It’s been a good five years maybe since I’ve seen this masterpiece and I just had a hankering for it. But there were some things that I noticed this time that I hadn’t previously and I think they’re worth discussing. To be clear this isn’t a full review, just some shit I want to throw out there.
This first point might be obvious (or not) but Arnie is really good in this thing. I mean seriously good from an acting perspective. I totally buy that he’s a fucking machine with his stoicism and stiff movements. I don’t think we see him breathe or blink throughout the whole film. Everything about Arnie’s portrayal makes him seem like a very off human including his build and waxy looking skin. And because he’s an outdated model by this point the accent makes more sense than it did in the first Terminator. It’s like the machines didn’t get the speech program or mouth mechanics quite right with the T-800 but were able to figure it out and make it smooth with the T-1000. With Robert Patrick just speaking normally and not putting on some kind of accent of his own it helps to give the Terminator universe depth. The T-1000 is an improved model in every way including how it talks and communicates. Whenever the T-800 has a conversation he remains very dry and emotionless but the T-1000 is actually able to convey things like courtesy (it says “please” and “thank you” when talking with John’s guardians), inquiry and even shock (look at its face right before the famous “hasta la vista, baby” line). So the acting all around was better than I realized.
The second point is that Sarah Conner isn’t really motherly at all and the contrast between who she was in the first movie and who she is in this one is striking. James Cameron turned this average Jane character into a totally insane soldier that will do whatever it takes to protect her son. So she basically turned into Reese which means there’s no room for her to get gushy with John. Sarah’s only concern is that he’s alive and relatively healthy. She’s like his commanding officer more than his mother. But it’s interesting that John still sees her as and desperately wants her to be the paternal figure he yearns for.
Third, while this picture is pretty perfect there are at least four times when the T-800 says something out of character. Previously this didn’t bother me but this last time they really stood out. And I know what you’re thinking, “it’s fucking Arnold Schwarzenegger in a fucking action movie, of course there’s going to be cheesy fucking dialogue you moron”. Normally I would agree but this film is leagues beyond most action pictures and is executed brilliantly in every area. It’s smarter and better than these corny lines:
1. When our gang goes to break into Cyberdyne they encounter a guard at the desk who tells them that they can’t go in to which the T-800 says, “I insist”. I understand that this thing is a highly advanced robot but I don’t think puns and irony would be part of its programming. I mean it’s just not essential for what the thing was built to do. Take the bar scene for example when the T-800 demands the biker’s clothes. That’s how a killing machine from the future would handle things. When he doesn’t get what he needs then he takes it by force without shooting off some pun.
2. A little later Dyson asks the terminator how they will detonate the explosives and the robot replies, “remote control” and then makes a *click* sound with his mouth. And not like an actual click sound effect from an effects library but one that a human would make with his/her mouth. Why the machine thought it needed to add that sound in is inexplicable. Doing something like that is sort of a folksy gesture that’s usually accompanied by a wink. And even though the wink isn’t there it’s too human of a thing for this fucking mechanical apparatus to be doing.
3. Right before the T-800 goes to shoot up a million cop cars outside of Cyberdyne John reminds him that he swore not to kill anyone. The thing responds, “trust me”. It’s possible that the terminator has a list of American sayings and frequently used phrases but I’m sure it would be difficult to determine which to use in any given situation or conversation. This line isn’t terrible albeit incredibly overused. What really bothers me about it is that the T-800 says it with a smirk on his face. Again, maybe the thing is programmed to smile whenever it says that line but I can’t imagine that it would be very useful when attempting to kill people. The hitch is that this particular unit was reprogrammed to protect so who knows what they stuck in there.
4. And finally, perhaps the most offensive line in the entire movie is when the T-800 says, “I need a vacation” after defeating the T-1000. A robot wouldn’t make an intentional joke like that unless it was programmed to. The line isn’t even genuine in that it’s a machine that doesn’t need to rest or take time off. It’s not like the thing was thinking about going the Caribbean and kickin’ back for a week in the sun. The T-800 isn’t going to know what funny is. I guess Cameron couldn’t resist leaving this ad-libbed line in there even though it’s completely out of place. But I will admit that the impact of the absurdity is somewhat muted because by this point the movie’s over. It already blew my balls off and the stuff that happens after the T-1000 is gone is just some quick wrap up. The line probably would have had full revulsion power behind it if it was placed earlier in the film but it still infuriates me.
Honorary mention goes to the T-1000 when he says, “say, that’s a nice bike”. But I’ll let that one slide because not only is it a creepy line delivered in a creepy way but I like the callback to the first Terminator. The same reasoning goes for when the T-800 says, “come with me if you want to live”. It’s a fucking badass line and again, it’s a nice way to give a wink to the first film but doesn’t make a whole lot of sense coming from the T-800. You would think that this machine, whose only job is to protect John Connor and then when commanded by John, Sarah Connor, wouldn’t be giving Sarah the choice to come with it. It’s the “if you want to live” part that I’m talking about. It’s not about “if” she wants to live but more like this robot is going to do everything it can to make sure she does live whether she wants to or not. However, I could see the same argument being made for this line as the “trust me” one where the terminator was programmed to say it. Sure, that’s possible.
And I know you’re wondering why I didn’t list, “hasta la vista, baby” or “no problemo”. Well that’s because those are actually given background and context. John teaches the terminator to say these things when they’re driving through the desert so when they come up later it’s not out of place. I’m not saying that these lines aren’t silly but only that they’re actually explained while the others that I listed aren’t.
The next thing I really paid attention to was the music. The T-1000 theme is fucking eerie as a motherfucker. The relentless alarm type pulse really got to me. Throw in some extremely high pitched string hits (sounds more like synth strings though) a la Psycho and you have a perfect villain theme. The ironic thing is that the T-800 theme also sounds like it could be used for a villain. I like that they made it sound sort of metallic by using what sounds like anvils pitched down but according to IMDB it was cast iron frying pans. The T-800 theme has a militaristic feel and the T-1000 theme has a more serial killer thing going on. In fact if you listen to the soundtrack without the images that go with it the thing sounds like a horror movie score. I love it.
The last thing that got me thinking was the T-1000’s make up. It’s described as liquid metal and I’m no scientist/computer programmer/biochemist/fuckin’ brainiac but I think this machine is made of billions or trillions of tiny micro computers suspended in some sort of fluid. Maybe they have tiny screens on them that when combined creates the image of a human which is how the T-1000 can imitate anything it comes in contact with. What I’m really trying to say is that I have no fucking clue how this thing is supposed to work. It’s goddamn cool ‘n all but pretty baffling if you actually stop and think about the mechanics of it. Whatever, whether it’s made of metal or stupid fucking little computers like I suggested, it wouldn’t feel like a human. I mean it may look like hair and skin ‘n shit but if you touched it, it wouldn’t feel right.
Ok, I think that’s enough about T2 (at least for now). All of the shit that I brought up isn’t meant to make the movie look bad or question its badassness. I love this picture not only for the jaw dropping action sequences but also that it creates a rich world that makes me think about how shit fits into it and works. Cameron was good once, even great. I don’t know what the fuck happened to him though. Whatever, Terminator 2 guys, it’s the fucking best.
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