-
Ever wanted an RSS feed of all your favorite gaming news sites? Go check out our new Gaming Headlines feed! Read more about it here.
-
We have made minor adjustments to how the search bar works on ResetEra. You can read about the changes here.
Terminator 1 or Terminator 2?
- Thread starter Video Kojima
- Start date
T1's entire point is you can't change fate. That there is no escaping the coming war, even Skynet's attempt resulting in John being fathered. It makes the story bleak and darker.
T2 threw this all away and basically just went for a happy, no war ending because apparently you can change fate after all.
Terminator 1 no contest. T2 was great in it's own right but pales in comparison to the atmosphere and horror of the first.
Oh yeah, Edward Furlong is an annoying little shit.
Oh yeah, Edward Furlong is an annoying little shit.
Terminator 1 is such a great horror/thriller. Just thinking about an unstoppable cyborg from the future that never stops hunting you and cannot be killed by conventional means is just terrifying and an amazing piece of scifi storytelling.
That there is hope in T2 completely neuters that feeling. I don't like how we have to make humans so special and entitled (though I understand). I like when we are shown in truth.
Upgrade is the successor to Terminator 1.
That there is hope in T2 completely neuters that feeling. I don't like how we have to make humans so special and entitled (though I understand). I like when we are shown in truth.
Upgrade is the successor to Terminator 1.
2 is the better made movie. 1 is bleaker, darker movie, with a grimier punk feel. The recesses of the mind are gunked up at the end of 1 because even though the protagonists win the battle in the present you know that the future war is brutal because humanity has to face a an army of terminators; cold, unrelenting, corruptions of the human form. Living memorials made with the purpose of wiping out humanity.
2 is dark in some ways but not on the level of the first movie. The model 101 in this movie is a good guy and gives viewers hope. You have a decent amount of jokes to act as relief. The action scenes aren't as gritty as the first movie and are more bombastic. This movie was a pivot point for Cameron towards lighter action movies away from darker movies with more hard edge to them.
2 is better made, but I like 1 more because of what it is.
2 is dark in some ways but not on the level of the first movie. The model 101 in this movie is a good guy and gives viewers hope. You have a decent amount of jokes to act as relief. The action scenes aren't as gritty as the first movie and are more bombastic. This movie was a pivot point for Cameron towards lighter action movies away from darker movies with more hard edge to them.
2 is better made, but I like 1 more because of what it is.
I prefer 1, but 2 is one of the best sequels to anything ever so I can see why people would choose it.
2 is absolutely without any doubt one of the greats.
But 1 cannot be matched, it cannot be topped, it is iconic, it is perfection.
But 1 cannot be matched, it cannot be topped, it is iconic, it is perfection.
Don't begrudge anyone for their choice; but I went with 2. Both masterpieces and all that but I like watching 2 more cause it's fun and probably the best action movie released up to Fury Road for me. I feel all the elements work as intended, even stuff others find annoying like John Connor. Arnold and Linda Hamilton really make the sequel captivating to watch for me.
T1 because it has that bit where Michael Biehn runs through an alley bollock naked and you can hear his feet pitter pattering.
T2 is virtually perfect in every category.
T1 has awful special effects thus loses points.
But since it's in the poll, predator is king
T1 has awful special effects thus loses points.
But since it's in the poll, predator is king
I saw T2 first when it came out in the theatre as a 14 year old, then saw T1 years later so I think I have a softer spot for it than the original. Nowadays I think I like them both equally but for different reasons. T1 as more of a sci-fi horror slasher flick and T2 as a balls to walls action spectacle, they hit different beats.
Anyways, I wanted to reply mostly to drop this awesome trailer which sold me instantly:
Anyways, I wanted to reply mostly to drop this awesome trailer which sold me instantly:
I loved T1 but it's not a fun movie to watch. You don't throw in Terminator 1 on a Sunday afternoon.
Also on the topic of horror,
T2 gets described as action, while T1 is described as horror, but both films were a mix of both action and horror. The t1000 stalks it's victims, blending into the enviornment before impaling them without a word, just like an iconic 80's horror villain.
And the kills were brutal, right out of an 80's slasher
A lot of the kills in T1 were from guns.
I remember enjoying T2 more back in the day but I saw them both recently and T1 is so much better . Considering the budget it has great action and better atmosphere. Every other Terminator film tried to ape T2 but they should really strive to be as good as T1.
Hard to compare, I love both for very different reasons. Terminator 1 is the perfect example of guerrilla filmmaking and making the absolute best out of very, very little. Terminator 2 was an explosion of a sequel in the best ways, ground breaking visual effects, incredible practical action (the part where Arnie's stunt double climbs onto the moving semi's hood and guns down the T-1000 as he drives always makes my jaw drop) it manages to be a dope ass action film while subverting tropes.
Dyson for instance in any other movie would have been a completely throwaway character since he's only got ten some minutes of screentime to make an impact, but Cameron manages to make him so compelling and heroic with his no-nonsense determination to drop everything he's ever worked for and everything he represents to do what is right when presented with new information (Something we see too little of both in fiction and in reality.) It's really a feat that they were able to get his character across so clearly in such little time.
Cameron wasn't interested in simply doing the first movie over again like the majority of sequels, and in retrospect it was quite the gamble, but clearly it worked.
Also while T2 isn't as horror focused like the first one, I'd argue Sarah's nuclear nightmare is far, far scarier than anything in the first movie.The motionless smoldering bodies at the playground as sarah screams and rattles the cage is one of the most haunting images in any medium.
Dyson for instance in any other movie would have been a completely throwaway character since he's only got ten some minutes of screentime to make an impact, but Cameron manages to make him so compelling and heroic with his no-nonsense determination to drop everything he's ever worked for and everything he represents to do what is right when presented with new information (Something we see too little of both in fiction and in reality.) It's really a feat that they were able to get his character across so clearly in such little time.
Cameron wasn't interested in simply doing the first movie over again like the majority of sequels, and in retrospect it was quite the gamble, but clearly it worked.
Also while T2 isn't as horror focused like the first one, I'd argue Sarah's nuclear nightmare is far, far scarier than anything in the first movie.The motionless smoldering bodies at the playground as sarah screams and rattles the cage is one of the most haunting images in any medium.
The structure of the Terminator is pretty damn perfect. The first 30 mins we frankly have no idea what's really happening. Two naked guys show up, both lookin for Sarah Connor. We see glimpses of a future war but we don't grasp the connection between that and the present. It's only at Tech Noir, half a hour of intrigue later, all three major characters combine, and one of them tells our targeted protagonist, "Come with me if you want to live!". Then the next hour or so is just pure cat and mouse thriller, with tense bursts of exposition in between chase scenes and shootouts.
Linda Hamilton is frankly extraordinary in this movie. She has to very quickly sell us on being a likable confused nobody, to a terrified but more confused prey, to vulnerable but coming to terms with the situation, and finally a battle hardened survivor who refuses to give up. All the emotional attachment comes through the consistent characterization of her performance, in the rare moments of downtime the narrative affords her, and she just kills it. She's the beating heart inside the machine of a movie.
And what a machine it is! The work of a filmmaker who grew up in the trenches under Roger Corman and had something to prove. Cameron knows how to stretch his limited budget for maximum value, with a full commitment and confidence that this movie was gonna be major. You can tell with more time and money, this guy was gonna make the biggest movies in the world. Yet I'm not sure he's ever made a better one.
--
...that said, T2 definitely gives it a run for its money.
If the original Terminator was the raw exciting self titled debut album, then Terminator 2 is the big studio backed sequel. It plays a lot of the same notes, but considerably more polish and shaped towards mainstream taste. The pulpy horror/noir b movie genre flourishes have been exorcised in favor of bombast and humor. It's a much warmer movie, with the once fearsome T-101 given a heartwarming arc from stone cold killer to surrogate father figure.
T2 also flips the cynical philosophy of T1 on its head. The original story proposed that our free will is an illusion and everything that's gonna happen, will happen. Adult John Connor sends Kyle Reese back in time because he's secretly the father. Kyle protects Sarah and leads her from aimless scared twenty something to battle hardened (pregnant) warrior. She's get her picture taken on the way south to Mexico because she always was gonna have it taken, cuz that exact pic was gonna end up in Kyles hands 40 years later. It's a closed circuit with no room for deviation. T1 says Judgment Day is inevitable and billions are gonna die, but at least we can fight back.
T2 says this is bullshit. The actions we're taking now matter, and the future is fluid. There's no fate but what we make. Instead of being a reactive story of humans trying to survive an apocalyptic future, it's an active story about a group of people taking destiny back by their own hands.
The greatest invention of T2 helps sell this optimism. I'm talking, of course, about Sarah Connor. Continuing her arc from the ending of T1, she now a full blown warrior woman, with a tight wiry physique and the worlds most intense eyes. She's burnt off any of the soft human sides of herself she saw as weakness, almost as if she's fighting fire with fire with the unstoppable uncaring Terminators. Linda Hamilton is frankly amazing as a driven woman who hides a fear of the future behind pure anger. The heart of this story is a return to hope, not just for humanity in general, but Sarah learning to let her own humanity back into her life. My favorite James Cameron scene ever is her sad realization that she almost became the thing she hated the most by terminating Miles Dyson, and the love she rediscovers for her son John.
These thematic and character developments make Terminator 2 seem more than a big budget rehash, but a necessary sequel and perhaps even a corrective. It's a thrilling, deeply human story, told by a director at the height of his powers. It's the best popcorn movie the 90s produced, with only a handful of films in its style having matched it since(only Fury Road has surpassed in my mind since 1991) Not sure it's better than the original, but I don't want to imagine a world where it doesn't exist.
--
Personally, I voted Terminator 1 here. I'm drawn into its lean thriller machine form, its nihilistic atmosphere, its powerful character arc of Sarah Connor. But usually I'd vote for whichever one I've seen last. They're both excellent films.
Linda Hamilton is frankly extraordinary in this movie. She has to very quickly sell us on being a likable confused nobody, to a terrified but more confused prey, to vulnerable but coming to terms with the situation, and finally a battle hardened survivor who refuses to give up. All the emotional attachment comes through the consistent characterization of her performance, in the rare moments of downtime the narrative affords her, and she just kills it. She's the beating heart inside the machine of a movie.
And what a machine it is! The work of a filmmaker who grew up in the trenches under Roger Corman and had something to prove. Cameron knows how to stretch his limited budget for maximum value, with a full commitment and confidence that this movie was gonna be major. You can tell with more time and money, this guy was gonna make the biggest movies in the world. Yet I'm not sure he's ever made a better one.
--
...that said, T2 definitely gives it a run for its money.
If the original Terminator was the raw exciting self titled debut album, then Terminator 2 is the big studio backed sequel. It plays a lot of the same notes, but considerably more polish and shaped towards mainstream taste. The pulpy horror/noir b movie genre flourishes have been exorcised in favor of bombast and humor. It's a much warmer movie, with the once fearsome T-101 given a heartwarming arc from stone cold killer to surrogate father figure.
T2 also flips the cynical philosophy of T1 on its head. The original story proposed that our free will is an illusion and everything that's gonna happen, will happen. Adult John Connor sends Kyle Reese back in time because he's secretly the father. Kyle protects Sarah and leads her from aimless scared twenty something to battle hardened (pregnant) warrior. She's get her picture taken on the way south to Mexico because she always was gonna have it taken, cuz that exact pic was gonna end up in Kyles hands 40 years later. It's a closed circuit with no room for deviation. T1 says Judgment Day is inevitable and billions are gonna die, but at least we can fight back.
T2 says this is bullshit. The actions we're taking now matter, and the future is fluid. There's no fate but what we make. Instead of being a reactive story of humans trying to survive an apocalyptic future, it's an active story about a group of people taking destiny back by their own hands.
The greatest invention of T2 helps sell this optimism. I'm talking, of course, about Sarah Connor. Continuing her arc from the ending of T1, she now a full blown warrior woman, with a tight wiry physique and the worlds most intense eyes. She's burnt off any of the soft human sides of herself she saw as weakness, almost as if she's fighting fire with fire with the unstoppable uncaring Terminators. Linda Hamilton is frankly amazing as a driven woman who hides a fear of the future behind pure anger. The heart of this story is a return to hope, not just for humanity in general, but Sarah learning to let her own humanity back into her life. My favorite James Cameron scene ever is her sad realization that she almost became the thing she hated the most by terminating Miles Dyson, and the love she rediscovers for her son John.
These thematic and character developments make Terminator 2 seem more than a big budget rehash, but a necessary sequel and perhaps even a corrective. It's a thrilling, deeply human story, told by a director at the height of his powers. It's the best popcorn movie the 90s produced, with only a handful of films in its style having matched it since(only Fury Road has surpassed in my mind since 1991) Not sure it's better than the original, but I don't want to imagine a world where it doesn't exist.
--
Personally, I voted Terminator 1 here. I'm drawn into its lean thriller machine form, its nihilistic atmosphere, its powerful character arc of Sarah Connor. But usually I'd vote for whichever one I've seen last. They're both excellent films.
Very tough call. The first one has the atmosphere and gritty horror vibe. Arnold is a better Terminator but it also has the cheesy romance and dated 80s soundtrack.
T2 has an almost timeless aspect, the action is still as good as or better than anything that comes out today and they really elevated Sara's character by making her into her very own human terminator.
I'd prob give the edge to T2
T2 has an almost timeless aspect, the action is still as good as or better than anything that comes out today and they really elevated Sara's character by making her into her very own human terminator.
I'd prob give the edge to T2
I mean imagine having such a bad opinion as to think T2 is dumb in the first place.
While the first film is absolutely incredible and features one of the best monologues in the history of film (Reese's speech about the nature of Terminators), I have such a personal and nostalgic connection to T2 that just can't be matched even though I have a nostalgia for the first film as well.
Arnie pulling the lever-action out of the rose box, "your step-parents are dead", the asylum escape, just burned into my head for the rest of my life. Flawless cinema.
Arnie pulling the lever-action out of the rose box, "your step-parents are dead", the asylum escape, just burned into my head for the rest of my life. Flawless cinema.
The love for T2 is always baffling to me. It's horribly paced and it's got a child companion who's more annoying than Short Round. There are a couple of nice set pieces, but it is truly a slog. Having Cameron come in for an action-oriented sequel worked for Aliens, but not here.
Meanwhile, The Terminator is brilliant. Sublime.
Meanwhile, The Terminator is brilliant. Sublime.
I honestly cannot understand how anyone could call T2 a slog.. the pacing is amazing.
I certainly don't mind T2, but making Arnie the good guy just seemed completely wrong; that was the whole appeal of the first one to me. Though there's probably a case to be made that making Arnie the bad guy in T2 would have just led it to being "more of the same".
I guess that's why James Cameron makes the big bucks. lol.
I guess that's why James Cameron makes the big bucks. lol.
The 137 min version of Terminator 2 is amazing, both movies are great though. I think watching T1 before T2 makes T2 a lot more impactful so I'd definitely not skip it despite its age.
thread is the first time i've heard opinions to this effect... though "the shitty kid sidekick" was a trope at the time
i thought furlong's acting was good to great and character was written okay enough. though may have something to do with my age at the time JC was like the cool older kid that would share a cigarette with you behind the school
Last edited:
Yeah honestly as far as child characters go John is pretty great.
Both are great, but 2 is one of if not the best action film of all time. So it's 2, pretty easily
When it comes to sequels: The fact that this is even a debate speaks to how masterful 2 was.
for
Me it was 1 though.
for
Me it was 1 though.