Barbarian, a fighter and a hero and was first considered for the role of Kyle Reese.
But all these little hiccups behind them and Terminator hit cinema screens in 1984 to critical and commercial success. Grossing over $78 million at the global box office from a $6.4 million budget the movie was a hit.
The Terminator saw Schwarzenegger's career rocket as well as giving birth to one of the strongest female characters, in the form of Sarah Connor, to ever grace the big screen.
James Cameron brought the franchise back to the big screen seven years later in 1991 when Terminator 2: Judgement Day hit the screens.
With Schwarzenegger and Linda Hamilton back the movie was bigger and badder than the original as the film focused on the impact the present had on the future and the impact that the past had on the present.
Set ten years after the events of The Terminator and Sarah Connor has a son John whom she has been preparing for his role as humanity's leader. But after attempting to bomb a computer factory she is placed in a hospital for the criminally insane.
But Skynet are not content with letting John Connor grow up and become the threat that they fear sending a T-1000, in the form of Robert Patrick, to kill John. But John is once again protecting his past as he sends a reprogrammed Terminator to protect his younger self.
The movie was a box office smash grossing in excess of $519 million at the global box office, as well as being a huge hit with the critics.
It's incredible visual effects, marking the first use of natural human motion for a CG character and the first computer-generated main character, and exciting set pieces resulted in T2 being a huge impact in the genre of science fiction.
With James Cameron not interested in a third movie, as well as questions over Schwarzenegger appearing in the movie, that fact that Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines made it to the big screen in 2003 proved that this franchise couldn't be stopped.
Schwarzenegger did reprise his role but there was no Hamilton this time the cast list included Nick Stahl, Claire Danes and Kristanna Loken.
After to kill Sarah Connor before she gave birth to John and failing to kill John himself Skynet send a new model of Terminator, the T-X, back to kill as many future soldiers in the resistance as possible.
With the whereabouts of John Connor unknown to Skynet the T-X tries to kill John's future wife Kate. But once again the future is there to protect them as reprogrammed Terminator returns to the past.
Despite a new director, in the form of Jonathan Mostow behind the movie, Rise of the Machines was another box office hit for the franchise grossing over $433. It was a hit with the critics but failed to impress James Cameron.
Salvation is set in 2018 and John Connor has fulfilled his destiny predicted by his mother as he leads the resistance against Skynet. Despite poor reviews the film opened at number two in at the U.S. box office and there are already talks of a sequel.
Terminator Salvation is released 3rd June
FemaleFirst Helen Earnshaw
Tagged in James Cameron Terminator