Review: Terminator 2: Judgement Day Doesn't Get Much From The Third Dimension
- Aug 25, 2017
- 2 min read
In 1991 James Cameron and Arnold Schwarzenegger returned to the big screen with the excellent Terminator 2, a film I enjoy very much indeed. And now, as promised so regularly, it's back, in, ah, 3D.
Almost 10 years after the events of the events in The Terminator, Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) is locked away in a mental facility and her young son John (Edward Furlong) is a rebellious, annoying, ass, whom I despise in his entirety. When the T-1000 (Robert Patrick), a new liquid metal terminator, is dispatched to kill him, future John sends back a reprogrammed T-800 (Schwarzenegger) to protect himself.
I really like most of Terminator 2. Arnold for one, is great and Linda Hamilton is equally as badass as the now militarised Sarah Connor. Robert Patrick is also great as the sleeker, newer and arguably cooler villain, brought to life by an impressive combination of practical and digital effects, most of which still hold up. And then there's Furlong. He whinges, he whines, he never shuts up, and I hate him for it. His voice is like that of nails on a chalkboard and I can't handle it. He's just awful. Thankfully the action is great, easily some of the best ever put to screen. It's explosive, in more ways than one. The battles between the two terminators are excellent, with each having their own styles. It's not as dark and gritty as the first film but it's far more cinematic.
But is a great film elevated by the addition of 3D more than twenty years after its release? In short, no. While the opportunity to watch it on the big screen for the first time was a welcome one, and I enjoyed the experience, the 3D conversion brings little more than eye strain and the removal of a few classic scenes.
Should you watch Terminator 2? Yes, yes you should. Should you watch it in 3D? Well, that's up to you. It's fun to see on the big screen but the actual 3D brings almost nothing to the table.
Comments