I don’t think I’ve ever had an experience in a cinema quite like the last half hour of Terminator 2: Judgment Day. It’s just been re-released into cinemas to commemorate its 35th anniversary.
You might say it’s ho-hum today considering the incredible advances in computer generated special effects that have taken place in those years. Maybe so but in 1991, at the dawn of CG, it was something else. Who was spending $100 million on a movie in those days?
I was in Jersey, of all places, when I saw it. It might as well have been the other side of the moon.
I felt like I was having an out-of-body experience as I watched Arnold Schwarzenegger rescuing a mother and son, Shane-style, from the clutches of a chrome chameleon (Robert Patrick).
Today it’s commonplace to watch a villain who refuses to die but 35 years ago, seeing Patrick recreate himself like mercury no matter what Arnie threw at him, was unprecedented.
Say what you like about director James Cameron – and many people have – he pushed the envelope here. Cameron is numero uno at this kind of thing. He ‘lived,’ as he put it, in the editing room while it was being shot. Okay, so he had a great team around him, but you still have to drive the ship.
The film was a triumph not only of technological wizardry in an Armageddon-style scenario and had a helluva good story as well, right up until the moment Sarah (Linda Hamilton) says, “The unknown future rolls towards us. If a terminator can learn the value of human life, maybe we can too.”
The cast was perfectly chosen for the back-to-the-future format. Hamilton has morphed from the mild-mannered waitress of the first iteration to become a full-on warrior. Edward Furlong, an untried actor, is the perfect mix of innocence and street wisdom as her son.
As T-1000, the archetypal villain, Patrick may look like a choirboy but his eyes are those of a killer.
As for Schwarzenegger, the fact that he’s now the hero was an inspired twist. “I turn into Bambi,” he remarked. Well, not quite.
People joke that he’s good at playing robots because he acts like one. Maybe so, but his sang froid is perfect here, tinged as it is with the merest smattering of emotion. He may not be able to cry but he knows why others do.
His final thumbs-up gesture is a sign of life, not death. Would it be too much to say he’s a salvific Christ figure? Maybe not. Shane was one too.
For the re-mastered edition of this trailblazing film, I advise you to stock up on the popcorn and get a comfy seat. It’s two hours-plus of blistering action.
I’ve often thought the two best sequels in Hollywood history are Godfather II and French Connection II. After seeing this again I think they have a rival.
Hasta la vista, baby.
