Arnold Schwarzenegger's iconic role as the T-800 in the Terminator franchise continues to be one of the best in the history of sci-fi action cinema, even making its way onto AFI's "100 Years, 100 Heroes and Villains" list as the "22nd greatest villain" and "48th greatest hero" of all time.
From the leather jacket, to the black shades, the imposing physical stature, there are few humanoid robots that look as iconic as the Terminator. Created by Skynet, this self-aware AI and its updates have been waging war against humanity since the 80s, kicking butt and traveling through time ever since.
As a machine that is one of many copies, Schwarzenegger portrays several Terminator models throughout the franchise. Schwarzenegger appears in just about every Terminator film in one way or another, including the digital recreation of his likeness used in Terminator:
Salvation. He will forever be the iconic face of the franchise, even if his time in the role is set to come to a close. Here are Arnold Schwarzenegger's best moments in the Terminator franchise.
Update January 26, 2024: This year marks the 40th anniversary of the release of The Terminator, so this article has been updated by Amanda Minchin to include even more great moments from across the franchise.
10 Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines (2003) - Crane Chase
Arnold Schwarzenegger's third Terminator film is the weakest in the Terminator trilogy, unable to reach the high bar set by The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgment Day. However, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines still manages to feature some fantastic action sequences.
In what has come to be lovingly referred to as the "Crane Chase Scene", Kristanna Loken's T-X Terminator pursues John Connor in a massive mobile crane, destroying everything in its path. Schwarzenegger's Terminator avoids the destruction before being knocked off a police motorcycle by the crane's arm. Both Terminators try desperately to get rid of the other.
The Terminator franchise revolves around the dynamic of a pursuer, a protector, and the prey. Nowhere is this more apparent in this film, which was meant to incapsulate a final stand against the machines.
The chase scene in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines understands this and is executed wonderfully. The chase scene also lacks a musical soundtrack. This is replaced with the sound of sirens, engines, and complete chaos. This is certainly a more fitting ambiance for the moment at hand.
9 The Terminator (1984) - T-800 Removes Its Eye
The Terminator, is much more of a horror film in tone than any of the action films to follow. With a name befitting the genre, this movie hones in on the horror of a machine created for the sole purpose of killing.
A scene in the original Terminator film features the T-800 removing its eye in a classic body-horror moment. After injuring the pupil in question during a car crash, the Terminator proceeds to take out his own eyeball with a scalpel. The dingy bathroom, with its dripping faucet, provides just the perfect ambiance for the moment, which is created using practical effects in lieu of CGI.
8 Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) - "I Need Your Clothes, Your Boots, and Your Motorcycle"
This scene from Terminator 2: Judgment Dayfeatures just one line from Schwarzenegger, but really, that's all he needs to get what he wants. Arriving in the past to protect Sarah and John Connor from the incoming T-1000, the Terminator tells a bar guest it needs three things - his clothes, his boots, and his motorcycle.
No one else could get away with this quite like him. A clear callback to the entrances from the previous film, the T-800 stands by idly while the biker begins to harass him. Unfortunately for the biker, this doesn't last long.
7 Terminator: Dark Fate (2019) - An Untimely Demise
Some revisionist history was at play for this entry into the Terminator franchise. Following canonically after the events of Terminator 2, Terminator: Dark Fate picks up just three years later in 1998. Having retreated to Guatemala, Sarah and John Connor are ambushed by yet another Skynet special - a T-800 who looks far too similar to their recent hero.
This nonchalant Terminator strolls into the scene mid-motherly revoire. He is at last successful in his mission, taking out John Connor once and for all, mere minutes into the movie... even though Skynet is no longer around to do much about it.
6 Terminator: Dark Fate (2019) - Carl's Goodbye
Now free from Skynet, the T-800 of Terminator: Dark Fate lives in a picturesque cabin with his wife and child. Years after murdering John Connor, he's now known simply as Carl. He's grown the equivalent of a human conscience over the years, and has used his ability to suss out an incoming Terminator to warn Sarah of upcoming threats.
Having already warned his newfound family that he might one day be called upon to right the wrongs of his past, he's forced to say goodbye to them. To do so, he draws upon a well-known line from the franchise, adding a simple tweak - "I won't be back."
5 Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) - Thumbs Up
It's Sarah Connor panics when she first sees the Terminator in Terminator 2: Judgment Day... he was, after all, in the same form sent to kill her just a few short years earlier. T2's T-800 Terminator is identical to the Terminator from the first film, so Sarah Connor initially sees the same machine that caused the death of Kyle Reese, John's father.
Sarah Connor soon learns that this Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is actually another Terminator model sent from the future to protect Connor and her son. While John Connor quickly grows fond of the machine sent by his future self, Sarah is not so easy to trust.
Throughout the film, the Terminator protects Sarah and John Connor from the new Terminator sent to kill them, the T-1000. After finally defeating the T-1000, the Terminator instructs Sarah to lower him into a vat of molten steel in order to prevent its technology from being used to create Skynet. They tearfully do as he requests. However, as he's lowered in, he leaves behind a parting shot in the form of a thumbs up to his newfound pal.
4 Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) - Escape from the Hospital
In Terminator 2: Judgment Day, John Connor orders the Terminator to help save his mother, who has been placed in a mental hospital, from being killed by the T-1000. They get there in the nick of time, but with the T-1000 nipping at their heels.
After taking care of the orderlies who are trying to sedate her, the Terminator reaches a hand out to Sarah, delivering the iconic catchphrase, "Come with me if you want to live." This exact phrase was first uttered by her former lover Kyle Reese when he tried to save her from the T-800 in the first film. This connection helps get Sarah on board and following them out, right as the T-1000 gets set to show off his morphing moves.
3 Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) - Bike Chase
Even decades later, the bike chase in Terminator 2: Judgment Day reserves its spot as one of the best chase scenes in film history, ever. In the scene, a young John Connor attempts to flee from the ruthless truck-driving T-1000. Just then, the Terminator arrives to rescue John Connor. Terminator 2's chase features a great motorcycle jump, an epic one-handed shotgun reload, and spectacular explosions.
2 Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) - "Hasta la vista, baby"
Some of the Terminator's iconic one-liners actually originate from none other than the person he's sworn to kill/protect. In Terminator 2: Judgment Day, John Connor tells a Terminator reprogrammed to protect him to use a catchphrase. His selection? The eve classic "Hasta la vista, baby."
Later in the film, Schwarzenegger uses the famous catchphrase before shooting Robert Patrick's frozen T-1000. Unfortunately for the Terminator and the Connors, the T-1000 is surprisingly resilient and is not yet defeated.
1 The Terminator (1984) - "I'll Be Back" / Police Station
Even more iconic than "Hasta la vista, baby" is Arnold Schwarzenegger's "I'll be back" catchphrase in The Terminator. After tracking Sarah Connor to a police station, the Terminator is told it must wait before it can see her. His response? "I'll be back.
" Moments later, he makes his triumphant return, smashing a truck right through the walls of the precinct, ready to kill anyone who stands in his way. The police fight back, but are unable to defeat a robotic killing machine sent from the future.
