Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
Director: James Cameron
Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong, Robert Patrick, Earl Boen, Joe Morton, S. Epatha Merkerson, Jenette Goldstein, Xander Berkeley
Writers: James Cameron, William Wisher
Synopsis:
The 21st century AI computer Skynet once again sends a Terminator back to the past in an attempt to kill its enemy John Connor (Furlong), some 10 years after it attempted to kill John's mother. This time, two Terminators are sent back in time: the T-1000 (Patrick), sent by Skynet to kill young John and the T-800 (Schwarzenegger), sent by future John as a protector for himself. With the help of his new guardian, John breaks his mother, Sarah (Hamilton) out of a mental institute and tries to prevent Judgment Day, all while dodging repeated attacks from the T-1000.
First Impressions:
I was 15 when this movie hit theaters and while it definitely would have been something I would have loved to watch, the "R" rating pretty much meant I was waiting for this on video. I saw this right around the same time as the first one and that was due largely to my brother, who was also a movie buff at the time. He used to work at a video store, so he was always bringing home various movies and sometimes, if he was in a good mood, he'd let me watch it with him. This was one such movie and I remember my brother, who managed to see it in theaters, talking it up quite a bit. Despite the build up, I was not disappointed and I remember being mesmerized absolutely by this movie.
** Note: This review is based on the Director Cut of the film, which I prefer over the Theatrical Cut **
Story:
As mentioned in the previous review, Cameron knows how to craft a story really well. Just like its predecessor, this movie starts with a grim view of the post-nuclear future and then it moves to a quick voice-over from Sarah to catch everybody up before jumping right in. Cameron does a lot of call backs to the original in this film, such as keeping the intent of both time travelers ambiguous, which is still effective in my opinion, despite the movie's marketing making sure everyone knew that Arnie was a good guy this time. Cameron keeps the movie going and there's very little down time in between set pieces, all of which flow together nicely.
One note about the story, while the first movie clearly leaned more towards a horror/thriller, with some action sprinkled in, the sequel is most definitely balls-to-the -wall action. It's interesting that this is the second movie in which Cameron made that shift in tone, with the first being Aliens. The shift, though, works because instead of trying to duplicate the first movie, Cameron took some of its best parts and created a new experience (something that modern filmmakers could learn from). The main difference is that, instead of just trying to survive, John and company have more to concern themselves with and that's what takes it out of the realm of horror and into action territory.
However, it should be pointed out that while Cameron took a lot of good from the first movie, he also took some of the bad. Once again, the film suffers from the same time travel paradox nonsense that every time travel movie suffers from. Cameron also makes a rare flub in the movie's internal logic by not explaining how the T-1000, which is crafted entirely out of liquid metal could somehow travel back in time, when the established canon says that only living matter can pass through it. These are relatively minor foibles, though, and the story manages to overcome them.
Acting:
Again, like the first movie, there's a bit of a mixed bag here. Just like last time, Arnold does fine in the role of an emotionless killing machine. Cameron even uses the deadpan cyborg to play up a few genuinely funny moments, something which the first movie certainly lacked.
There are a few standouts, though, Hamilton being one of them. While in the first movie, Sarah is really more of a damsel in distress and basically useless up until the last 30 minutes or so of the movie, in the sequel she has undergone a total shift in personality. The change is understandable because this woman has been through so much, her mind clearly breaks. Hamilton plays this shift very well and there are moments in the movie where the hardened exterior melts away and you see the scared girl from the first film. Overall, a very fine performance.
Other notable performances are Robert Patrick as the T-1000 and while that wasn't exactly a "meaty" part, Patrick plays it with an intensity that makes the character quite terrifying. Joe Morton also deserves kudos for playing every-man Miles Dyson, who gets caught up in all the craziness. Morton plays the character with such a sincerity that you end up rooting for him. Unfortunately, there were some poor performances, most obviously was Edward Furlong as John Connor. Now, it was his first movie role ever and it's difficult to find good performances in child actors, so it's worth cutting him a bit of slack for being somewhat annoying.
Visual/Special Effects:
When all is said and done, what will be remembered most about this movie is its special effects. The 90s were full of visually groundbreaking movies and this was one of the first. It built off of what came before in Cameron's previous film, The Abyss, and took it to the next level. Even today, the CGI effects for the T-1000 still look pretty darn good and it remains a hallmark for computer-generated characters.
It wasn't just the computer effects that stood out in the movie, there were also a lot of old-school, low-tech methods used to great effect. Cameron took advantage of every trick in the book, from using not one, but two sets of twins to achieve the doppelganger abilities of the T-1000, but he also used camera tricks, clever lighting and some great pyrotechnics to achieve the look he was going for.
Score/Music:
This movie uses a lot of the same musical cues as the first one, which is fine considering the score in the first movie was quite effective. There's not a lot to talk about here, as the score keeps a similar electronic/futuristic vibe, which suits the overall feel of the movie. Also, like the last film, the movie takes advantage of some contemporary music which brings it more in line with the decade it was set in.
Action:
While the special effects take front a center in this movie, the action isn't far behind. As I go through this exercise of watching these old movies, I'm continually surprised at what stunt men can accomplish. There is some legitimately fantastic stunt work in this film, which includes a high-speed chase down a concrete culvert, a tense prison escape and a motorcycle jumping from a second story window onto a helicopter in flight. In addition Arnold+mini gun= awesome. Say what you will about movies from the 80s and 90s but they sure knew how to do action right.
Final Verdict:
Even though I was more aware of the movie's flaws than I had been in previous viewings, this film still remains one of the best movies of the 1990s and remains one of my personal favorites.
Story:
"Hasta la vista, baby"
As mentioned in the previous review, Cameron knows how to craft a story really well. Just like its predecessor, this movie starts with a grim view of the post-nuclear future and then it moves to a quick voice-over from Sarah to catch everybody up before jumping right in. Cameron does a lot of call backs to the original in this film, such as keeping the intent of both time travelers ambiguous, which is still effective in my opinion, despite the movie's marketing making sure everyone knew that Arnie was a good guy this time. Cameron keeps the movie going and there's very little down time in between set pieces, all of which flow together nicely.
One note about the story, while the first movie clearly leaned more towards a horror/thriller, with some action sprinkled in, the sequel is most definitely balls-to-the -wall action. It's interesting that this is the second movie in which Cameron made that shift in tone, with the first being Aliens. The shift, though, works because instead of trying to duplicate the first movie, Cameron took some of its best parts and created a new experience (something that modern filmmakers could learn from). The main difference is that, instead of just trying to survive, John and company have more to concern themselves with and that's what takes it out of the realm of horror and into action territory.
However, it should be pointed out that while Cameron took a lot of good from the first movie, he also took some of the bad. Once again, the film suffers from the same time travel paradox nonsense that every time travel movie suffers from. Cameron also makes a rare flub in the movie's internal logic by not explaining how the T-1000, which is crafted entirely out of liquid metal could somehow travel back in time, when the established canon says that only living matter can pass through it. These are relatively minor foibles, though, and the story manages to overcome them.
Acting:
Again, like the first movie, there's a bit of a mixed bag here. Just like last time, Arnold does fine in the role of an emotionless killing machine. Cameron even uses the deadpan cyborg to play up a few genuinely funny moments, something which the first movie certainly lacked.
There are a few standouts, though, Hamilton being one of them. While in the first movie, Sarah is really more of a damsel in distress and basically useless up until the last 30 minutes or so of the movie, in the sequel she has undergone a total shift in personality. The change is understandable because this woman has been through so much, her mind clearly breaks. Hamilton plays this shift very well and there are moments in the movie where the hardened exterior melts away and you see the scared girl from the first film. Overall, a very fine performance.
Other notable performances are Robert Patrick as the T-1000 and while that wasn't exactly a "meaty" part, Patrick plays it with an intensity that makes the character quite terrifying. Joe Morton also deserves kudos for playing every-man Miles Dyson, who gets caught up in all the craziness. Morton plays the character with such a sincerity that you end up rooting for him. Unfortunately, there were some poor performances, most obviously was Edward Furlong as John Connor. Now, it was his first movie role ever and it's difficult to find good performances in child actors, so it's worth cutting him a bit of slack for being somewhat annoying.
Visual/Special Effects:
When all is said and done, what will be remembered most about this movie is its special effects. The 90s were full of visually groundbreaking movies and this was one of the first. It built off of what came before in Cameron's previous film, The Abyss, and took it to the next level. Even today, the CGI effects for the T-1000 still look pretty darn good and it remains a hallmark for computer-generated characters.
It wasn't just the computer effects that stood out in the movie, there were also a lot of old-school, low-tech methods used to great effect. Cameron took advantage of every trick in the book, from using not one, but two sets of twins to achieve the doppelganger abilities of the T-1000, but he also used camera tricks, clever lighting and some great pyrotechnics to achieve the look he was going for.
Score/Music:
This movie uses a lot of the same musical cues as the first one, which is fine considering the score in the first movie was quite effective. There's not a lot to talk about here, as the score keeps a similar electronic/futuristic vibe, which suits the overall feel of the movie. Also, like the last film, the movie takes advantage of some contemporary music which brings it more in line with the decade it was set in.
Action:
While the special effects take front a center in this movie, the action isn't far behind. As I go through this exercise of watching these old movies, I'm continually surprised at what stunt men can accomplish. There is some legitimately fantastic stunt work in this film, which includes a high-speed chase down a concrete culvert, a tense prison escape and a motorcycle jumping from a second story window onto a helicopter in flight. In addition Arnold+mini gun= awesome. Say what you will about movies from the 80s and 90s but they sure knew how to do action right.
Final Verdict:
Even though I was more aware of the movie's flaws than I had been in previous viewings, this film still remains one of the best movies of the 1990s and remains one of my personal favorites.
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