brianjones
Member
only try hards prefer T1
That's how I feel about it, they're different movies doing different things, both very well. If they were both on different channels at the same time I'd probably pick T2 more often.
No they're not. T2 is basically a remake of T1 with a budget and a kid added.
I agree with basically all of this. T1 definitely.Terminator 2 is solid, but in later years, I kind of find Sarah Connor's monologues to be very long winded and preachy, and John Connor always got on my nerves. I also find the escalated spectacle to be less to my taste compared to the gritty, more grounded (for a sci-fi film) approach to the original.
His creepy obsession with her was the only thing keeping him moving and it was created intentionally by John to secure his future. He is the tragic character of the series.
Let's break this shit down on why T1 is better than T2.
T1's script is tight, no filler, and completes it's run perfectly. There is no we can change the future or prevent judgement day. These were events that were simply meant to happen to allow the future to happen. It's a damn tragedy that has to happen, even if the characters are unaware of it themselves.
T2 on the other hand changes it up. The future has changed, we can stop it now. It wants to break away from the bleak ending of the original and make it more easy to digest. It wants to make it more family friend as others stated. The inclusion of the kid and other bits burn this in.
Nor was it as lean and tight as the original. The original is a cat and mouse game. It picks up and drops you in. There is very little exposition and everything is sold through Biehn's performance. T2 has to include the entire beginning twist where Arnold is actually here as the hero this time(You know it was coming), while protecting the kid. It never really had the same tension or speed as the original. It's a slower burner with bigger setpieces, but less ferocity and more fluff.
This brings up the performances. The heart of the franchise has always been Reese(Specifically Biehn's performance).
We had 5 minutes total of future time in the original through Kyle remembering and the rest is sold through him. He is terrified, he is off the edge, and it shows. You have a man who has no idea what the future holds, but was manipulated by John to go back to the future, save/sex Sarah, and die. His creepy obsession with her was the only thing keeping him moving and it was created intentionally by John to secure his future. He is the tragic character of the series. T1 isn't about choice, but events that are meant to play out and his character is one with the notion of free will, yet everything he does was already determined by others.
He was replaced by Linda in the 2nd one, who simply is not even half as good of an actor as Biehn was. Sarah talking to herself was not the same as Biehn being unhinged. While the new Sarah was John this time, who wasn't half the actor that Linda was. We went from someone who is rightfully terrified of the machine chasing them and hunting them down, to "Say Hasta La Vista" dude.The tone of the film is off now between the two characters creating a lax in tension. It was like, John has a father now... the father who killed his real father! Who less than 10 minutes ago in the film, I was freaking out about and having nightmares about, got locked up for, etc. It's inconsistent between the characters. Specifically, having Arnold as the hero this time.
Second, Arnold. Arnold was more imposing as the Villain than the Hero. There is no fucking scene in 2 that matches the Police shootout. Between I'll Be Back, to rolling in their double gunning. It's terrifying, it's menacing, and it shows exactly how ineffective we are as humans against the machine. T2 loses this because it's machine vs machine now. Bullets don't mean shit anymore. They can't hurt either of them. Since it's no longer a qasui-horror movie either, there was never once that same dread Arnold or Patrick brought that match T1. Basically, it lost it's spark in terms of bigger action pieces. Great ones at that, but everything in the original was so quick and effective. They didn't need to up the scale of the set pieces to hide it.
I love when that synth music kicks in and wish I could have been sitting in a theater sharing that moment with an audience during the original release. Sends chills down my spine every time.
Kyle Reese is too annoying in T1, so T2 (Theatrical Cut) wins
Terminator 2 is probably the coolest film ever made.
This man gets it.Terminator 2>The Terminator
Aliens>Alien
Terminator 1 is some pretty real shit. Its like a neo-noir slasher movie where the unstoppable slasher monster has a gun instead of a knife. But that sex scene is really, really bad. I'm sorry.
True fucking shit. If you think Arnold didn't turn the Model 1887 into the coolest weapon of all time then get out of my face