Terminator 2: Judgment Day – The Ultimate Edition DVD

-Artisan (1991)

Summary:

An evil robot from the future (is there any other?) comes back in time to kill Sara Connor’s son, John. Another evil robot, now turned good, is sent back in time to protect him…. wait… I think I've seen this Outer Limits episode before.

My Thoughts:

Terminator 2: Judgment Day is one of my favorite films of all time, and for good reason. Its got great action, robots, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Plus, it’s an awesome sequel to the equally cool Terminator. The difference between the first Terminator film and this one is enormous. The scale of Terminator 2 is massive, and it's obvious that a lot more money was poured into the sequel. That doesn’t mean that the film doesn’t have a great story at its core, however, as it has a gripping plot in between all the running and exploding bits.

Terminator 2 begins with some awesome future war action overlain with narration by Sarah Connor. We get to see the fearsome Endo-skeletons deal robotic death to the surviving humans in a post apocalyptic landscape. We also get to see mankind's only hope, John Connor. I swear, if they made a Terminator film that was just crazy robot combat with humans, I wouldn't need a plot to be happy. I could watch this stuff all day. Anyway, we return to our time where a naked Arnold Schwarzenegger materializes to beat the hell out of some biker dudes for their clothes, a motorcycle, and some sunglasses. It's good thing that robots from the future, evil or not, have a sense of style. The other robot from the future appears as well, and he's the not so good one since he’s made of liquid metal and lots of robot rage.

In the following scenes we find out what happened to Sara Connor after the first Terminator. She had her love child, raised him in a crazy “the end is coming” sort of survivalist environment, then ended up in a sanitarium. Nuthouse or not, it's better than being the horrible mousy waitress she was in the first film. We are also introduced to a young John Connor who is a troubled youth living with some step parents that lean towards the white trash spectrum. They seem to mean well, but the kid obviously has some issues with authority. John and his buddy from Nickelodeon's Salute Your Shorts steal some money from an ATM with what looks like an Atari Lynx, while both Terminators look for him. It isn't long before there's some hot robot on robot action, motorcycle chases, explosions, and more explosions. Explosions!

The only real negative Terminator 2 has is its weaker second half where the Terminator becomes a pseudo-father for the young John and all the plans are put into motion to try and change the future. While John and the Terminator become closer, the robot begins to act and talk like a human being. I understand the desire to humanize the Terminator, but in doing so they make him almost too human.  He's such an endearing character in the beginning of the film, because he is so unintentionally funny as well as deadly. By the end of the film the Terminator is telling John he can understand why people cry and that he can never do that. As he slowly sinks into the molten pit in self sacrifice to save the future, he gives John a thumbs-up for victory and hope for the future. In these last moments Terminator 2 becomes overly sentimental and exceedingly corny. Still, the rest of the film unfolds at a furious pace as the Connors and their protector escape from the unstoppable killing machine, and it makes for one of the best sci-fi action adventures I've ever seen. 

The direction and photography are little more than functional, with an eye for the fast paced action. The acting is good enough to be convincing, and the cast gels well together. One area that the film excels at is the Foley, which is helped in part by the edition’s amazing surround mix, but without the great sound effects like the T-1000’s metal hooks clanging on the ground or Sara Conner’s bare feet running on tile, the surround mix wouldn't have been such a treat.

There are two versions of this film on this disc. The first is the theatrical cut and the second is the special edition version. The special edition version is accessed via seamless branching, and is my preferred cut. There are numerous additions that enhance the film, including some additional bits that reveal that the T-1000 was severely damaged at the end of the film. I had a problem with the original cut in this respect, since it seemed so unbelievable that the robot could survive being completely frozen, blown apart, then reassembled. In the special edition cut, the T-1000 has a hard time keeping his shape together. There are some neat effects in these bits like when his feet mimic the diamond plate he's stepping on, but some of the effects look kind of shoddy. The other reason why these scenes are a good inclusion is that they explain why the T-1000 wants Sara to call out to John when he has her cornered. In the theatrical cut it didn't make sense that he just didn't waste her and move on.

The special edition also differs in the way that the Terminator is humanized. Instead of him being a learning computer that can somehow magically flip his learning processor on to make him say cool catchphrases like, "Hasta la vista, baby," the Special Edition version has Sara and John cracking open the robot's skull and adjusting his microprocessor brain. Not only do you see just how vulnerable the hulking Terminator is at that moment to a common hammer, but the ensuing argument between John and his mother shows the important transition from punk to future leader of mankind in John as he not only orders Sara not to destroy the chip, but he trusts her not to do it. I don't know how this important moment could have ended on the cutting room floor, regardless of time.

The picture quality of this edition is awesome. I haven't seen a clearer picture on a film since the Star Wars releases on DVD. There are two great surround mixes on this disc, a Dolby Digital 5.1 EX and a DTS 5.1 ES mix your listening pleasure. I find myself always enjoying DTS over Dolby Digital, but I'm not an audiophile so decide for yourself if you are.

Extras:

Terminator 2 flexes its muscles with its Arnold-sized amount of special features. That isn't to say there are too many special features, however. There's just the right amount to keep any Terminator fan happy, without going overboard like the Hellboy: Director's Cut that I still have nightmares about. The edition I reviewed had a great metal slipcover that goes over the DVD case itself. I've seen this edition in the store without the metal, but come on, you know you'd rather have that metal case. There’s also a little booklet for your reading enjoyment, which a lot of DVD releases seem to ignore these days.

The Ultimate Edition DVD is not a two disc edition that's the more popular way to present a film these days, but instead it has most of the extras on the flip side of the disc. I'm not a huge fan of this, because I feel like I'm going to accidentally scratch the thing a lot easier than if I didn't have to worry about both sides. Regardless, disc side A contains the two versions of the film, filmographies (haven't seen these in awhile), and the audio commentary. The commentary was rather a let down. It’s comprised of 26 interviews with various production crew and cast, and it sounds rather jumbled together. Luckily, there's text that flashes on screen to inform you of who is speaking. I prefer the spontaneity of a filmmaker or cast commenting on the film as they watch it though, because there's usually a lot more life and humor in the commentary.

The first side of the disc contains some great motion menus, and the flip side has even better ones. It’s designed like the inside of Skynet with several layers of extras. The first layer contains three featurettes. The one not to miss if you're a Terminator fan is “The Making of Terminator 2 3D: Breaking the Screen Barrier,” which covers the Terminator 3D movie/live stunt show at Universal Studios. Even if you haven't been on the ride it's a great watch. There's also a large selection of trailers for your viewing pleasure.

The next level of features contains the script, story boards, pictures, over sixty behind the scenes featurettes, and bears oh my! Well, there are no bears, but there's a lot of stuff here. One of the most notable of these features is the alternative ending, which is terrible.

Finally, the last level of access includes text chapters which allow you to view all the extras in certain categories, or the ability to watch them all from start to end. There are also some DVD ROM features for the five people who ever look at those. The only other DVD I've seen that was handy enough to organize its extras was the lesser appreciated Cameron film The Abyss.

Score:

Film: 9.0

Extras: 9.0

Edition: 9.0

-Paul