TERMINATOR 2: JUDGEMENT DAY
Added 2023-06-08 01:07:36 +0000 UTCGive me your thoughts on this summer classic, as I have been returning to the franchise more and more, as of late.
Comments
Oh yeah. Patrick is chilling and fantastic. I don't think I agree about the character development necessarily, as I don't think that's one of Cameron's strong suits. That said...I love what he did with the characters. As in...I love the direction he took them in. It's bold and unexpected, and just a really great second entry.
Deepfocuslens
2023-06-08 21:43:24 +0000 UTCSame. Love the tunnel section. I also love the hospital section. I saw Sarah Connor...and I knew I wanted to grow up and be fit and badass like her haha
Deepfocuslens
2023-06-08 21:42:06 +0000 UTCyeah I agree. I know that the logistics of keeping on for a third film were a nightmare, and Cameron was moving on to more ambitious things but...quite honestly, I kinda wish he hadnt. As you say...I'm not a big Avatar fan, or really a Titanic fan. I feel Terminator fits his wheelhouse well, and he could've really done wonders with it even further. Though...admittedly I like Terminator 3. I think there are things in it that are a lot better than T2...but also a lot that isnt as good. And yes...the first one I think deserves another look. It's better than people remember it.
Deepfocuslens
2023-06-08 21:41:26 +0000 UTCI’m one of the few people who prefers the first Terminator — it’s just so tight and perfect — but T2 is undeniable. The best kind of sequel, not repeating the first movie, but broadening and deepening the material. They actually thought about what would happen to Sarah Connor after the first movie, how she would change and develop, and Linda Hamilton delivers such an incredible performance. So many iconic moments and images — the reveal of the liquid Terminator, the Guns n Roses song. As James Cameron finishes his career with these Avatar movies that are just … (shrugs) … OK, it helps to remember why he’s one of the all-time greats.
Jim Barnes
2023-06-08 08:49:55 +0000 UTCIt's a masterpiece. I saw T2 about two times during my childhood. I can't count how many times I saw it overall. Special effects and action scenes are awesome. When you're watching The Making Of, you can see how much effort they put into it. Just the opening sequence alone is just wow. Tunnel chase is my favorite part. A film that was made with passion.
Oskitello
2023-06-08 04:33:30 +0000 UTCHaha I'm with you on a lot of this. Though I do have my issues with it...it's a special film. And yes, elegant, ambitious, but before Cameron became too egotistical. There are shades of it here for sure. We are leaning into it. But...we are still building. And I find that period to be by far, his most interesting as a creator.
Deepfocuslens
2023-06-08 04:32:22 +0000 UTCI think it's a great film. Though I don't think it's Die Hard great.
Deepfocuslens
2023-06-08 04:27:17 +0000 UTCLike with the first one, I've always enjoyed it but never loved it like so many have. It's definitely better than the first one from both a narrative and film-making perspective but I've always felt there was something missing that made it a classic for me. It's story isn't as predictable as the first one and while the first movie pretty well made, this one is even better especially the cinematography.
Stephen
2023-06-08 04:19:45 +0000 UTCAh yes, one of my formative movie experiences. I think it was the first R-rated film I had ever seen. I remember watching it with my family, thinking how awesome it was. So I might have a little bias towards it, but I don’t think it matters much. The film still holds up, hasn’t aged a day. Not an easy thing for a 30-something effects-heavy film to do. But that was part of James Cameron’s genius back in the day. He had a savvy understanding of what special effects could pull off in their time, but he also understood that they were nowhere near as important as story. T2 has, in my mind, one of the great unsung title sequences in movie history, with its hauntingly mesmerizing dissolving images of a playground on fire set to an updated orchestral version of Brad Fiedel’s iconically propulsive yet melancholy main theme (also underrated). With that infernal sequence, Cameron expertly sets up what’s at stake for the rest of the movie. Even as you enjoy all that follows, you understand the doom that hangs over everything, which gives the action an existential thrust. Before anyone else (except Coppola) Cameron understood that to make a great sequel you have to expand upon and deepen the themes and characters of the previous movie (as opposed to, you know, giving the audience more of the same). The first Terminator was a gnarly, low-down violent chase thriller with an inspired horror element—that of an unstoppable, indestructible being whose sole reason for existence was to kill you—built into its center. In T2, Cameron expands the story into a grand sci-fi action epic, with one awe-inspiring set piece after another. More than enlarging the scope of the movie though, Cameron made three masterful decisions: He turned the helpless, deer-in-the-headlights bystander Sarah Conner into a muscled-up, resourceful badass survivalist who can hold her own against dangerous threats. Linda Hamilton gives Sarah a hard-edged ferocity, but leavened with a sadness and vulnerability. She knows she has the fate of the world on her shoulders, and that gets to her along with her past trauma, but she presses on out of love for her son. She is, in her own way, as tough and determined as the two cyborgs. He made Arnold, the original film’s stone-faced, scarily tenacious killing machine, into the good guy. Admittedly, this was probably done for commercial reasons as well, but Arnold wonderfully makes the transition. He can be hilarious in his casual, ruthless brutality (he’s still a machine, after all), but he has a few nice, poignant moments as he shifts from being an innocent of the world to a protective father figure to John. And his last scene is an emotional devastator. Finally, how do you follow up a brutal, relentless cyborg as your villain? Cameron decided to give him an upgrade. And the T-1000, the shapeshifting liquid-metal creation who’s even more coldly efficient than the previous Arnold, is one of the great villains of the ‘90s. Robert Patrick, dressed immaculately in a pristine cop uniform, gives the T-1000 an indelibly menacing presence (it would take the better part of a decade for him to shake off his association with the character). His sleek smoothness as a killer makes for a great foil to the hulking brute strength of Arnold. But really, his effectiveness as a villain is a testament to the special effects, who render him, when he’s not in human form, as an eerily beautiful mass of shiny, silvery mercury-like substance. It’s one of the great special effects visions of cinema. All in all, T2 is a great film, made at a time when Cameron was content at being a great action director and not a savior of the world with the Avatar movies. I can get into my problems with John and how he’s written as well as the corny catchphrases, but I don’t want to. The flaws surrounding him don’t hurt the movie much for me anyway. I was going to try to be brief, but…turns out that I had a lot to say. It’s one near and dear to my heart. And the whole story should’ve ended here.
Bennett Oliver
2023-06-08 02:53:24 +0000 UTCStill holds up beautifully. Should be the gold standard for character writing in an action film. Sarah Connor, John, and the T-800 are still some of the best characters in any action film specifically from T2. Absolutely flawless character development and growth from all three that feels 100% genuine and relatable which is especially impressive in the case of the emotionless killing machine. Also, the T-1000 is how to make an exceptionally intimidating villain not just because of the still impressive looking CGI but also because of Robert Patrick and how little he speaks outside of a few scenes. He's honestly scarier than Arnold was in the first film. Also, I greatly appreciate how much more talking there is compared to modern action films. It's not afraid to go too long without a chase or a shootout which makes the final act all the more thrilling since we've been given time to care about the characters. James Cameron with this and Aliens was at his peak. In both cases, a perfect example of both style AND substance.
Wolfman Brandon
2023-06-08 02:21:10 +0000 UTCTerminator 2 in my opinion is James Cameron magnum opus. Less of a sequel to T1 and more of a spiritual sequel to Aliens. Both seem to share the model of once the action start it never stops and strong female’s protagonists before Hollywood started making it a big deal as if it never existed.Schwarzenegger is underrated as an actor and here he shows why. He showcases rather than undermine, his physical and vocal characteristics. The only other movies that I considered to rival T2 in terms of its flawless pacing is speed and mad max fury road.
Herbert Baker
2023-06-08 02:04:40 +0000 UTCI honestly think I've only seen it once. For some reason, that franchise was never something I watched much as a kid despite my dad being weirdly into the third movie. I've thought about revisiting at least the first two and maybe this is a sign that it's time to see them with fresh eyes.
Tyler Shobe
2023-06-08 01:35:04 +0000 UTC
