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Watched the original Terminator for the first time.

DarthKamen

DarthKamen

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Jun 22, 2023
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Great movie. I expected to like it, but didn't expect I'd love it as much as I did.

Extremely impressed with the stop motion on the T-800 in the end of the movie. Really excited to see the second one soon.
 
GamerJM

GamerJM

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Nov 8, 2017
15,776
Watched them for the first time last year. The first is a super slick futuristic thriller with a dope execution on a basic premise.

T2 feels like it influenced the next like three decades of blockbusters, for better or worse. Feels more setpiece heavy and not all of those setpieces hit for me, but the script sure did (even if I didn't really like the focus on a child character).
 
less

less

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Oct 25, 2017
10,865
The first two Terminator films are masterpieces in different ways. I do not recognize any other Terminator works.
 
ChaosXVI

ChaosXVI

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Oct 25, 2017
2,906
Terminator is one thing, but it always makes me feel weird encountering someone who's never seen T2. Like…as a child, that movie was everywhere. I recall going to friends' houses as a kid and what's their dad watching on edited TV in the living room? T2! What movie is on TNT in the background during Thanksgiving dinner? T2!

Or maybe it was just a weird rural midwestern thing in the '90s…

For real though OP, you're in for a treat. I probably watched T2 like 1,000 times on VHS when I was a kid. Never got old.
 
VeryHighlander

VeryHighlander

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May 9, 2018
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T1 is in my top 5. I don't care about the aged effects, the dread the movie makes me feel has never been topped by any other horror movie ever. (Alien is equal to T1 to me, Ridley Scott ftw) The sci-fi horror blend has yet to be topped since those two. T2 is an amazing follow up, you're in for a treat.
 
dphrygian

dphrygian

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Oct 28, 2017
273
Texas
I need to rewatch The Terminator, I've only seen it once maybe 23-ish years ago, and I had no context for what it was doing. I remember thinking Michael Biehn should've been a bigger star.

BUT LET'S TALK ABOUT TERMINATOR 2. That movie defines a blockbuster to me, in that I was born slightly too late to see it in theaters (I was 7 when it came out) but its presence was everywhere and I knew all about it anyway. It is still absolutely the essential Arnold film (Predator is a close second), and probably my favorite James Cameron film outside of maybe Titanic (Aliens is just okay). I saw it a couple of years ago at an Alamo Drafthouse and it has held up incredibly well too.
 

Sounds

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Oct 27, 2017
962
I watched terminator 1 and 2 for the first time a few years ago and became hooked on the everything terminator… loved all the movies, even the horrible ones, and loved the Sarah Connor chronicles tv show.

I need more terminator media
 
louiedog

louiedog

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Oct 25, 2017
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dd266c62dac73bcec893a928b405688a7ac2d70e.gifv
 
PaulloDEC

PaulloDEC

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Oct 25, 2017
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I really enjoy the horror side of T1 compared to the more action-oriented T2. Though they're both great in their own ways, naturally.
 
OP
OP
DarthKamen

DarthKamen

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Jun 22, 2023
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Yeah I've heard very bad things about the ones after 2. Though someone told me they liked the most recent one.

ChaosXVI said:
Terminator is one thing, but it always makes me feel weird encountering someone who's never seen T2. Like…as a child, that movie was everywhere. I recall going to friends' houses as a kid and what's their dad watching on edited TV in the living room? T2! What movie is on TNT in the background during Thanksgiving dinner? T2!

Or maybe it was just a weird rural midwestern thing in the '90s…

For real though OP, you're in for a treat. I probably watched T2 like 1,000 times on VHS when I was a kid. Never got old.
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I wasn't allowed to watch an R-rated movie until I was 17, and just never got around to them until now.
 
defaltoption

defaltoption

The Fallen
Oct 27, 2017
11,542
Austin
Sounds said:
I watched terminator 1 and 2 for the first time a few years ago and became hooked on the everything terminator… loved all the movies, even the horrible ones, and loved the Sarah Connor chronicles tv show.

I need more terminator media
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You play the games? Couple on 360/PS3 if I remember right, then some good ones on current gen. Gotta be some older ones too.
 
Yourfawthaaa

Yourfawthaaa

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Nov 2, 2017
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Bronx, NY
Enjoy T2. Tell us how it went.

I've come to appreciate the first one alot more after watching it again sometime last year after a decade.
 
AuthenticM

AuthenticM

Son Altesse Sérénissime
The Fallen
Oct 25, 2017
30,514
I saw T2 around the time it came out on VHS. I was probably 6 or 7.

That scene gave me literal nightmares for a week or two.

Amazing movie.
 

petszk

Member
Dec 20, 2019
132
You're in for an absolute treat!

Agree with the comments about stopping after 2.

Also, if you have the ability/chance - watch the director's cut of 2 instead of the "normal" version.

(No spoilers)
I remember seeing the directors cut on FTA TV once. I'd see T2 often enough to suddenly feel a bit discombobulated when a couple of extra scenes occurred.
There's no problems with the normal T2, but the director's cut explains a couple of things a bit better and puts a slightly different spin on things.
Also explains a bit of a non-sequitur in the normal version that John Connor says.
 
T002 Tyrant

T002 Tyrant

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Nov 8, 2018
9,113
DarthKamen said:
Great movie. I expected to like it, but didn't expect I'd love it as much as I did.

Extremely impressed with the stop motion on the T-800 in the end of the movie. Really excited to see the second one soon.
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Arguably the best. Although some people prefer the more action oriented Terminator 2.

My mind canon the timeline goes:

- The Terminator
- Terminator 2: Judgement Day (watch the Director's Cut)
- RoboCop

No they aren't officially related, but in my mind that's how it goes and no-one can prove otherwise. Ignore the other sequels, It's just a mess.
 
Scullibundo

Scullibundo

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Oct 25, 2017
9,741
Watch the Special Edition of T2 when you watch.

Just before wrong-headed people enter the thread and suggest otherwise.
 
Tuorom

Tuorom

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Oct 30, 2017
10,998
The Terminator is pretty fantastic. It's a great execution on a scifi horror concept with a great character arc for Sarah.

Alien, Predator, and The Thing likewise are fantastic executions of a pretty simple concept.

More recently, we got something similar in Upgrade. I really enjoy this sort of story I'm just realizing haha
 
OP
OP
DarthKamen

DarthKamen

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Jun 22, 2023
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It definitely seems like I should watch the director's cut of T2 then, thanks all for the suggestion.
Tuorom said:
The Terminator is pretty fantastic. It's a great execution on a scifi horror concept with a great character arc for Sarah.

Alien, Predator, and The Thing likewise are fantastic executions of a pretty simple concept.

More recently, we got something similar in Upgrade. I really enjoy this sort of story I'm just realizing haha
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I really need those as well as some day, especially Alien. I've always loved the Xenomorph's design.
 
KtotheRoc

KtotheRoc

One Winged Slayer
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Oct 27, 2017
56,836
T1 is great, and I think T2 is even better. One of the best action movies ever made.
 
Fallout-NL

Fallout-NL

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Oct 30, 2017
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ChaosXVI said:
Terminator is one thing, but it always makes me feel weird encountering someone who's never seen T2. Like…as a child, that movie was everywhere. I recall going to friends' houses as a kid and what's their dad watching on edited TV in the living room? T2! What movie is on TNT in the background during Thanksgiving dinner? T2!

Or maybe it was just a weird rural midwestern thing in the '90s…

For real though OP, you're in for a treat. I probably watched T2 like 1,000 times on VHS when I was a kid. Never got old.
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I think the OP might be a fair bit younger than we are.

Even though I was 8 years old when I saw T2 for the first time lol. A formative experience if there ever was one.

In the sense that I saw the best movie of all time before I was ten and everything that came after would be dulled by unfavourable comparison to its intense glow and insane level of artistry. I mean, I thought movies were always going to be like that.

They weren't.
 
werezompire

werezompire

Zeboyd Games
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Oct 26, 2017
11,595
The first two movies are excellent. Salvation (the 4th movie) is noticeably different than the rest of the series and I thought it was good, although not as good as the first two movies. The other movies just try to copy the first two movies with various degrees of failure.
 
FRANKEINSTEIN

FRANKEINSTEIN

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Oct 27, 2017
4,195
AZ
T2 was the first R movie I showed my now 18 year old like 5 years ago. Whenever they put it in theaters in 3D. My other son, who is 13 now, I showed him Terminator 1 and 2 in the last year. I've shown him a good amount of movies and after T2 he just looked at me and said "that was really good." Only time he ever did that. But I still don't think it hit either of them like it did me when I saw it in the theater when it originally came out. Maybe I should have shown it to them when they were 10 like I was.
 

lucablight

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Oct 27, 2017
2,569
It's my goat movie. Amazing how it was made on such a tight budget. Great script, characters, story, action sequences, soundtrack, atmosphere.
 
I Don't Like

I Don't Like

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Dec 11, 2017
14,991
Gf and I just rewatched 2 this past weekend - so fucking good.

As for any Terminator after 2: I actually thought 3 and Salvation were worth watching IF you're a big Terminator fan. 3 has the chase scene, Kristanna Loken is good in the role and is an interesting concept not only from the perspective of how much more advanced she is but the Terminator being a woman. Also, she
unambiguously executes teenagers
which, to me, is hilarious. Meanwhile, that knob Bale is solid in Salvation. The rest of the movies can go fuck themselves, no matter how big of a fan you are.
 
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Pat_DC

Pat_DC

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Oct 27, 2017
1,664
T1 is amazing!
What an amazing second film (Piranha II: The Spawning counts right?) as a director to start your career.
To follow this with Aliens, shit, I'd have retired right there ha.

Enjoy T2 OP... but when it comes to terminator just stop there ;)
 
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thenexus6

thenexus6

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Oct 26, 2017
7,399
UK
T1 is my favourite. Stop after T2 and then watch the others via recaps on YouTube to see how the franchise was completely tanked
 
Fallout-NL

Fallout-NL

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Oct 30, 2017
6,844
Metal Gear?! said:
No, there's one more thing to watch


View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rPzzYhuhOxo
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It's been ages since I saw it, but what's the explanation for her not knowing what 9/11 is?

Anyway, not sure if you're joking or not, but I do actually feel that apart from T1 and 2, SCC is the only other Terminator related thing worth watching. Sincerely bummed it was cancelled.

Dr. Ludwig said:
Moody as fuck.
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If I had to name a thing it does better than T2, that would be it, yeah.
 
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