There are so many amazing scenes in the Terminator series that it’s hard to narrow it down to 10, never mind put them in any sort of order – but what the hell, i thought id give it a go.
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10) Kyle Reese acquires an instantly cool wardrobe in Terminator
After John Connor blasts him back to the past to save his mother, Kyle arrives (as all the time-travellers in Terminator do, why?) butt naked. He stumbles his way around LA for a few minutes trying to avoid the cops, but fails. In need of a disguise quick, he jumps into a local clothing emporium where he picks off the shelf a totally awesome three-quarter length grey trenchcoat and a pair of super-cool Nike Vandal Supreme High boots – instantly transforming him into one of the most iconic action-movie figures of our time. Ive been trying to perfect this look for years, but still come off looking like a tramp.
9) Arnie helps himself to some cool shades in Terminator 2
Well, this scene speaks for itself. You really feel like the poor bar owner has had it when he tries to stop Arnie from stealing the bike – but no, a quick dip of the pocket and out come the Ray-Bans – cue George Thorogood and ‘Bad to the Bone’. Brilliant.
Rise of the Machines Truck Chase
Look, T3 definitely has its flaws, but theres no doubt that there were some excellent scenes in this movie. The truck chase was classic Terminator. There’s John Connor and Partner escaping from the cops, the Terminator chasing them down to protect them and the T-X chasing the T800 down. There is some truly awesome destruction and general chaos here (T800 swinging off the crane is great!) making it one of my favourite Terminator scenes.
7) Sarah Connor – Pescadero State Hospital breakout
A great sequence for many reasons – principally though it was great to have the synchronicity in disbelief from Sarah Connor (that the T800 was here to rescue her), and the overly-cynical Dr Silberman (Earl Boen) that all the mad stories that Sarah Connor had been telling him for years were true. The fag hanging out his mouth as the T1000 walks through the barred door is priceles.
6) T800 Cyberdyne Shootout Sequence
The Ultimate edition DVD has a great little section on the making of this scene. As they are preparing to shoot a crew member (may even be Cameron himself) can be heard saying, ‘Arnold is going to enjoy this!’. This comes across as the T800 lets his chain gun rip through the assembled mass of LAs finest without actually killing any of them. Great stuff.
5) The end of ‘Rise of the Machines’
As we have mentioned in number 7, T3 had its poor moments. Luckily, with this surprisingly bold and downbeat ending it virtually erased all the memories of what had gone before. For once, our heroes were too late and Skynet had taken over, paving the way for the anticipated War-Movie stylings of ‘Terminator Salvation‘.
4) The last ten minutes of ‘Terminator’
The last desperate stand of Kyle Reese and Sarah Connor against the relentless Terminator has all the hallmarks of a classic horror movie ending. The deserted factory offers the perfect environment for shocks and surprises, and adds to the already tension filled atmosphere superbly. Obviously, respect is due to Stan Winstons amazing special effects work on the Terminator, a truly terrifying monster.
3) John Connor Rescue in Terminator 2
After escaping from the Terminators at the Shopping Mall, John Connor attempts to get away on his cool but massively underpowered motorcycle. Cue an amazing chase through the Los Angeles sewerage system, with the T800 on his Harley and the T1000 in command of a massive truck. The sense of speed and imminent danger in this sequence is quite superb – a thrilling ride of a movie chase sequence.
2) T800 destroys the Police Station in ‘Terminator’
This brutal and kinetically directed action sequence almost takes my top spot. This gave us an insight into what the Terminator was truly capable of, it would not stop for anything or anyone. From the instant that he ram-raids into the reception area you know that this aint going to be pretty. He then proceeds to take out the entire division of cops at the station with clinical ease (not even Lance Henrikson can stop him). A classic Terminator scene.
1) T1000 emerging from the flames
Well, as i have mentioned – it is almost impossible to choose a favourite, but in the end i had to plump for this. Just think back to the first time you saw this scene………a tyre rolls out from the burning wreck of the truck, Arnie holds out his Shotgun, but nothing happens……..then the familiar drone of the music come in and the chrome figure of the T1000 emerges from the flames, then morphs into Robert Patrick. A truly jaw dropping moment that defined an entore generation of special effects and still looks as amazing today almost 18 years later.
There you go, these are ten of my favourites scenes from the Terminator movies. Fell free to tell me how wrong i am by letting me know yours!………………
Cyberdyne Terminator Film Opinion john-connor, kyle-reese, rise-of-the-machines, terminator, terminator-2, top-ten-terminator-moments
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