Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

And yes, I'd consider this more of an action film than Sci/fi since it takes place in contemporary times and locations. Nowadays, it can be hard to distinguish an action film from a video game. In fact there is one coming out soon that appears to be both. I guess studios these days feel that kids need something to see while resting their fingers after long days of playing their Nintendos/Playstations/whatever. So they come up with all of these PG-13 action films that are often mere meditations of comic books, toys, or old TV shows. Looking back at T2, one may find the action films of today sorely lacking in comparison.

The story of course deals with Arnold returning from the future to protect a boy who will some day lead the human resistance against a world run by machines. This time Arnold is the good guy (as per Schwarzenegger's request) and he's up against a lethal and much more advanced prototype sent to off the kid. The CGI used to create this new T-1000 terminator was jaw-dropping at the time this was released. Though technology to create such things is now infinitely more available, this has led to problems in my book. Now, there is too much done with computers, and stunts don't seem so wonderful if you know it was all done on a computer. Most of the stunts in T2 were live action and extraordinarily filmed using all types of vehicles and explosives. Director James Cameron really sold these stunts in terms of how he filmed them.

Not all directors are a good as Cameron. That is a given. But directors looking at making action films should take note of other strengths found in the construction of T2. First of all, you don't need shaky camera movements to sell to your audience that there is an exciting or crucial scene happening. Here the photography is crisp and detailed. You see everything clearly that you need to see. Right down to the little things. The action sequences are perfectly blocked and the spacing between hostile parties is easy for the audience to figure out. We know who is shooting at who, and how far apart they are from each other. Cameron also made sure his entire cast was proficient with the weapons they were going to fire in the movie. And guns run out of ammunition and need to be re-loaded at appropriate times. Nothing seems artificial in a shootout.

I could go on forever pointing out good qualities of this film. Just watching a bit of it on Bravo the other night reminded me why I saw it so many times in the theater. And this film was rated R! And it still made a fortune! That just proves if you make a good product, you don't have to dumb it down or tame it for the kiddies. If it's good enough, they'll find a way to see it! 10 of 10 stars. Unfortunately, the inspiration seems to have left this series with Cameron.

The Hound.

Fmovies: Terminator 2 perhaps shows that Cameron was at least was cognizant of life and its meaning. I mean, this IS the movie where the end of the world has the most impact outside of Dr. Strangelove, right? One of those outstanding dream scenes in movies, one of the ones that actually works because it's true in its savage simplicity, Linda Hamilton's Sarah Connor sees herself in her 1984 waitress get up with baby John in a playground and then everything gets wiped out by the BIG BOMB (Dmitri) that also incinerates Hamilton into BBQ.

So it's with this kind of thought that Terminator 2 means to be the most kick-assingest blockbuster of its (or all?) time while trying to keep the loss of life very small - or, rather, the "Bad" Terminator who was designed by the wizards at ILM can kill to its mission's content - I mean, DAMN, it still looks great, and in its silver-liquid-chrome simplicity much more, for me, impressive than the clanging junk of Bay disasters. It's arguable, of course, that the Terminator (T-800) does kill some people, incidentally, or, you know, all that gas from the gun he shoots could make some people really screwed up but, hey, "He'll live" is enough.

But if Cameron is "soft" at all here, it doesn't show too much... well, okay, Lil' John (hehe) does squeak and squak those early 90's amorphisms "No Problemo - chill out - listen to Kriss Kross - etc", and Edward Furlong is one of the things that just does not hold up here. He's serviceable at best, annoying at worst. He can cry okay though.

But it's Arnold, in his swaggering low-key and then with an occasional grin awesome leading man turn, and especially Linda Hamilton who make this tight script so compulsively watchable. Hamilton makes Connor into what Cameron likely saw in his one-time wife/collaborator Bigelow - a take-no-prisoners soldier who can take charge and has muscles and can probably knock you upside the head (maybe that's why they divorced, he couldn't take all that woman... but I digress, at any rate he moved around a lot till his current wife) And there is also a vulnerability still to Sarah that makes her so endearing.

She can never be completely hard, though time and experience and the dread of what's to come had scarred her, so by the time she has the chance to kill the Man Who Destroys The World, she can't do it. A scene like that is probably more emotionally gripping than so many other scenes that try in these blockbusters (something like Days of Future Past, which is a cousin of this flick, gets there). The fact Hamilton wasn't able to parlay such high caliber performance work into a better career is kind of sad, but at least this stands as a benchmark of a woman action hero, one of the two Cameron Wonder Women really.

So, blast your Guns N Roses, say hi to the kid from Salute Your Shorts (that's him, right, Connor's friend in the first act?) and ride your motorcycle through LA - it's a bad mother-jammer of a blockbuster that holds up enough to look over its faults (i.e. some dialog isn't tight, like the voice-over, it's alright but whatever - perhaps it was ambitious enough to best The Perfect Action Movie, which the first Terminator just was).

I am not a big fan of sequels,as most of them disappoint,but T2 certainly does not.In fact,it's a rare case,at least in my opinion, of a sequel actually surpassing the original film in terms of greatness.As in 99.9% of his films,Arnold Schwarzenegger is the good guy once again,but you don't mind once you witness the incredible villain performance of Robert Patrick.This film is nothing short of a beginning to end thrill ride.Let us not forget the talents of Linda Hamilton and Edward Furlong,who gave great supporting efforts.Thumbs up!

Terminator 2: Judgment Day fmovies. Who said sequels aren't any good? "Terminator 2" is the ultimate sequel, a big bad wolf ready to chomp the head off of anyone who crosses its path. It's dark, it's mean, and it's one tough movie. It's not as bleak as the first film, at least in terms of visuals, but rather has a new kind of bluish-tint that supplies a great backdrop to the ongoing battle between man and machine.

If there was ever a contemporary mainstream visionary director, it is James Cameron. Here we've got Cameron's real thoughts on the series, those repressed by a low budget in the original film. He lets loose here, filling every frame with hard-boiled action and special effects. He introduces a liquid metal Terminator that he wanted to use in the first film, but graphic processors and CGI were not advanced enough in 1984, at least not advanced enough to work on the low means he had to film the original. So his original dream is finally unveiled, and good golly, is it wonderful.

Yeah, he's "back." Arnold (like he needs any introduction?) returns as The Terminator, Series T-101, Model T-800, an indestructible cyborg sent from the future to assassinate Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) in the first film. Well, it's 1991. New film. New mission. He has to save the future resistance leader of mankind who will ultimately defeat the machines of the future, John Connor (Edward Furlong), Sarah's 11-year-old son. (Though his age has been switched from 11 to 13 and back to 9 over the years, with no help from the third film that takes place in 2003, yet claims he was 13 in 1991 though his age doesn't match with his age in the third. We'll just leave it at 11 in this film. Got that?)

Another model Terminator, the T-1000 (Robert Patrick), has been sent back to 1991 programmed to annihilate John Connor. Which explains Arnold's appearance. Arnold, an undoubtedly lesser opponent compared to the T-1000, has to help save the day and learn to appreciate humanity. It won't be easy. First, he has to find John Connor, who is a rebellious angst-driven pre-teen living with foster parents. Then, together they have to break into the local loony hospital and release Sarah from the clutches of Dr. Silberman (Earl Boen), who believes Sarah is delusional. (You may remember Silberman as the psychiatrist from the first film, too.) Then, they have to stop a computer chip designer (Joe Morton) from creating the first version of a SkyNet computer, modeled after a destroyed chip his employment company discovered at a large mechanical warehouse. (Which is, of course, the chip from the destroyed T-800 of the first film.)

Whew. On with the film analysis, right? Where to start? This isn't as fierce or brutal as the first film, but it's got plentiful action sequences, a large budget, great special effects (even compared to those gracing the screen nowadays), not to mention a great character study of the machine we loved to root against in the first film. Of course, this Terminator has no memory of the first film, since he wasn't in it--SkyNet creates hordes of the same version machines on a large conveyor belt and ships them off to fight in the war. Some are sent back through time. So, with that in mind, John Connor's resistance found an extra Arnold lying around in an abandoned warehouse, programmed him to keep John Connor out of harm, and sent him through the time portal.

Sarah doesn't trust him. In a deleted scene available on the Ultimate and "Xtreme" edit

Greetings from Lithuania.

WOW! The best word that describes this movie is "wow"! Not only to say that this is the best Action movie of all time, this is probably one of the greatest movies ever made . The people in my country watched this film when there where limited VHS cassettes at all. And again, my favorite Director did an timeless epic-masterpiece. Yes, an epic. Every scene in this movie is beyond the perfection. The timeless plot. Groundbreaking effects. Unforgettable "Hasta la vista, baby." .

Perfect direction for a sci-fix action film. When the action starts, you're in for the ride of your life. There never be the same movie like T2. What else I can say about this film? A Must see for everyone.

This superb sequel surpasses the excellent original in every department and quite simply you won't see a better action film. Set 15 years after the original Arnie may return as the good Terminator trying to protect John Connor but he's a redundant piece of scrap metal compared to the T-1000.

The opening hour and the last half hour is absolutely breathtaking with action sequences that still remain unsurpassed. Their's also a wonderful piece of storytelling 3/4 of the way through where Dyson relises the terrifying consequences of the project he's neglecting his family for.

The performances are memorable particularly Linda Hamilton's Sara Connor and simply put, they'll never make a better action film.