Teminator 2: Judgment DayTechnical—5/5—When I saw this film in the theatre years ago, I was stunned by it’s use of special effects. It still looks good, but nothing special. What I want to know is how did Cameron make it look so shiny and campy at the same time? That takes skill.
Interest—5/5—It was a romp. Nothing in depth. It’s really a kids action movie. And that is perfect.
Tension—5/5—The first time I saw this film I thought my heart was going to explode by the end of it. Not so much now, but it is so well paced and builds up the characters so well and the stakes are so high that you feel it.
Emotional—4/5—Dang, where did that mist come from? I’m not really upset because the robot is leaving the kid, am I? We need to get a dehumidifier…
Characters—4/5—All the characters are one note. You got the action hero mom, the robot/alien having to learn about living as a human, and the kid as the victim/hero. What Cameron does so well is take movie stereotypes and turn them into excellently told stories. It’s a fairy tale, but a good one.
Theme—2/5—I must have missed the theme between the explosions.
Ethics—5/5—One aspect of this film that is never dealt with in other action films is the loss of life. The kid puts Arnold under a restriction that he isn’t to take a human life. This leads to some pretty funny, unexpected situations. But it also communicates the point that it isn’t easy to save life when you’ve got power and goals. It is easier to kill without remorse to accomplish the goals. It takes creativity and extra work to bring people with you to the tomorrow you want to build.
Personal—2/5—I never had a robot come from the future to save ME. What a boring childhood I had.
What fun! I don’t know if it’ll make my top 100 in reality, but it will be there in spirit.