Terminator 2 (1991) Retrospective / Review

Jesus you're gonna kill that guy plus I'm a terminator listen to me very carefully okay you're not a terminator anymore all right you just can't go around killing people are you the legal guardian of John Connor that's right officer what's he done now just need to ask you a few questions there's a guy here this morning looking for him - big guy the bike I got something to do with this No Hey get down you're not here to kill me you get that part out for myself so what's the deal my mission is to protect you who sent you you did 35 years from now you reprogrammed me to be your protector here this time not like me keep 1,000 advanced prototype come with me if you want to live John you got to go now John go now I'll be back in the summer of 1991 Terminator 2 Judgment Day was released produced on the largest budget at the time costing just over 100 million dollars a lot of chunk of the costs were eaten up by the state-of-the-art visual effects and elaborate stunts the film was highly praised on release from fans of the original film and critics at the time and broke many books of his records raking in over 519 million dollars worldwide which was incredibly impressive at the time it was nominated for many awards that year and scooped Oscars for its visual effects makeup and sound editing when I was a kid I recalled the crazy marketing for the movie just like Batman in 89 you can avoid it Petrelli on TV spots were on all the time and I was desperate to see it but alas I was too young to see it in theaters I did however manage to get the toys they produced a time with the movie it's always funny seeing the old action figures from the 90s that were based on movies the toy manufacturers took many liberties with the licenses the t1000 looked very odd and the Arnold Schwarzenegger figure with the interchangeable arms I always wanted to toy where you could put the skin on the endoskeleton but I rarely saw it in the shops and when I did I could never afford it with my pocket money talk of a sequel had been kicking around shortly after the first film was released but several issues were stopping the production such as the technical difficulties of realizing the t1000 thankfully after feeling satisfied with the results of the visual effects in the abyss James Cameron could push forward with his vision for a sequel but a hurdle still remained there were disputes over ownership between hemdale film corporation and Carroll Cove hemdale were experiencing financial difficulties and Arnold Schwarzenegger urged calcio to bid for the rights they eventually settled on five million dollars for the franchise in 1990 resolving the legal block after the Terminator James Cameron had great success with aliens but using what many considered the best film in a series but there are also many fans to consider the 79 films superior James went on to direct the abyss which used computer-generated effects to simulate 3d water the movie proved a commercial failure but with many James Cameron Phil when it came to home video the extended version of its films were always superior to his theatrical cuts the abyss found his audience on home video thanks to the laserdisc format in 1992 when the film came to home video it was extended in length by 17 minutes and this is often referred to as the special edition cut it had unseen footage or Michael Biehn visiting Sarah in a dream sequence Sarah and John removing a chick from the Terminator so he can reboot and begin to learn more added scenes of expository dialogue and more scenes of t1000 the best of the new stuff for me personally was when the t1000 reforms near the end after being frozen anti cpu is glitching a little bit as he struggles to hold shape and get stuck the things he touches and you see him refreshing his image often the version to own of this at the time was on laserdisc James Cameron was a big support for the format and three of his films were given that special edition treatment on laserdisc such as aliens nippers and of course t2 Terminator 2 was released so many times on the expensive format of lost count it even got a sixteen by nine anamorphic release on laserdisc and no nasty squeeze addition which also got released twice in the sixteen by nine format that's how popular t2 was on home video the beta release to get on laserdisc was the epic box set had tons of extra content and commentaries all this stuff was ported over to the DVD release known as the Ultimate Edition but that version I believed was missing the Guns N'Roses music video but it did feature even more scenes which could be unlocked to game them cut which had the new ending the new ending proved quite interesting but you can tell they cut it for a reason it doesn't seem to work and it's does come across as a bit cheesy there have been loads of releases on DVD and blu-ray known as extreme editions or sky net editions it's getting a bit silly now like the Evil Dead series which got so many releases but hey people seem to keep buying them they haven't really produced any new content for the new releases let us seem to be recycling the old loads of this extras but thankfully James Cameron did provide a new commentary with co-author William wisher a few years back which is definitely worth a listen I think with all the new releases the picture quality isn't getting that better the film was shot on super 35 millimeter so basically if you watch the pan and scan version you are actually seeing more the picture James Cameron thought ahead for home video releases and hated watching anamorphic releases being transferred to TV with awful Palance conversions just watch a pan and scan version of Star Wars then watch the widescreen version you will know what I'm referring to but terminated so he masks the image 2 2 3 5 1 so you are actually zooming in on the image creating a more grainy visual but it does look artistically better in the scope format so they haven't really been huge leaps and bounds to the original picture since I saw it on laserdisc the laserdisc transfer was considered one of the best of the format and still holds up well today considering it's far from high-def the movie starts with images of the war of the Judgment Day where humans battle against the machines Sarah Connor narrated saying Skynet sent another terminator back in time to kill John Connor when he was a child but thankfully another Terminator was sent back to protect him it goes to the past with Arnold Schwarzenegger the t800 arriving and needing to see clothes he enters a local bar and asks a biker for his clothes boots and motorcycle I don't think he is serious until he refuses to leave they I can fail miserably doesn't kill them but scares them enough to give him what he wants Arnel get suited up in speeds off the new Terminator the t1000 arrives and kills a local police officer and finds the address of John Connor John is in the care of foster parents after Sarah Connors failed attempts to destroy Cyberdyne and was chucked in a mental home posing as a police officer the t1000 arrives at the foster home in manages to obtain a photo of John who has already gone off with his mate with an epic ginger mullet to the arcade the parents seem a little concerned that John's in trouble after an earlier visit from Arnold both terminators track John to the arcade John spots a t-1000 believing he is a real cop and in an attempt to escape John speeds off through the fire exit and spots Arnold approaching him Arnold points his gun at John and tells him to duck John escapes on these bikers the two terminators Duke it out a t-1000 proven to be more powerful than the t800 pursues after John in the truck but Arnold saves John in the nick of time he reveals to John he is here to protect him the t1000 does everything by the book and attempts to impersonate John's foster parent anticipating John's returned John is spooked out that his mom is acting weird and too kind the t800 clearly knows what's going on and tells him they are dead Arnold suspects that the team when thousands next move will be to attempt to kill and copy John's mother Sarah to avoid attention John makes a terminator swear that he won't kill anyone as they head to the hospital to break Sarah out but Sarah is already on the case after overhearing the police alert that the same guy who killed multiple police officers in 1984 has been spotted that day in a mall during an escape attempt Sarah encounters her old enemy in Arnold and believes he is still after her John comms are down and returned to confirms he is here to help the t1000 their real emily is just behind them attacking the group as I now escaped in the lift but not before he demonstrates on his own advanced abilities at Amedda inform Sarah that miles Dyson is solely responsible for the development of Skynet and both must be destroyed to prevent the war on mankind the oscar-winning visual effects still hold up really well today at the time they blew everyone away just like Jurassic Park did a couple of years later when I was a kid every time you saw a TV show talking about movies or technology you always saw scenes on Terminator 2 with the t1000 emerging from the flames this shot really sold people on what computer-generated effects could do CGI had been used in small doses a couple of years before in Willow with the morphing technique like the navigator lab room and ILM created the first mystic effect in the young Sherlock Holmes movie TT was the first to portray ballistic human movement and use multiple morphing techniques for a feature film you will notice the CG on actually improves as the movie progresses it starts off with minimal use then it gets more creative at the film progresses especially when the two terminators fight at the steel mill I love the shot when Arnold attempts to punch the t1000 his head morphs into his hands and twist his arm and slammed him into the wall and also when he's cut in half with an iron bar and then pulls it out of his waist but t2 is not just about CGI it has loads of clever shots of front projection through the chase scenes in-camera puppet shots of the endoskeletons in full form and with effective movement and the stunt work is truly spectacular I love the shot when the t1000 is soaked in liquid nitrogen and he struggles to walk as he begins to stick to the ground incredible sequence as he starts to fall apart very clever and above all original Terminator 2 is the bridge between old and new special effects technology and James Cameron being the great artist he is he uses them all with great effect it's a shame he has become a bit obsessed with new technologies and visual effects techniques with his recent feature avatar would it be great to see him return to doing smaller movies again I doubt that whatever happen as it takes him forever to get his ass in gear to make a movie I don't think we really need an avatar 2 & 3 the underrated composer Bradford Elle returns to compose the score to Terminator 2 this time he has way more money and time to produce something very epic he brings back the amazing theme tune he created for the first flick and as loads of new themes and action beasts the majority of the score just on the first film is mainly underscoring to set the mood and atmosphere but the music is instantly recognizable the theme the t1000 is very creepy in every time you hear that sound you know he's nearby there are many great moments when the music really kicks in when so attempt to escape from the hospital the chase towards the factory is my favorite incredibly tense and the way the music builds up it's like it belongs in a film trailer and of course the music when the t800 lowers himself into the molten metal in the factory always makes grown men cry you know you you think i'm unemotional don't you I can be emotional Jesus I cried like a child at the end of Terminator 2 you know with this the thumb and the molten you know Brad Fidel says he is often pleasantly surprised by the feedback he has received over the years from young musicians and filmmakers who inspired by his work on t2 he thought the score wouldn't lend itself to easy listening and would only really suit it matching the visuals to the film there was a release of the soundtrack in 1991 and it was re-released in 2010 there was no new material but the audio quality is better it sounds far less compressed the soundtrack is easily available on CD and on iTunes Terminator 2 received many conversions to home computers and consoles most popular version was to coin up called t2 the arcade game it was a light gun game that was very successful and was converted to the Super Nintendo and Mega Drive both versions were pretty faithful to the arcade there are number of sprites reduced in scale and scrolling effects removed but they played the same I did play the Mega Drive version the lot and man I found it way too hard it took me forever to get past the levels where you protect the car against the oncoming terminators and why other terminators gold a better conductor of electricity I suppose the first computer I ever owned was the Commodore 64 I got the term ENTER to bundle pack ocean software produced a home computer versions the structure of the game followed a similar style to that Batman game having platformer segments with driving levels similar to Spy Hunter and mini-games the game was also pretty hard luckily I had a rapid-fire joystick and could get past a one-on-one fighting levels pretty fast you really had to memorize the driving levels so it was trial and error the amiga version had the nicest graphics I remember the puzzle segments featuring on the TV show games master I do believe the game was pretty popular I do have a soft spot for it despite its flaws and short lengths for the game and it was the first game way ever owned the Mega Drive and the snows also received a similar structure game produced by the notoriously awful LJN the game was ridiculously bad it played like a dog and the controls were terrible for the driving sequences when he plays failed to get past these levels and gave up there are many gamers who have successfully competed the game but it's not a game you can pick up and play and feel satisfied with I would definitely avoid this version there were conversions to the Game Boy and Game Gear but again they were not very good and received average reviews at a time to be honest there isn't really a definitive game based on Terminator - that's really good the arcade is good fun but not an amazing game I think the first so had the best conversion of a video game available in late April of 1996 the t2 3d battle across time ride opened in Universal Studios Florida it was a sort of mini sequel was a live action show interacting with a 3d film running length of the show with about 12 minutes and it cost around 24 million dollars making it the most expensive film shot per minute James Cameron shot it in 70 millimeter and with the latest 3d technology the main show once guests were seated they put on their safety visors to watch a demonstration of the terminators in action however John and Sarah arrive and disrupt the proceedings followed by t1000 terminator from the future whom they engage with automatic weapons the hosts of the show can be Duncan tries to stop the t1000 but the attempts fail she is killed off a second Terminator betrayed while Arnold Schwarzenegger bursts through the movie screen on his signature harley-davidson motorcycle to rescue John takes John back through the portal and into the future war between humans and machines John and the Terminator make their way across the war ravaged landscape as they head towards Skynet along the way they are chased by flying hunter killers free mini hunter killers and a terminator endoskeleton perjurer successfully penetrate and descend with the audience into the Skynet core where they battle the new T 1 million the Terminator finally sends John back to the present where he stays behind to blow up Skynet and the team 1 million a few of my friends to get a chance to see the ride and they loved it I personally have never seen it where thankfully some people film the show and uploaded it to YouTube before it closed in late December of 2012 first things first Terminator 2 is probably the best sequel ever made it does everything right from the get-go and gives you what you would expect from a sequel there are many great sequels out there just to name a few like Empire Strikes Back Godfather Part 2 Superman 2 Dark Knight and Toy Story 2 but there is something about t2 that in my eyes holds the number one spot in my previous review of The Terminator I said it's hard to decide which is better between them Terminator 1 has a faster pace to it and doesn't mess around but because of the low budget and time the movie is restricted possibly to a scaled-down story but with t2 there is no holding back as soon as it starts and you see the war your jaw just drops all our member thinking was how did they do that it is a visual treat it's not just a CGI that is impressive the scale of the special effects and stunts are probably the most impressive for me the chase with John the truck is intense and it scenes at the end that mirrors the chase in the first film is exhilarating it gets you pumped when Arnold blasts a t-1000 head-on with a machine gun and then flips the lorry over on its side the movie is nearly 23 years old and has hardly dated the CGI effects work within the context of the story and are actually quite minimal and with the cost of using computer-generated graphics being very high the time they use it sparingly a few years later when CGI became more affordable filmmakers certainly abused the option and many flicks during the 90s look pretty weak today but t2 certainly does not whilst the first film concentrates on love and the romance between Sarah and Kyle the theme of family runs strong throughout the sequel with John having no father and looting his mother to a mental home with the Terminator arriving he begins to teach the Machine how to act normal and their relationship strengthens and he certainly becomes a father figure to John by the end Arnold Schwarzenegger does a terrific job as a terminator and was born to play this role we all know he's not the best of actors but the role is so well suited for his abilities and in the film The Terminator does more than to stand there and kill people as a machine Lee begins to learn to be more human Arnold really shows these subtle changes as he begins to develop more human characteristics there are great little moments when he smiles or Paul a funny face or even shows dicen how the bomb charges work into Hamilton gets in great shape for the role and kicks asked throughout the movie by voiceovers are little cheesy though which he delivers them this was Edward furlongs first acting gig and he does a very impressive job considering kids always tend to ruin movies for adults and can sometimes make or break a film if their acting abilities don't deliver but it handles all the scenes like a pro it's a real shame what happened to his career later in life and his abuse with drugs he has done some great performances in other films such as American History X pecker and Detroit Rock City Robert Patrick only had minor roles before t2 turning up as a bad guy in die hard 2 he left a strong impression on many when he showed up as a t-1000 cold and heartless like the original terminator and won't stop till he finishes his mission but also comes across as far more human when interacting with people he smiles and sounds very polite and knows how to interact with children like all films that are loved and fondly remembered they are not all perfect there are a couple of scenes in Terminator 2 that I have minor issues with when they arrive in Mexico the pace of the movie slows down and the t1000 is off screen for quite a while there is good reason because he has no idea where they have gone but he eventually turns up at Dyson's home after the group have left two Cyberdyne but i remember as a kid i totally forgot about him this may be all done for a reason but I am just being a bit picky it would have been nice to see more scenes with the t1000 do more investigating but I do have to remind myself that I'm watching the special edition version so the length is padded out with new scenes I rarely watch the theatrical cut which runs at a brisker pace it's sometimes hard to go back and watch the original cut of movies once you've seen an extended version many scenes sometimes get cut out for reason for pacing issues and an often restore to the extended editions so the argument for issues with the picture slowing can be just but not always valid because you have the option to change between the different versions available The Terminator franchise should have ended with this film and in my eyes it did the following sequels are drab unoriginal or totally stupid the only idea introduced that was original was in Terminator 3 they can't stop Judgment Day they can only delay it which is a very sound idea because other people would have designed a similar AI over time or the possibility of someone finding some remains of Dyson's work some hardcore fans may still prefer the first one because of its gritty style and is probably a bit more suspenseful and some argue the sequel looks too clean and turns the violence down a little but its narrative and the ideas introduced are very strong and I love learning how the war transpires and how things are set in motion for Judgment Day to be honest unlock both movies and they both have their merits and scenes which I love to watch over and over again could this be James Cameron's best film it shows his maturity as a director and shows he has improved as a filmmaker and as a visual storyteller sometimes I feel alien tis his best flick and some weeks I feel t2 is his best I can never make my mind up I think just down to its scale and grin this or t2 that it just tips it over to being the best for me if I have to pick one now everyone and their grandmother has seen Terminator 2 and if you are one of those unfortunate people who haven't had a chance go and watch Terminator 1 now and prepare yourself for something truly epic hasta la vista baby there's no fate but what we make for ourselves she intends to change the future oh [ __ ] Dyson yeah gotta be miles Dyson she's gonna blow them away this is tactically dangerous try faster the t1000 is the same files that I do it knows what I know it might anticipate this move killing Dyson might actually prevent the war I don't care how did you learn anything yet haven't you figured out why you can't kill people why do you cry you mean people yeah we just cry huh watching John with the machine he was suddenly so clear the Terminator would never stop it would never leave him and it would never hurt him never shout at him or get drunk and hit him or say it was too busy to spend time with him it would always be there listen to me very carefully definitely you has to end here only I are you not you going are you not to come I know now why you cry but it's something I can never do you

Channel: Oliver Harper

Views: 588,332

Keywords: terminator 2 review, terminator 2, terminator, linda hamilton, stan winston, ILM, brad fiedel, 1991, robert partick, edward furlong, ocean software, ljn, snes, arcade, james cameron, amiga, c64, toys, laserdisc, review, retrospective, ollyh82, ollie harper, oliver harper, feature, overview, Terminator 2: Judgment Day (Film), Arnold Schwarzenegger (Proposition Issue), T2, oliver harper terminator 2

Id: VB6Ydsahf08

Length: 24min 39sec (1479 seconds)

Published: Wed Jan 01 2014