Top 10 Schwarzenegger Movies (#1)

The Terminator
Character: The Terminator
Year: 1984

Let's face it, the sequel is never better than the original.  Bigger?  Sure.  More action packed?  Of course.  But better?  Rarely.  The Dark Knight, The Road Warrior, The Empire Strikes Back, and The Wrath of Khan. Those are the exceptions.  I could be talked into The Godfather Part II and maybe even The Two Towers as well, but for the most part, the list ends there.

So, what about Terminator 2?  It's not only on everybody else's list, but in most cases it's in the number one spot.  What gives?

Ok, I'll admit it, Terminator 2 is a fantastic movie.  I'll even go one further and cede the point that, in almost every regard, it is the superior movie.  The film making is more proficient, the pacing is better, and the message that the movie makes is much stronger.  Throw in the revolutionary special effects and just the impact that the movie had on society and pop culture in general, and it's easy to see why people feel this way about it.

But I still like the first one more.

Sure, it doesn't look as shiny, and the effects don't hold up nearly as well as the second one's do by today's standards, but the first Terminator will always be ranked higher than the second in my eyes.  And for me, it's because of the story.  As much as the second one has a more poignant and sweeping message about humanity, at the end of the day, the first movie is much more ingenious.  Maybe not better - I relent, T2 does belong on the list of sequels that are better than the original - but smarter.  Remember, this is still a list of my 'favourites', and not an objective, definitive list of the 'best'.  And while I love Terminator 2, I've always loved the original Terminator just that much more.