Full disclosure: we were completely sober when we watched Terminator: Salvation.

And yes, it very much is the most relevant summer movie of the year.

Why? The Terminator franchise has a history of being timely, a sort of dark mirror reflection of current society when each film was created. The first film has been described as a punk love story – perhaps the most apt description of the feeling of alienation and disenfranchisement many young people had in the early 1980s. The shadow of some future nuclear conflict wasn’t science fiction as much as it was everyday headlines, and the idea that a relentless killing machine might come back in time and chase one of us down seemed possible if not probable.

It is the same feeling of disenchantment that led to the punk movement to begin with, and it is no mistake that the seminal punk film Repo Man opened a mere five months before The Terminator did – and was set in the same grime-covered Los Angeles that a few years before tore itself apart in some of the worst race riots in American history.

Sarah Connor started the film as a party girl stuck in a dead-end waitress job, who is jostled out of her comfort by a machine intent on killing her and a protector from the future who falls in love with her. In that movie, meaningful love is only possible in fleeting glimpses in odd situations set across a backdrop of sewer tunnels and back alleys filled with the homeless. It’s amusing to see Arnold’s T-800 walk into a gun store and simply order automatic weapons as though he’s picking up some Chicken McNuggets precisely because it wasn’t so far-fetched then. The Terminator caught some of the worst aspects of the Thatcher-Reagan years, especially as it appeared to those caught on the fringes at the time: traditional love and romance was bullshit.

Terminator 2: Judgement Day debuted in a much-different 1991, two years after the Berlin Wall fell and the spectre of global nuclear war faded. If The Terminator was a punk love story, Terminator 2 was a punk family tale: the fringe grew up and got a haircut. Despite being the future leader of the human race, John Connor desperately needs something very basic: a father figure. The T-1000, a liquid metal terminator, hunts John directly now, but the old enemy (Arnold’s T-800) is now his friend and protector – and the father figure he wants. Your enemy is now your friend, and your new enemy can look like anything. Nuclear war is no longer inevitable: you can stop it simply by destroying all the pieces of various terminators and blowing up the building researching them. The original ending, with a black highway at night, is intentionally open with an optimistic voiceover, reflecting for the first time a feeling of hope and empowerment: there’s no fate but what we make for ourselves.

Then came Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, two years after the 9/11 attacks and the War on Terror. The message changed drastically: Judgement Day could never be avoided, only delayed. To make matters worse our old protectors and value systems were worthless in the face of the new enemy. She could morph like the enemy from Terminator 2, but could bring energy weapons with her through time (previous terminators could not) – foiling the ‘airport security’ that at least put the machines on a relatively equal footing with their prey. It wasn’t the bad writing and overblown action sequences that made Terminator 3 suck, it was the times in which it was created. All the things that made the first two great and memorable movies, especially the second, were gone from the third because it 2003 was a time of hopelessness and inevitable destruction again. There was never a chance to make your own fate, and while ‘Judgement Day’ was pushed back it was never cancelled entirely – and we were only kidding ourselves when we thought we’d solved the problems.

Which brings us to why Terminator: Salvation is a great film, or at least the most relevant popcorn flick you’re going to see this summer (seriously, Transformers 2?) Quite simply, because it’s an extremely profound reflection of the state of our world. We’re learning that, like Sam Worthington’s Marcus Wright, our so-called enemies can be our greatest allies. The machines aren’t the clean, laser-firing skull-crushing future robots, but belch diesel exhaust as they pluck people from their hiding places with claws that came from the industrial revolution. Our military leaders may grossly miscalculate their chances of success, and the resistance is something we’re all part of as long as we’re receiving the message.

Something introduced in Terminator 3 and expanded greatly in the criminally-cancelled Sarah Connor Chronicles is periodic changes to the future timeline. While we may still be marching towards Judgement Day, we can have an effect on the future by our actions today – it isn’t simply a matter of hunkering down in a bunker and waiting for the nukes to fly. Salvation presents a changed future, unfamiliar from the first two flims: the optimistic clean-fusion batteries of the 1980s have been replaced with combustion engines and massive industrial complexes, and Los Angeles may still be a boneyard but at least there are plants in the Griffith Observatory. And the Arnold guy? He’s arrived ten years early, so Skynet needs to be fought throughout time because it’s going to continue to fuck around with its future as well.

Most importantly is this key element: Skynet is something that can be defeated again and our fate is back in our hands. And maybe, the John Connor of this timeline will send his friend Kyle back to just the right moment to stop it all from ever happening.

In short, it’s our story playing out on the big screen once again. The question is, what will the next Terminator look like? Maybe a little like the Sarah Connor Chronicles, where the machines try to defeat Skynet themselves by creating a kinder, gentler alternative. The war with the machines is really nothing more than a metaphor for wrestling with our own human nature. Arnold was wrong: it’s not in our nature to destroy ourselves, it’s just a habit we’ve picked up. Terminator Salvation achieved the highest honour for a summer action flick by being very relevant to our own lives, because for the first time in quite a while we – all of us – are once again feel empowered to make our own fate.

[story by Jason Mical]

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It had it all – a furious star, a nonsense story, an oddly-named director – but now Terminator Salvation has more.

That’s right – Arnold Schwarzenegger. Sort of. Even though it opens next month, Arnold Schwarzenegger still doesn’t know if he’ll be in Terminator Salvation or not. He might be, but only if producers insert footage from the first Terminator into the new film.

Which is rubbish. We want Arnold Schwarzenegger in Terminator Salvation in real life, perhaps as a demonstration of the time Skynet got drunk and made a murderous robot that looked like a fat old man for a laugh.

There’s nothing that anybody likes more than a third sequel to a 25-year-old film where you’re asked to completely disregard its entire TV spin-off series, most of what happened in the second sequel and the alarming realisation that in the future all embittered leaders of resistance movements against armies of unstoppable machines hellbent on the eradication of mankind will have accents that lurch indiscriminately between London, LA and borderline offensive comedy Pakistani.

And therefore, there’s nothing that anybody will like more than Terminator Salvation. Hype is already at fever pitch over Terminator Salvation, having been drummed up by a fairly impressive trailer and that tape of the angriest man in all the word bellowing “AH DA DA DA DA!” at a subordinate. But you know what would be the robot cherry on the cyborg cake? Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Arnold Schwarzenegger has played such a big part in all the other Terminator movies – he was the unstoppable villain in the first one, the underdog hero in the second one and the embarrassing shadow of his former self in the third one – that it wouldn’t feel right if he didn’t have a part to play in Terminator Salvation.

And now there’s a fighting chance that he might. In a way. In a really crappy way. The LA Times reports:

Warner Bros. is exploring whether it can insert images of Schwarzenegger from the original “Terminator” movie into the new film starring Christian Bale, directed by McG and slated for release May 21…  In the film, a prequel to the original, Schwarzenegger would be in a brief scene in which the main character encounters him as a “future Terminator,” according to the governor.

As potentially rubbish as that sounds, the description is a little vague. We imagine this means that Terminator Salvation will feature a scene where Arnold Schwarzenegger time-travels back from the future to try and kill Christian Bale, but Christian Bale gets all “YOU’RE A NICE GUY, YOU’RE A NICE GUY, BUT THAT DOESN’T FUCKING CUT IT!” on him, so Arnold Schwarzenegger decides it’ll be easier to time-travel back even further and just kick his mum in the stomach when she’s pregnant with him instead.

If that’s the case, we’re sold. Someone book us a ticket.

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Oh, and the fact that Hollywood hasn't come up with any original ideas for years. And when they do they want to make the most of it. But sometimes sequels can actually eclipse the original.

It's certainly rare. For every Godfather Part II there is a Speed 2, Ocean's 12 and Another 48 Hours waiting in the wings. For God's sake, this was going to be a a top 10, but we could only think of five.

But anyway, here goes:

5. The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

Irvin Kershner

Geeks all around the world have been battling with this tricky question for years (or is that light years?) Is The Empire Strikes Back better than Star Wars?

Frankly, get a life.

We would say, as a kid, we probably preferred the original. It's got more action in it; it's got less Yoda talking nonsense in it; and, let's face it, you never forget your first love. But as we get older we start to appreciate the second film a lot more.

There's more Darth Vader; it has the bit in the snow; and it has Boba Fett in it (Don't start, Fett was only added to Star Wars later.)

It's a much darker film, and we can remember as a kid being angry when it finished, which is usually a good sign.

Of course, if we'd have known then that it was going to finish with a teddy bears' picnic (bloody Ewoks!) we would probably have been grateful.
 

4. Terminator II: Judgement Day (1991)

James Cameron

More thrills, more spills and more terminators. It's as simple as that.

You have all the best elements of the first one, but with better special effects. No argument as far as we're concerned.

In fact, the only thing bad about Terminator II: Judgement Day is that it led to the turd that is Terminator 3.
 

3. Dawn of the Dead (1978)

George Romero

After annoying all of the sci-fi fans, we may as well try and irritate the horror fans too.
Okay, there is no denying that Night Of The Living Dead is a true horror classic.

However, Dawn of the Dead is far more shocking, it's funnier and you get to see all of the gruesomeness in colour. Bonus.
 

2. Aliens (1986)

James Cameron

This is another one that has been argued over for far too long.

Okay, look Aliens is just better. It's got more action, more stunning death scenes and more, errr, Aliens.

Why go for one face-sucking, stomach-bursting alien (alright, so that's strictly two) when you can have an army of them?

Case closed. No, argument won.

However, we do feel a bit unclean for nominating two James Cameron films.
 

1. The Godfather II (1974)

Francis Ford Coppola

This was a tough one. Huge fans of the original Godfather.

But the fact that you have got two of possible the finest screen actors around for the price of one just swings it for us.

Al Pacino is, as always, brilliant. But Robert De Niro, who isn't always so brilliant (The Fan and Analyse This anyone?), just shades it.

And anyone who wants to argue could find themselves sleeping with the fishes.

The Sarah Connor Chronicles could be a disaster, and not just because the title is really hard to say out loud. It’s from the creators of Terminator 3: The Rise of Machines, which is not exactly a selling point. The show is also trying to tap into a much loved sequel; it's sci-fi, and with sci-fi there are always die-hard fans who rightly or wrongly are invariably hard to please. 

The role of Sarah Connor is also a very big and muscly one to fill – Linda Hamilton owned that character, you believed she could open up a can of whoop-ass at any moment.  She said things like “I'll pump him full of this shit; I swear!” and you believed her. So can a series chronicling her life be any good, especially without the likes of Hamilton and Schwarzenegger?  

The SCC starts off roughly where Terminator 2: Judgement Day left off. The audience finds Sarah and John Connor in 1999, where they are once again being pursued by Skynet agents (no free broadband package here). 

Sick and tired of running, they decide to stay put in the future (2007) and fight in order to save the world and the inevitable Armageddon that is heading its way. With no Bruce about it’s up to the Connors, with a little help from a robotic friend, to stop Skynet.  

Lena Headey steps in as Sarah Connor, a British actress who has proved her worth with films such as Mrs Dalloway and Aberdeen, not to mention her Hollywood breakthrough role as the anti-stay-at-home-Spartan-housewife in the critically acclaimed 300. She is a slightly different shade of Sarah but still a very dangerous and effective one. She says things like “Half an hour. One bag… plus the guns. I’ll make pancakes.” What’s not to love?

Thomas Dekker plays John Connor and Summer Glau plays Cameron – his little robotic future friend. It’s not long after they meet at his new high school that all hell breaks loose. The pilot as a whole is well acted, despite some really cheesy lines, and sets up the (well known, nearly worn out) story and indeed the series nicely. 

The SCC is unlikely to be as popular as 24 or Heroes because it’s not as accessible and weirdly not everyone is into killer robots. For you Terminator fans out there, you’ll either hate it or tolerate it but it's well worth a watch or two. The budget is there for the big stunts and the acting capability of Headey is enough to drive the series.   

Sarah Connor never said she would be back, but we’re strangely glad she is. 

The Sarah Connor Chronicles aired in the US on 14th January and is coming soon to the UK on Virgin 1.

[story by Gemma Addy]

Set between Terminator 2 and Terminator 3, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles is the long-promised show that brings the Terminator story to a television audience, only without Arnold Schwarzenegger, the gigantic budget or the rubbishy Guns 'N Roses soundtrack.

And, slightly miraculously, people don't think seem to think that Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles is crap.

It's not a good time to be a robotic lady, you know. Look at The Bionic Woman – cancelled after less than one season because nobody wanted to watch that depressing EastEnders girl running quite fast and nothing else for any longer than they needed to.

So on that basis, things didn't look so hot for Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles. Announced over two years ago, the Terminator TV show has been one of the most hotly-anticipated shows in recent years even though, strapped of the multimillion dollar budgets of the movie franchise, there was a big chance that the Terminators would all just be blokes wearing metal dustbins and, instead of killing them by throwing them between the blades of an airborne helicopter and then blowing them up with 500-ft explosions, they'd all just happen to suffer from particularly severe peanut allergies.

In fact, judging by the trailers, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles looks like a cross between Smallville and the last season of 24…

The early reviews for Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles are in and, even though the show plainly features an indestructible robot warrior from the future who looks a lot like a prissy teenage girl, they actually seem pretty good. Reuters especially seemed to like it, calling the show a 'triumph' and adding:

Director David Nutter gets the series off to a rousing start, practically packing every frame with suspense, special effects and an urgency that drives this show like an incessant drumbeat. Can subsequent episodes measure up to this glitzy and heart-pounding pilot? A second episode sent to critics pretty much assures they can.

Exciting. Hopefully it won't be too long before Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles makes its way over to these shores, because we can't wait to see how it ends.

Oh wait, we saw Terminator 3 at the cinema so we know that the robots don't ever kill John Connor. Oh well, in that case never mind.

Read more:

Terminator TV Spinoff A Triumph – Reuters