MovieChat Forums > Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) Discussion > Not as good as Part 1

Not as good as Part 1

posted 9 years ago by genstarzz
52 replies | jump to latest

I don't understand why people say this is better than part 1 at all. The plot is basically recycled from the original with a few of the characters roles rearranged. The movie is full of humor that doesn't work, for example the sunglasses scene. In the original film, the T-800 puts on the glasses to hide his exposed cyborg eye. In this movie, it's played just for laughs.

The T-1000 is nowhere near as intimidating as a villain as Arnold was in the original. I'm sorry, but the actor playing him was just too skinny. This movie also just felt too clean for me and lacked the grit of the original. T2 is a good film and I'll admit it's the best of the Terminator sequels, however the original is still king as far as I'm concerned.

[–] ohumstudio 9 years ago

its odd that im agree with u.i always believe T2 was the best Terminator but last week i watched T1 after 10 yrs again and wow..that was just amazing.so dark and sad yet scary and hopeless...Arnold was sooooo scary in that movie...but T2 is one of the best movies ever made.T1000 is intimidating compare to any villain in any movie.he is a liquid metal so being Skinny is not that important since he is not human.Both movies are legendary and perfect but they have diffrent feelings.i give T1 more credits.but T2 is the best and most perfect sequel that can be made for T1.

[–] ibrarules 9 years ago

I don't understand why people say this is better than part 1 at all

Personally my main reason may simply be production values. I always have a hard time with low-budget action movies with crappy effects. Comedies and dramas can be extremely low-budget but movies that rely on visuals and effects can't for me.

To me, even as a teenager in 1984, the effects in The Terminator were simply too poor, so took my out of the immersion. T2 had the best effects ever put on film when it came out.

As for story, agreed it's pretty close to a rehash (except the "no fate but what we make", which is the opposite of the predestination paradox of the first).

Overall
A+ Terminator 2
A- The Terminator

(slightly OT - I'd be curious to know if anyone likes LA Takedown better than Heat simply bc it was the original, and not a rehash with the same story by the same director)

[–] hnt_dnl 9 years ago

The "humor" in T2 is extremely dated. That was a big mistake by the writers, to use time-capsule dialogue. I've always said Arnie's the best evil Terminator. He gave more of an actual performance in that movie, while Patrick benefitted from cutting edge special effects. I think the effects are a huge reason that T2 gets a lot of love.

[–] LukeLovesFilm28 9 years ago

If you only want the same emotional experience of watching The Terminator, of course T2 isn't for you. Cameron was trying to make a different experience with all the same elements and for the majority of people out there, he totally succeeded.

[–] cartesianthought 9 years ago

I do agree with you.

Judgment Day was very good. I enjoyed both movies a lot. But that being said, I don't think the 2nd was as good as the first.

It does everything a sequel should do. It adds more character development, more texture to the universe, more action, more stunts, more special effects. But bigger isn't always better.

It's sort of what happened to James Bond after the first few movies. Yeah, it got a bigger budget and more car chases, but part of what I liked about the original Terminator was how much it did with very little. In the original, the anticipation of one gunshot made the viewer frantic, and in the 2nd one bullets are sprayed more frivilously than ever.

T2 recycles a lot from T1, and those provide for some of the more entertaining and nostalgic moments. It's definitely fan service, but there's no denying how much I enjoyed Arnold playing the good guy for a change.

[–] smoko 9 years ago

@genstarzz One major reason I prefer T2 is how elements from T1 are re-used but with the context changed.

An example is when the T800 is crawling. In T1 it's crawling in the factory to kill Sarah Connor, so we want it to fail. In T2 it's crawling in the factory to get to the weapon to defeat the T1000, so we want it to succeed.

Like all great sequels, it's the same but different.

[–] residentevil6901 9 years ago

T2 is hands down better then part 1.

[–] lisardo79 9 years ago

I agree 100%! T1 is a more powerful, emotional, grittier film. I find evil Arnie, even tho a less advanced model to the T-1000, FAR more menacing! I was even commenting as I'm currently watching T2 - "How is it that Arnie didn't just kill all those guys in the bar, as he killed the one punk and a whole police station, in the first film!?" Why all the sudden is Arnie being "nice" and letting people live, BEFORE John makes him swear not to kill anyone? It's like they pussy-fied him; he's a freaking Terminator! Anyway, that's one complaint, but I also noticed the entire feel of the movie is too humorous, and fan-serviced, as others have said. Which is ok, it's still a great, memorable film, and I realize this was Cameron's different take on a different film of the franchise. Yet, it doesn't have the same impact on me personally, as T1 did. Then again, I'm in the minority here, I also prefer Mad Max 1 and Alien 1 to their sequels, for the same damn reason as T1.