Terminator 2: Judgment Day : Movie Review


Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)Terminator 2 Judgment Day is released on 4k UHD (incl: Blu-Ray),
3D BLU-RAY (incl: Blu-Ray), BLU-RAY, DVD & DIGITAL DOWNLOAD on December 4th.


Arnold Schwarzenegger is back as the Terminator in T2. It would have been interesting to have seen this film back in 1991 at the cinema (I was too young so had to wait for VHS release) because if you had not seen the trailer for the film you would have no doubt be left wondering if Schwarzenegger was once again the bad guy. What other film has ever taken the bad guy from the first film and turned him into the good guy in the sequel? And done it so believably? It’s a crazy idea and thanks to Schwarzenegger’s talent and likability as a Hollywood star it worked. But Schwarzenegger did not believe it would work - until Cameron convinced him that to the young John Connor he may be the good guy but to everyone else he was still a bad ass Terminator. Schwarzenegger agreed and one of the finest ever action/sci-fi films was made.


Schwarzenegger as the T-800 is sent back in time to rescue Sarah Connor and her young son John - leader of the resistance. This time he’s up against the liquid metal, highly superior T-1000 played by Robert Patrick. But when he arrives in 1991 instead of finding a poodle-haired waitress (played so superbly by Linda Hamilton) he finds her incarcerated in a mental asylum - with an escape attempt in progress. The T-800 and John Connor aid Sarah’s escape, much to her initial confusion, with the T-1000 closely on their tails attempting to terminate them. Once out of the asylum and on the run we find out that Sarah is now a tough-as-nails, machine-gun-toting assassin, intent on taking out Miles Dyson - the inventor of Cyberdyne Systems. Sadly Michael Biehn did not return to the franchise as Kyle Reese - because he was dead - as was his other major role of Corporal Hicks was in Aliens/Alien3. A shame then, but unavoidable really.


After the low budget, sleeper-hit classic in 1984, T2 hit screen in 1991 and was the genuine high point for the Terminator franchise that went on to spawn several less successful sequels. Terminator 3 in 2003 (too long of a gap between movies) was where the franchise stumbled badly with a misconceived stab at comedy before it almost died completely without its main star in the 2009 reboot. Most recently Terminator Genisys impressed on many levels but was only mildly successful financially speaking.


In the special features there are interviews and sound bytes from cast and crew, most notably from Edward Furlong who now at 40 years of agesadly looks bloated and rundown. As we know, he was picked from total obscurity to play one of the most iconic roles of the 90salongside Arnold Schwarzenegger (who reportedly became a short-term surrogate father) this young man came from a broken home, had a troubled background, and no acting experience. It’s unlikely that he possessed the emotional maturity, or support to effectively deal with his newfound fame. He may have followed T2 up with American History X but his career fizzled after the 90s.


Now 25 years later speaking of his experiences on T2 he speaks enthusiastically about a time that was no doubt the happiest of his life.He's still finding work in small films today, but did director James Cameron, producer Gale Ann Hurd, or casting director Mali Finn (who found him) offer the young Furlong any support after filming wrapped? Was Furlong exploited? And with this knowledge in mind should his performance been looked at in a different light, or at least a tinge of sadness?


It’s great to experience T2 on Blu-ray looking the best it ever has, great colour, excellent contrast and clear visuals. As alluded to, the extra features are also worth your time.


Extras
• NEW - T2: Reprogramming The Terminator Documentary (Including Exclusive Interviews with Arnold Schwarzenegger, James Cameron, Edward Furlong and many more)
• 2 Feature Commentaries; 23 Members of Cast & Crew (1993) / Director James Cameron & Co-Author William Wisher
• The Making of T2 -1993
• Seamless Branching of the Theatrical version, Special Edition Version and Extended Special Edition Version
• 2 Deleted Scenes with Audio Commentary
• Trailers - NEW T2:3D Trailer (2017) - T2 Theatrical Trailer This Time There are Two/Same Make New Mission/Building the Perfect Arnold

Author : Kevin Stanley