I've never really understood why so many people rant and rave about Terminator 2: Judgement Day, saying it's better than the original. I admit it's been quite a while since I last watched it, but all I can really remember now is how cheesy and dumb it was, IMO. I'd much rather watch the original, in fact that's the only film in the franchise I own on DVD. The original was more scary, tense, and even a little eerie in parts. The sequel just seems to be about special effects, with a pretty inane story and poor acting.
Terminator 2 overrated?
- Thread starter EJA
- Start date
Obviously, to each there own. I can't tell you your opinion is wrong.
However, your opinion is wrong
in all seriousness, I disagree about the story and acting, and feel the special effects all serve the story, not the other way around as happened in both T3 and T4.
I think that the movie shows us a Sarah Connor who is very different from the T1 Sarah, and in a believable way. I think Eddie Furlong gives a surprisingly layered and adult performance... I believe he comes off as smart beyond his years, with hints of the great man he needs to be, while still showing that this is a very, very damaged little boy. Finally the ever impressive Robert Patrick creates a character that is obviously from the same factory as Arnold with similar mannerisms like the way they turn their head before the body, yet is something creepy and wholly new.
Storywise, I think this movie has 3 of the all time great action sequences (the big sewer chase, the Cyberdyne shootout, and the steel mill finale)... and for me they all feel like they flow naturally from the plot. I also have come to love the ambiguity they build up in the first act where you are not sure which Terminator is the hero (in fact, I think it was a HUUUGE mistake in the initial marketing to spoil that Arnold was the hero this time).
As far as the effects, I love the mix of practical and digital they used to mask the limitations of the early CGI... and apart from some bad animation, feel that the overall effects compare favorably to movies being released even now.
I know many will argue that T2 copies some of the beats from T1, and I won't disagree. I do think T1 is a more original story and a better script overall... however I think T1 suffers a bit from the very cheap sounding score (The work is good, just listen to T2. It's almost the same score but they actually had some money... In T1 it sounds like one guy on a synthesizer in a basement), as well as some not great acting from Michael Biehn. The stop motion effect also just don't hold up very well ( I have the same problem with Jason and the Argonauts). Overall, the two movies are a wash for me, I would rate both a 9.5 out of 10 and both in my personal top 25 favorite movies.
However, your opinion is wrong
in all seriousness, I disagree about the story and acting, and feel the special effects all serve the story, not the other way around as happened in both T3 and T4.I think that the movie shows us a Sarah Connor who is very different from the T1 Sarah, and in a believable way. I think Eddie Furlong gives a surprisingly layered and adult performance... I believe he comes off as smart beyond his years, with hints of the great man he needs to be, while still showing that this is a very, very damaged little boy. Finally the ever impressive Robert Patrick creates a character that is obviously from the same factory as Arnold with similar mannerisms like the way they turn their head before the body, yet is something creepy and wholly new.
Storywise, I think this movie has 3 of the all time great action sequences (the big sewer chase, the Cyberdyne shootout, and the steel mill finale)... and for me they all feel like they flow naturally from the plot. I also have come to love the ambiguity they build up in the first act where you are not sure which Terminator is the hero (in fact, I think it was a HUUUGE mistake in the initial marketing to spoil that Arnold was the hero this time).
As far as the effects, I love the mix of practical and digital they used to mask the limitations of the early CGI... and apart from some bad animation, feel that the overall effects compare favorably to movies being released even now.
I know many will argue that T2 copies some of the beats from T1, and I won't disagree. I do think T1 is a more original story and a better script overall... however I think T1 suffers a bit from the very cheap sounding score (The work is good, just listen to T2. It's almost the same score but they actually had some money... In T1 it sounds like one guy on a synthesizer in a basement), as well as some not great acting from Michael Biehn. The stop motion effect also just don't hold up very well ( I have the same problem with Jason and the Argonauts). Overall, the two movies are a wash for me, I would rate both a 9.5 out of 10 and both in my personal top 25 favorite movies.
I thought the first two were great, and the last two were shit.
To each their own though...
To each their own though...
Yes, T2 is extremely overrated. It's a weak rehash of the original movie. Faux Daddy Terminator is pure cheese. While Sarah Connor's (de?)evolution has its moments of interest and the Dyson subplot has some actual emotional beats, all in all it lacks the stark foreboding of post-apocalyptic doom, the passion and, you know, little things like actual character development that drove the first film.
There was a good sequel to be had to The Terminator, sadly T2 wasn't it. It started the series of tedious action sequences strung together with thin plots that has characterized the franchise ever since.
There was a good sequel to be had to The Terminator, sadly T2 wasn't it. It started the series of tedious action sequences strung together with thin plots that has characterized the franchise ever since.
Agree, first one was better.
I don't see it as necessarily overrated or a rehash of the first movie, the chase elements are the same, sure, but overall, there's enough differences IMO, to be...well, different, This one fares better then Terminator 3 and definitely more so then terminator 4. The effects of this flick was cool, but as others say it served the story instead of the other way around. To each, their own, I guess.
It has a nice twist (Arnold's Terminator is the good guy), and much improved visual effects (The Terminators no longer look like stop motion rejects from Jason and the Argonauts), but the first film told a story I've been more inclined to return to than any of the sequels. Also, like Aliens, only the longer cut has all the character development that makes it any more than a simple action movie included.
Not overrated at all, saw it opening weekend, totally spoiler free, had no clue what it was going to be about.
I was totally blown away.
I judge a movie 2 ways, how I feel about it just after I see it, and then how I feel about ten years later when I watch it again.
It gets an A+ from me both ways. One of the best "experience" movies ever. Right up there with Star Wars A New Hope (1977)
I was totally blown away.
I judge a movie 2 ways, how I feel about it just after I see it, and then how I feel about ten years later when I watch it again.
It gets an A+ from me both ways. One of the best "experience" movies ever. Right up there with Star Wars A New Hope (1977)
Oddly, even though I love both Arnold and Sci-fi, I've never really liked the Terminator franchise that much at all.
The first one is obviously much better, but I think T2 has a lot going for it and although it has become fashionable to run it down, I think it does what it does quite well.
First of all, just about all movies built around a kid subtract two stars right away. That means the movie is starting from a HUGE hole, but it manages to climb out of it.
T2 has a lot more humor to it than T1, and that's a big part of the reason why a lot of people hate it nowadays, but I think the humor works. Come on, when Arnie shoots the guard in the leg and says, "He'll live!" tell me you didn't laugh.
First of all, just about all movies built around a kid subtract two stars right away. That means the movie is starting from a HUGE hole, but it manages to climb out of it.
T2 has a lot more humor to it than T1, and that's a big part of the reason why a lot of people hate it nowadays, but I think the humor works. Come on, when Arnie shoots the guard in the leg and says, "He'll live!" tell me you didn't laugh.
Except, it's not. It's just another generic Cameron actionfest, and in this case it's even worse because he took an intelligent movie plot and dumbed it down with an inferior rehash.
Then again, he stole Terminator from Harlan Ellison to begin with so it's not like he knew what he was doing...
Then again, he stole Terminator from Harlan Ellison to begin with so it's not like he knew what he was doing...
Char Aznable
Lieutenant Commander
I think that T2 is a little overrated. It seems to me like a lot of people ignore the first movie. I used to think T2 was the best, but my appreciation for T1 slowly grew until I realized one day that I liked it the best.
I also think that T3 is a bit underrated. I understand peoples criticisms of the movie, and I do think that it can be a dumb movie at times, but I think T3 still delivers the goods as an action movie.
I would rate the Terminator movies like this:
T1 - A+
T2 - A-
T3 - B-
T4 - C-
I also think that T3 is a bit underrated. I understand peoples criticisms of the movie, and I do think that it can be a dumb movie at times, but I think T3 still delivers the goods as an action movie.
I would rate the Terminator movies like this:
T1 - A+
T2 - A-
T3 - B-
T4 - C-
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