Rich Man’s The Matrix Reloaded: Both of these movies deal with the fate of humanity when overcome with technology and both of these movies have both good and bad parts. However, T2 is able to create cohesive and overall enjoyable film, while Reloaded is just another sequel that didn’t live up to the original.
★★★★☆
I’ve watched a lot of movies. A lot. Occasionally, though, a major motion picture slips past me. Unfortunately, Terminator 2: Judgement Day is one of those films. The reason I never sat down and watched T2 is simple: action movie sequels, as a rule, generally aren’t as good as the original. There are 5 Die Hard films, there are 5 Terminator films, there are 5 Mission Impossible films, and within a few years we’ll have 5 Rambo films. In the end, I never watched T2 because I felt it wasn’t worth the gamble. But when Josh assigned me T2, it turned out to be a great Christmas present!
Overall, T2 is a really cool movie. Linda Hamilton and Arnold Schwarzenegger both reprise their roles as Sarah Connor and a terminator, respectively, and Edward Furlong, who you may remember as Edward Norton’s brother in American History X, plays John Connor in his first film role. The action is really great in this film (especially the last 30 minutes) and the movie-long cat-and-mouse game really kept me on my toes. Even in the quieter moments, I was worrying how John was going to survive his next encounter. Most of the special effects really hold up, but there are a few scenes that stick out as clearly being stuntmen or models, which did take me out of the movie. Unfortunately, T2 is really long. It’s 2 hours and 33 minutes long! (editor’s note: the run time is actually 136 minutes, David saw the special edition because he’s an idiot. Don’t watch the special edition…) I’m pretty sure you could cut 17 minutes of this film, no problem. The score screams 1990s and really doesn’t help build tension. It’s almost jarring to listen to in some scenes. Edward Furlong is just the worst. I was getting flashbacks to young Anakin in The Phantom Menace. I watched this movie with my brother and his girlfriend, she said he acted about as well as Kristen Stewart.
When you look at the action film franchise’s we were talking about earlier, you typically see some patterns. The first film is really great, breaks new ground in action film story telling by giving the audience a unique story, interesting characters, and manages to throw in some great action as well. These films aren’t typically high-brow thinkers (although they can have some deep messages, e.g. First Blood), but they are able to satisfy the viewer’s blood-lust without forcing them to completely shut off the parts of their brain responsible for cognition and breathing with your mouth closed. To ramble a bit further: Die Hard is the greatest Christmas movie of all time. John McClane is a semi-realist badass, and his actions have consequences. People die, John gets seriously injured, and there are some ridiculously badass catchphrases. First Blood takes a special ops Vietnam vet who has been abandoned by his country, roughs him up by some backwoods cops, then lets him loose to dole out justice. You love John Rambo when he’s blowing shit up, and at the same time you’re moved by the injustice of his situation. The first Mission Impossible is just a really fun movie. Action, spies, twists, double-crosses, and masks. It’s pur entertainment. The first Terminator is a God-damn work of art. It helps that the original idea was thought up by sci-fi legend Harlan Ellison, but man did James Cameron really bring it home on that one. I watched it on Saturday- the action is great, the Terminator is terrifying, and the effects really hold up. I literally could not watch the scene when Arnold performs surgery on his own injured eye.
We’ve established that the original film of these action franchises is always pretty great, but problems always arise with sequels. You have to make the explosions bigger, you have to twist the storyline so that your star characters are still involved (seriously, terrorists, quit attacking John McClane), you have to account for aging Schwarzeneggers, Cruises, Willises, and Stallones. The story that had some kind of message needs to accommodate all these changes and it can no longer be action-oriented and a good story at the same time. So by the 3rd or 4th film the viewer is forced to make some serious leaps of faith and you get a movie that’s purely an action vehicle, so who cares if the acting is wooden or the dialogue is hokey. This is how the psychologically damaged John Rambo ends up fighting in Afghanistan. This is how Tom Cruise ends up on the side of plane for some reason. One caveat, I am not saying these films aren’t enjoyable to watch. I’ve seen nearly all of them; they’re generally a good time. All I’m saying is that if you give me the choice between numbers 2-5 of the franchise or number 1, I’m going with number 1.
The Terminator franchise is no exception. Judgement Day is a good movie. I enjoyed it. But it’s not as well put together as the original. It has more flaws and worst acting. That being said, it’s still a good action flick, and still faithful to the original film without sullying the memory. It’s a movie that almost anyone can like, so if you’re sick of playing rummy with grandma, pop this in instead.
Terminator 2: Judgement Day is available for rental on Google Play or Apple. The original Terminator is available on Netflix!
Next week Josh will be watching The Devil’s Advocate. I know Al Pacino’s a bit crazy, but I still love him, even when he’s hollering like a maniac. In The Devil’s Advocate, we get to mix crazy uncle Al with Keanu Reeves doing a shitty southern accent. It’s not a perfect movie by any stretch of the imagination, but I really enjoy it.
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