Who Is The Best John Connor?

[Mitch Henessey]

Arnold Schwarzenegger is the face of the Terminator franchise, but what about John Connor? Connor is the hunted target in Judgement Day, Rise Of The Machines, Salvation, and The Sarah Connor Chronicles TV show. He is the man, who leads humanity in the war against SkyNet, and he is the main protagonist in the Terminator franchise. Throughout the Terminator franchise, John Connor has been portrayed by four different actors: Edward Furlong (Judgement Day), Nick Stahl (Rise Of The Machines), Christian Bale (Salvation), and Thomas Dekker (The Sarah Chronicles TV show). Technically, Michael Edwards is a John Connor. He portrays the adult version of John Connor in a flashback/intro during the beginning of Judgement Day. But his screen time only lasts about ten seconds, so I won't include him in this thread.

So with all that said, who is the best John Connor? It's tricky question to answer, so let's review each Connor and the actor, who portrayed him:

Edward Furlong

In T2: Judgement Day, John Connor is a young punk, but Furlong did bring a good sense of humor to this character. "Hasta la Vista Baby!" is probably the most memorable quote in the entire franchise ("come with me, if you want live" always provides strong competition), and you could feel sympathy for this character. He was a young kid, who wanted to reconnect with his mother, and at times, T2 John Connor could be vulnerable. Furlong sheds his rebellious kid persona, and Connor forms an unlikely bond with the T-800 (Arnold). You see some real emotional depth between both characters during this friendship, and the relationship between John and the T-800 is something special.

Nick Stahl

Stahl provides a decent enough performance for Connor in Rise Of The Machines. But the John Connor character in this film is a real whiny bitch most of the time. He's annoying, and is borderline unlikeable as a character. In this film, you see a very brief glimpse of Connor preparing humanity for the war on SkyNet. Actually seeing the chaos leading into Judgement Day is something to remember, but Stahl's performance isn't memorable.

Christian Bale

In Salvation, we actually see Connor in action during the war against SkyNet. Connor is older and more experienced in this film, and we don't have to hear any "why me!" complaints about being the chosen one. Bale brings a strong sense of confidence to Connor in Salvation, and his performance is one the major highlights in this film.

Thomas Dekker

John Connor is still a teenager during The Sarah Connor Chronicles TV show. Sure, he makes a few stupid mistakes along the way (mainly in season 2 with the Riley character), but Connor is more mature this time around. He's hesitant to accept his role, as humanity's last hope, but Connor never backs down from a challenge. He's fearless, and Dekker always provided a solid and believable performance for this character.

For me, it's a tough choice between Furlong and Bale, but I have to go with Bale. The legend of John Connor is built up throughout the Terminator franchise. Machines and humans risk their lives to protect him, because in the future, John becomes a fearless hero, who saves the world. For the first time, we see Connor in some real action during the humans VS machines war, and Bale delivered some genuine emotions in this film. He was tough, and Bale really provided the strong presence of a leader.

 

[JWGunslinger]

For me it's Furlong, mostly because I couldn't get into any of the Terminator stuff past 3. Christian Bale is a great actor and I thought he played the character well as he does with all of his roles, but I didn't feel the connection I did with Edward. In T2 you get to see the young John Conner, in the first you get glimpses of the older Conner when he's leading the fight against the machines and the young JC fills in the gaps of his origins which I really enjoyed.

 

[jmt225]

Christian Bale is right behind Brad Pitt as my favorite actor of all time.

Terminator 2: Judgment Day is in my top 10 favorite films.

And I'm a HUGE fan of Nick Stahl.

All that said, Thomas Dekker is unequivocally the absolute best John Connor.

Maybe it was because Dekker was apart of a tv show, thus he had more time to develop the character, but the guy still just nailed the character perfectly. You felt the pressure he was under. The anxiety. The pain. The heartbreak. All of it... Dekker nailed it like the others couldn't or didn't try to. Plus, the kid could be bad ass when he wanted to be on top of that, and it was believable because the fear remained in him, but he constantly overcame it, which is the true definition of bravery.

It's really a shame TSCC didn't last longer so we could have saw Thomas Dekker continue to grow into John Connor the man. I have no doubt it would have been one hell of a ride and the perfect conclusion to the Terminator franchise.

 

[HBsam31]

For me it is Bale. We saw Connor come along as a character, and I think Bale's performance brought out most of what John Conner was supposed to be. Rise of the Machines wasn't the best movie, but I never understood why Connor was so whiny in that one. Bale was dead on a the leader, and he played the role with confidence. Furlong was a close close second for me as he really set the tone for the John Conner character.

 

[Dowdsy McDowds]

But the John Connor character in this film is a real whiny bitch most of the time. He's annoying, and is borderline unlikeable as a character.

Loved this quote! Sums up my feelings on Stahl's effort perfectly.

Personally I would go for Furlong's portrayal as his performance was spot on; Linda Hamilton was the tough mother desperate to find and protect her son and Arnie was the machine sent to destroy the other machine but learned some humanity along the way.
Furlong had to be believable in the role as a character that Sarah would need to protect despite his tough shell, and that he could also teach the Terminator some things along the way about humanity ("You're not a Terminator anymore! You can't just go around killing people!")

Now I haven't seen TSSC so I can't comment on Dekker despite the praise he's getting thus far, so of the 3 Connor's I have seen I would have to go for Furlong.

 

[Wolf Pac]

Edward Furlong, he just nailed it with his performance. As the rebellious teenager, he was believable cause that's how the teenagers of the modern age are exactly like, but unlike the punk teenagers I come across on the streets all the time, this one was just straight up badass, and I remember as a kid, trying to act & talk like him whenever I would go outside, I thought he was so cool. And when he's vulnerable & sheds the rebel persona, you just really feel for Connor as he tries to reconnect with his mother & forms a father-son like relationship with the T-800. He had such great chemistry with the T-800, that I nearly cried when he had to leave him at the end of the movie. It's such a shame how Edward Furlong's career turned out, he was just excellent in T2 & Brainscan, but I still love the guy anyway.

I liked Rise Of The Machines but I have to agree that Nick Stahl was the worst part of that movie. Such a disappointment how he dropped the ball as John Connor after Edward Furlong put that character on the map. Luckily Bale picked the ball back up though. As for Thomas Dekker, well I've seen a few episodes of Sarah Connor Chronicles but I can't remember them very well, so I can't comment on him either.

 

[Hollywood Naitch]

Edward Furlong, he just nailed it with his performance. As the rebellious teenager, he was believable cause that's how the teenagers of the modern age are exactly like, but unlike the punk teenagers I come across on the streets all the time, this one was just straight up badass, and I remember as a kid, trying to act & talk like him whenever I would go outside, I thought he was so cool. And when he's vulnerable & sheds the rebel persona, you just really feel for Connor as he tries to reconnect with his mother & forms a father-son like relationship with the T-800. He had such great chemistry with the T-800, that I nearly cried when he had to leave him at the end of the movie. It's such a shame how Edward Furlong's career turned out, he was just excellent in T2 & Brainscan, but I still love the guy anyway.

This is spot on. It's still so emotional when Arnie lowers himself down into pit again, and you can see how hard it is for Connor to lose the Terminator having become so close to him throughout the movie.

I thought Furlong played the role perfectly. I usually really hate child actors, but the way Furlong ends up forming a bond with the Terminator and tries to teach him human emotions is fantastic, and one of the main reasons why T2 is right up there with my favourite films of all time.