Terminator 2: Judgement Day
3.5/4
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong, Robert Patrick, Earl Boen, Joe Morton
Rated R for Strong Sci-Fi Action and Violence, and for Language
I have a confession to make. I have not seen the original "Terminator." Well, that's not strictly true. My family and I started watching it a gabajillion years ago, but we turned it off because it was so boring (my brother and I were in grade school...how do you like that, MPAA?). Actually, it doesn't really matter. The first few minutes adequately bring the audience up to speed. This may be a sequel, but it's a stand-alone sequel.
In six years, a new program called Skynet is going to become self-aware and commit genocide on the human race. The first attack will kill half the world's population, and force the humans into declaring an all-out war against the machines. The leader of the humans is John Connor (Michael Edwards), and in an attempt to destroy him, Skynet sent a machine called the Terminator (Schwarzenegger) back in time to kill his mother, Sarah (Hamilton). The attempt failed, and now the machines have sent a new machine to 1991 to kill John (Furlong) himself. Older John sends back a Terminator to protect him from the T-1000 (Patrick), which is an unstoppable killer made from liquid metal.
James Cameron is a master storyteller, and he expertly weaves in time-travel paradoxes with the action scenes, and creates a host of well-acted and developed characters. Known as a perfectionist (or as Cameron calls it, a "rightist"), Cameron gives his characters readily identifiable and sympathetic personalities. As Sarah, Linda Hamilton gives a startlingly intense performance. After the events in the first film, Sarah has been locked up in a mental institution (to be fair, her story isn't particularly believable). But her quest to prevent the takeover by the machines has become an obsession. She has become a total warrior woman, and the pressure to stop Skynet from being created has warped her psyche. Also impressive is Edward Furlong, then a newcomer. He lends a lot of dramatic weight to the film, portraying someone who is uncertain about his ability to perform the role he has destined to play. Some of the scenes where he tries to teach the Terminator social skills are very amusing. Robert Patrick is genuinely creepy as the lethal T-1000. Patrick doesn't have a lot of dialogue, so he portrays the character mainly through body language. His movements are subtly unnatural, such as his shoulders never move when he runs, and his face is always expressionless and unblinking.
People give Arnold Schwarzenegger a lot of flack for his range as an actor, and while it's true that he's no Daniel Day-Lewis, he's more talented than people give him credit for, especially when he's working for James Cameron. Schwarzenneger gives the Terminator a surprising amount of humanity through body language and tone of voice, despite speaking in a monotone. The emotional bond between the Terminator and John is surprisingly touching.
The film had a $94 million price tag, and every penny was put to good use. The action scenes, of which there are quite a few, are spectacular. If there's one thing that Cameron excels the most at, it's creating intense action sequences. The adrenaline raises constantly during this film. Some standouts are the chase between a motorcycle and an eighteen-wheeler, and the final showdown. The special effects, while dated, are very cool to look at and still amaze because they are intelligently implemented.
"Terminator 2" is hardly flawless, but it's also an impressive thrill ride with intelligence and heart. One can't ask for more.
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong, Robert Patrick, Earl Boen, Joe Morton
Rated R for Strong Sci-Fi Action and Violence, and for Language
I have a confession to make. I have not seen the original "Terminator." Well, that's not strictly true. My family and I started watching it a gabajillion years ago, but we turned it off because it was so boring (my brother and I were in grade school...how do you like that, MPAA?). Actually, it doesn't really matter. The first few minutes adequately bring the audience up to speed. This may be a sequel, but it's a stand-alone sequel.
In six years, a new program called Skynet is going to become self-aware and commit genocide on the human race. The first attack will kill half the world's population, and force the humans into declaring an all-out war against the machines. The leader of the humans is John Connor (Michael Edwards), and in an attempt to destroy him, Skynet sent a machine called the Terminator (Schwarzenegger) back in time to kill his mother, Sarah (Hamilton). The attempt failed, and now the machines have sent a new machine to 1991 to kill John (Furlong) himself. Older John sends back a Terminator to protect him from the T-1000 (Patrick), which is an unstoppable killer made from liquid metal.
James Cameron is a master storyteller, and he expertly weaves in time-travel paradoxes with the action scenes, and creates a host of well-acted and developed characters. Known as a perfectionist (or as Cameron calls it, a "rightist"), Cameron gives his characters readily identifiable and sympathetic personalities. As Sarah, Linda Hamilton gives a startlingly intense performance. After the events in the first film, Sarah has been locked up in a mental institution (to be fair, her story isn't particularly believable). But her quest to prevent the takeover by the machines has become an obsession. She has become a total warrior woman, and the pressure to stop Skynet from being created has warped her psyche. Also impressive is Edward Furlong, then a newcomer. He lends a lot of dramatic weight to the film, portraying someone who is uncertain about his ability to perform the role he has destined to play. Some of the scenes where he tries to teach the Terminator social skills are very amusing. Robert Patrick is genuinely creepy as the lethal T-1000. Patrick doesn't have a lot of dialogue, so he portrays the character mainly through body language. His movements are subtly unnatural, such as his shoulders never move when he runs, and his face is always expressionless and unblinking.
People give Arnold Schwarzenegger a lot of flack for his range as an actor, and while it's true that he's no Daniel Day-Lewis, he's more talented than people give him credit for, especially when he's working for James Cameron. Schwarzenneger gives the Terminator a surprising amount of humanity through body language and tone of voice, despite speaking in a monotone. The emotional bond between the Terminator and John is surprisingly touching.
The film had a $94 million price tag, and every penny was put to good use. The action scenes, of which there are quite a few, are spectacular. If there's one thing that Cameron excels the most at, it's creating intense action sequences. The adrenaline raises constantly during this film. Some standouts are the chase between a motorcycle and an eighteen-wheeler, and the final showdown. The special effects, while dated, are very cool to look at and still amaze because they are intelligently implemented.
"Terminator 2" is hardly flawless, but it's also an impressive thrill ride with intelligence and heart. One can't ask for more.
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