Many of film's best sci-fi action moments still belong to the Terminator franchise.

For the time being, the Terminator film franchise is suffering a dark fate. All plans for future films were terminated after Terminator: Dark Fate became the third film in ten years to fail to launch a new trilogy. Regardless of the new Terminator films' financial underperformance in recent years, Arnold Schwarzenegger's iconic role continues to be one of the best in the history of sci-fi action cinema. In fact, Schwarzenegger's Terminator made its way onto AFI's "100 Years, 100 Heroes and Villains" list as the "22nd greatest villain" and "48th greatest hero."

The Terminator is a machine created by Skynet, a self-aware artificial intelligence waging war against humanity. As a machine that is one of many copies, Schwarzenegger portrays several Terminator models throughout the franchise. Schwarzenegger appears in every Terminator film including the digital recreation of his likeness used in Salvation; The Terminator, Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, Terminator Salvation, Terminator Genisys, and Terminator: Dark Fate. From the leather jacket to the black shades and Schwarzenegger's imposing physical stature, there are few humanoid robots that look as iconic as the Terminator. Here are Arnold Schwarzenegger's best moments in the Terminator franchise.

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. Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines still manages to feature some fantastic action sequences, including the crane chase. The chase scene lacks a musical soundtrack, replacing it with the sound of sirens, engines, and complete chaos.

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 arm. Both Terminators try desperately as they attempt to get rid of the other. The Terminator franchise revolves around the dynamic of a pursuer, a protector, and the prey. The chase scene in Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines understands this and is executed wonderfully.

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The original Terminator film, The Terminator, is much more of a horror film than any of its following films. A horror tone is very fitting when a film is called "The Terminator" and is about a machine created for the sole purpose of killing. While the sequels, especially T2 and Dark Fate, attribute very human qualities to Schwarzenegger's Terminator, The Terminator portrays the emotionless machine working to carry out Skynet's original programming.

A scene in the original Terminator film features the T-800 removing its eye. The Terminator models are designed to appear human but they are not, and this scene portrays them as the killing machines they truly are. Featuring a mix of Schwarzenegger and the use of an animatronic, the scene refrains from using CGI. It is one of the creepier moments in the franchise, injecting a significant dose of horror to an 80s sci-fi action film.

Some of the Terminator's iconic one-liners actually originate from John Connor. In Terminator 2: Judgment Day, John Connor tells a Terminator reprogrammed to protect Connor, to use the phrase "Hasta la vista, baby." Later in the film, Schwarzenegger uses the famous catchphrase before shooting Robert Patrick's frozen T-1000.

Schwarzenegger's delivery of the iconic line, featuring a brief pause before the word "baby," makes the catchphrase one of the most recognizable and quoted lines from the Terminator franchise. Unfortunately for the Terminator and the Connors, the T-1000 is surprisingly resilient and is not yet defeated.

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More iconic than "Hasta la vista, baby" is Arnold Schwarzenegger's "I'll be back" catchphrase in The Terminator. Tracking Sarah Connor to a police station, the Terminator is told it must wait before it can see her. "I'll be back," the Terminator announces, returning with a truck it rams into the station and weapons it uses to kill anyone standing in the way between him and Sarah Connor. The police fight back, but are unable to defeat a robotic killing machine sent from the future.

The scene dramatically raises the stakes, further showing the audience that the Terminator is a formidable foe. An entire police station is unable to stop it, but it is up to Sarah Connor and Kyle Reese to somehow defeat the Terminator. The fate of humanity relies on two people alone.

Sarah Connor panics when she first sees the Terminator in Terminator 2: Judgment Day. T2's T-800 Terminator is identical to the Terminator from the first film, so Sarah Connor initially sees the same machine that tries to kill her and causes the death of Kyle Reese. Sarah Connor learns that the 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 does not easily trust the Terminator.

Throughout the film, the Terminator protects Sarah and John Connor from the T-1000. After defeating the T-1000, the Terminator instructs Sarah to lower it into a vat of molten steel, in order to prevent its technology from being used to create Skynet. The Terminator apologizes to a tearful John Connor, and as machines can not process regret, it may imply that it began to develop emotion. As it meets its end, the Terminator salutes Sarah and John Connor with a thumbs up.

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Arriving in the past to protect Sarah and John Connor from the T-1000, the Terminator tells a bar guest it needs his clothes, his boots, and his motorcycle. The scene features only one line from Schwarzenegger but his body language and actions allow it to become one of the Terminator franchise's finest moments.

There is incredible attention to detail, featuring a holster on the side of a motorcycle for the Terminator's shotgun, a great song selection in George Thorogood's "Bad to the Bone," and Schwarzenegger driving off on the motorcycle with the light off but still wearing sunglasses at night. Is it a ridiculous scene? Yes. Is it amazing? Also yes.

Kyle Reese is the first in the Terminator franchise to deliver the "Come with me if you want to live" catchphrase. The line is said when Reese saves Sarah Connor in the first Terminator film. However, the catchphrase is associated more with Arnold Schwarzenegger's Terminator. That is because Schwarzenegger arguably said it best.

John Connor orders the Terminator to help save his mother at a mental hospital from the T-1000. The Terminator reaches a hand out to Sarah, delivering the iconic catchphrase before they leave. While the Terminator is a villainous killing machine in the original Terminator film, Schwarzenegger plays a heroic role in the sequel. The line being reused by the Terminator after its initial use [by Kyle Reese] is brilliant, shifting to a new character in the role of protector.

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Three decades later, the bike chase in Terminator 2: Judgment Day reserves its spot as one of the best chase scenes in film history. John Connor attempts to flee from the ruthless truck-driving T-1000 as the Terminator arrives to rescue John Connor. The chase is incredibly well-shot and does not rely on CGI, instead using practical effects to create a scene that stands the test of time.

Terminator 2's chase features a great motorcycle jump, an epic one-handed shotgun reload, and spectacular explosions. Thanks to steady camera work, the action is clear and showcases the beautiful stunts. No shot in the scene is wasted. Very few films come anywhere close to successfully conveying the suspense and intensity of T2's chase scene.

Matthew Kang is a writer for MovieWeb and English Literature graduate from the University of Waterloo. He is also a scriptwriter with a burning passion for storytelling in all its forms.