Terminator 2 is twenty years old

[Laz]

Bad movies are inherent in franchises. To do away with their discussion is to do away with them, ie. impossible.

 

[Byron The Bulb]

Why? Surely it's not unexpected that a discussion about Terminator 2 would lead to discussion of the other movies in the series.

Bad movies are inherent in franchises. To do away with their discussion is to do away with them, ie. impossible.

Yeah but the only movies in the series that are actually of a piece (eg coherently related, thematically unified, made by the same people) are the first two. The third is basically fan fiction, while Salvation is an almost wholly unrelated piece of shit with the Terminator name and some bits and pieces of iconography slathered on top.

And Mattdotcom is totally on point. This folder is weirdly way more interested in picking apart shitty movies than it is in talking about the good parts of good movies.

 

[Mattdotcom]

Personally I blame the Nostalgia Critic for replacing interesting discourse and debates with humorless jokes at full volume. He should be drawn and quartered imo.

Another fun story about awesome movie Terminator 2: My mom got me some kind of sour gum that somehow tied into the movie that came with a sticker that looked like a bullet crack, which I promptly used to ruin the new family entertainment center. I didn't get in trouble, though, probably because T2 is so great. But hey, since everyone would rather discuss something that's bad instead of good, what are your thoughts on Edward Furlong's performance and Cameron's seemingly unwavering focus on it? Correct me if I'm wrong, but the special edition that isn't a director's cut mostly adds more John Connor to the film than anything else.

 

[Byron The Bulb]

Furlong's performance is fine. Some of his line readings are sorta forced, but that fits with his characterization as a kid who puts up a (transparent) tough dude facade in order to conceal the pain of growing up without a real family. I don't think I've ever seen the edition you're talking about, so I can't comment on the added scenes.

 

[Mattdotcom]

It might be the ARtisan Extreme Edition that came in the tin case, but I'm not sure. I think there are roughly a dozen T2 DVDs.

 

[wnyxmcneal]

Yeah but the only movies in the series that are actually of a piece (eg coherently related, thematically unified, made by the same people) are the first two. The third is basically fan fiction, while Salvation is an almost wholly unrelated piece of shit with the Terminator name and some bits and pieces of iconography slathered on top.

I actually really enjoyed both Terminator 3 and Terminator Salvation. I'm actually sad that there's been no announcement of a Terminator 5 on the way. Yea, if you think about them for more than a second your head might explode, but they were still fun movies.

And Mattdotcom is totally on point. This folder is weirdly way more interested in picking apart shitty movies than it is in talking about the good parts of good movies.

There was two pages of discussion about Terminator 2. Threads evolve, and it's only natural discussion would turn to other movies in the Terminator franchise, or the TV show. People were also talking about the first Terminator. Is that a problem? Let the discussion lead itself instead of getting upset that it is not going where you want it to go.

 

[Mattdotcom]

There's already been at least one thread where Salvation was discussed to death, though.

 

[wnyxmcneal]

You mean a thread that was created almost two years ago?

 

[Byron The Bulb]

Yea, if you think about them for more than a second your head might explode, but they were still fun movies.

That's the point, though. In order to have any kind of meaningful discussion about something you actually have to think about it. Maybe I'm just a big gay snob, but I just can't understand why anyone would want to expend a non-negligible amount of time and effort thinking about Terminator Salvation.

 

[Mattdotcom]

You mean a thread that was created almost two years ago?

I was thinking it was more of an alternate timeline.

 

[wnyxmcneal]

Yea, if you think about them for more than a second your head might explode, but they were still fun movies.

That's the point, though. In order to have any kind of meaningful discussion about something you actually have to think about it. Maybe I'm just a big gay snob, but I just can't understand why anyone would want to expend a non-negligible amount of time and effort thinking about Terminator Salvation.

I don't disagree. I went to a midnight showing of Terminator: Salvation, and had a blast, even though I know a lot of it didn't make any sense. Isn't that the problem with all the Terminator movies though? There's a lot of plot holes and paradoxes and fun logic gaps if you stop to actually think about it? And I have.

 

[Laz]

I think I have the edition of T2 Mattdotcom's talking about. It features the scene where...

Spoiler

Ahnuld says that there's a switch in his head that can make him learn as opposed to just rely on the facts already imprinted in his chip, which then leads to Sarah trying to destroy his CPU chip but John stops her

, if I'm right. That's the only SE I knew existed, since I think all of the various T2 DVD releases just had various special features attached.

Furlong really isn't too bad of an actor if he's in the right role. Anything where he has to be a badass is pretty lame but when he's unsure of himself and depressed? He nails it. I don't think he's that bad in T2 because he's an 11 or 13-year-old kid (I forget which age he's supposed to be in that movie) and it makes sense that he's not all there on a mental or emotional level: his mother trained him since he was in diapers to be a leader and a survivalist, then he comes to find out that she's insane and his entire life has been a sham, and THEN he finds out that she's actually 100% correct while simultaneously being hunted by a nearly invincible killer from the future that can morph itself into looking like somebody else.

 

[909]

Bad posters talk about bad movies. I don't know exactly what's so surprising about that.

 

[wnyxmcneal]

I'm crushed 909 thinks I'm a bad poster.

I guess movie economics are different today, but it always surprised me that they let Cameron make the expensive movie of all time an R rating. The movie was a success anyway, but I wonder if there was a concern from the studio that they would be locking a lot of their potential audience out of the movie.

 

[Mattdotcom]

Yeah, T2 is set in 1995, so John is eleven when it takes place.

 

[wnyxmcneal]

I don't know how they would've done it, but Earl Boen should've had a cameo in Terminator Salvation. That was a letdown that he wasn't in it.

 

[Mattdotcom]

That bothered me, too.

 

[Byron The Bulb]

Isn't that the problem with all the Terminator movies though? There's a lot of plot holes and paradoxes and fun logic gaps if you stop to actually think about it? And I have.

Yeah but the first two have things like interesting characters and good direction and compelling plots and thought-provoking thematic concerns that you can chew on without getting caught up in dumb nerdy nitpicking about time paradoxes. That's the problem with something like Terminator Salvation. There's nothing there, so the only stuff you can talk about are things immaterial to the film itself, like the logic of time travel and inconsistencies between it and the other movies.

 

[Epic Springs]

Has anyone seen what Edward Furlong looks like today? He had a small part in The Green Hornet where he looked fine, but going on recent pictures, dude let himself go in a huge way.

 

[Big Beard Booty Daddy]

Yeah, T2 is set in 1995, so John is eleven when it takes place.

Actually he's 10. This is from the IMDB trivia section:

Sarah Connor is 19 years old in the movie (The Terminator). This is proved in the sequel Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) where Dr. Silberman says Sarah is 29 years old and T-1000 checks Sarah son's, John Connor's, profile which states he's 10 years old.

 

[Laz]

Has anyone seen what Edward Furlong looks like today? He had a small part in The Green Hornet where he looked fine, but going on recent pictures, dude let himself go in a huge way.

Heroin's bad, mmkay? I'll also never forgive him for ruining Natasha Lyonne.

 

[Jingus]

This folder is weirdly way more interested in picking apart shitty movies than it is in talking about the good parts of good movies.

Yeah. It's much easier, and often more fun. Whenever I write a review, it's always more enjoyable to rip apart a shitty movie than to praise a good one. Why? No clue. I just know it makes me feel that way, and apparently I'm not alone.

I'm just a big gay snob

...

Personally I blame the Nostalgia Critic for replacing interesting discourse and debates with humorless jokes at full volume. He should be drawn and quartered imo.

He and his crew do seem to have a negative effect on discussion. Ever been to those forums? Half the posts tend to be kids whining "this is worse than Hitler!" about Justin Bieber or whatever. But the Critic is hardly the first guy who did this, the internet was built on the backs of websites that mocked pop culture. From the Onion to Seanbaby to Mr Cranky, the information superhighway has long been loaded up with dudes making fun of bad shit.

I guess movie economics are different today, but it always surprised me that they let Cameron make the expensive movie of all time an R rating.

Aye. One of the most annoying trends of 21st century filmmaking is the continual pussification of genre thrillers, taking what should have been an R but coldly calculating its content in a bloodless manner to just barely fit into a PG-13 instead.

That's the problem with something like Terminator Salvation. There's nothing there

Oh, there's something there all right. That being gargantuan robots who make a frequent habit of catching humans who are falling through the air, seemingly at terminal velocity... with giant hands made out of solid steel. That's even more laughable than the standard outrunning-an-asplosion absurdity. But yeah, you're right in your evalutation of Salvation, it's just a big dumb loud action movie which happens to claim to be a sequel to previous, better movies.

 

[Black Lushus]

Worthington's character was actually very interesting, it just doesn't fit in the concept of John Conner's story, which should have been the main focus.

 

[NoCalMike]

I had T2 on VHS, then the barebones DVD, then the Ultimate Edition (the one in the silver tin case), it had three cuts of the movie, theatrical, director's cut and then as an easter egg, the extended director's cut. If i remember correctly you had to enter in a password, which was either the year the Terminator was sent back to, or the year the War vs Machines started, can't remember so much anymore.

I skipped the Extreme Edition because it was basically a repackaging of the Ultimate edition with maybe a new featurette or two on it.

And then Christmas 09 my wife bought me the bluray, but it is pretty much barebones, just theatrical release. So I will still be holding on to the Ultimate edition DVD.

 

[atticus Chaos]

I guess movie economics are different today, but it always surprised me that they let Cameron make the expensive movie of all time an R rating. The movie was a success anyway, but I wonder if there was a concern from the studio that they would be locking a lot of their potential audience out of the movie.

Maybe studios were just more relaxed back them, or knew it would find its audience?

But yeah, if that film was being made today it I think it would have probably been PG13. Although they let the Matrix sequels get away with R ratings (and they cost an absolute fortune) so maybe not.

 

[Mattdotcom]

I guess movie economics are different today, but it always surprised me that they let Cameron make the expensive movie of all time an R rating. The movie was a success anyway, but I wonder if there was a concern from the studio that they would be locking a lot of their potential audience out of the movie.

Not only that, but Cameron was coming off The Abyss. I guess as long as it had Arnold they'd let him do whatever he wanted.

 

[DrVenkman PhD]

Personally I blame the Nostalgia Critic for replacing interesting discourse and debates with humorless jokes at full volume. He should be drawn and quartered imo.

Someone was wearing a New Nexus / Punk shirt at the beginning of the new video, so you have to give credit for that.

 

[BlackFlagg]

And then Christmas 09 my wife bought me the bluray, but it is pretty much barebones, just theatrical release. So I will still be holding on to the Ultimate edition DVD.

They already did a second T2 blu-ray release, The Skynet Edition http://www.amazon.com/Terminator-Judgment-Day-Skynet-Blu-ray/dp/B001RIY4WE/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1297299433&sr=8-1

 

[Mattdotcom]

I would be very nervous about putting any disc labeled "Skynet Edition" in any electronic equipment.

 

[Sabre]

And that was from 2008.