After watching the entertaining, but incoherent Terminator Salvation, I decided to revisit Terminator 2 Judgment Day, the undisputed best entry in the series. T2 is the one instance where James Cameron capitalized on his interest in science, and successfully avoided being outlandishly silly (Remember True Lies? You would be hard pressed to find a movie villain named Crimson Jihad now) or overbearingly pretentious (the Oscars/Leo/Kate/Celine Dion superbloat known as Titanic that spawned two meaningless well-meaning documentaries).
In Terminator Salvation, director McG used the established Terminator concept and timeline to entertain the audience. Unfortunately, it had the intellectual depth of a carnival ride. By contrast, Cameron was successful in expanding the Terminator concept. In both subtle and bombastic ways, Cameron explored the boundaries of artificial intelligence and the qualities that separate man from machine. When Cameron stated that there was nothing more to explore in the Terminator universe after T2, he was speaking the truth. The beauty of T2 was that it left the future of mankind wide open. Though the two subsequent sequels were not cinematic disasters – it was ultimately disappointing to have other people’s vision of the Terminator universe spoon-fed to the audience.
The special effects in T2 have aged but remains impressive, considering that the film was made prior to the Internet age. T2 successfully mixes of science, action and humor – something that his later contemporaries are still struggling to master. (see, i.e., Michael Bay, Rob Cohen) By the way Rob, you still own me $12.50 for the celluloid as toilet paper known as Stealth.
The movie introduced Edward Furlong as John Connor and many considered Furlong’s performance to be a breakthrough performance. In a recent viewing though, the Cameron/Furlong interpretation of John Connor does not hold up as well. John comes off as whiny, and looks he just got out of a emo concert after not showering for a week. And seriously, the future leader of mankind should avoid friends sporting one of the fiercest mullets in cinematic history.
A look on IMDB reveals that T2 is probably still the pinnacle of Furlong’s rocky acting career. After T2, Furlong’s appeared in memorable films such as Little Odessa and American History X. However, the new millennium has not been kind to Furlong, and here’s to hoping that there was a nice paycheck involved somewhere for starring in the lead role in The Crow: Wicked Prayer with Tara Reid, MMA star Tito Ortiz, and David Boreanaz as Luc Crash/Death/Satan . . . Yikes.
Normally, it would be a backhanded compliment to say an actor’s greatest role was a portrayal of robot. But T2 was definitely Arnold at his best. Cameron again utilized his star’s natural stiffness and bulk to suggest something synthetic beneath the skin. You can feel it in his slow gait, in his mechanical and deliberate head turns, and the pace of his speech. Arnold’s performance was affecting in the ways humanity seeps through the machine: humor in the smirks and one-liners, curiosity in the ability to learn from others, mercy in refusal to kill, and nobility in being mankind’s protector. When Arnold lowers himself into the molten steel, it was the ship that launched thousands of man-crushes.
In addition to Arnold, the strength of T2 is in the supporting cast. A determined, sinewy, and haggard Linda Hamilton is a revelation as Sarah Connor. Emotionally scared and lonely, Sarah’s only reason for living is John. The sarcastic and confident Robert Patrick is menacing the T-1000. Joe Morton is also great as Miles Dyson, the engineer of Cyberdine systems who is blinded by the potential of technology. And Earl Boen returns as the to torment Sarah Connor as Dr. Silberman. The action set pieces build tension to the point of being unbearable, and there are several memorable ones. The chase to find John Connor, Sarah Connor’s escape from the mental institution, and the assault and escape from Cyberdine.
Years later, when Hollywood studios finally open an action movie institute for music video directors looking to make their film debut, all students should be required to successfully remake T2 before graduating
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