I said it earlier this summer when I had the chance to see "Terminator 2" at the Paramount, frankly "Terminator" from 1984 was always my favorite of the films in the series. T2 has some great special effects and an exciting story, but the origin of The Terminator and the creativity required by a limited budget, make this version that I prefer. This was a terrific piece of entertainment from that great year 1984, and it fits in perfectly with its use of rear screen projection, stop motion, and puppetry. In addition there is some fantastic makeup work that goes along with the other effects to create a truly terrifying concept.
Arnold Schwarzenegger was just beginning to become the movie star that would ultimately dominate for the next 20 years. This was his second major role in a clearly commercial enterprise. After "Conan the Barbarian" two years earlier, it would have been easy to find himself stuck in fantasy films with muscular guys wearing furs, because that was all the rage in this period. Remember, he also made the sequel to Conan which came out earlier in this year, and the very next year he did "Red Sonja", so between those three films typecasting was about to become a problem for him. "The Terminator" showed that he was capable of more, even if it was as a robotic killer from the future.
Sometimes there's just a confluence of events that allows great things to grow from them. The connection between James Cameron and Arnold Schwarzenegger is one of those great connections. That connection started with this film. I'm still hoping for "True Lies 2". However, watching the movie I was reminded about how many great moments there are which do not feature Arnold. There are secondary characters that people sometimes forget. Paul Winfield and Lance Henriksen are terrific as a pair of put upon cops, following up on a spree killing where the victims share a name. Henriksen's character just can't stop talking and making comments that feels slightly inappropriate at the end of a conversation. Winfield's captain looks at him askew, and seems to suggest "shut up!" with just a glance. Winfield is particularly sympathetic as he comforts Sarah Connor when she first arrives at the police station. We can almost believe that everything's going to be okay. Of course we know at this point that the police are in way over their heads. Sarah has to rediscover that, and the shootout at the police station is a forerunner of so many contemporary shootout sequences that we see in today's films. John Wick and Jason Statham clearly have been influenced by these scenes.
There were a load of people at the screening at Alamo when we went. Many of them look like they had been in a theater 40 years ago when the movie first opened. Like me, they were experiencing a bit of nostalgia, but also the excitement that comes from seeing something that is really well made, and sells itself based on the innovative ideas and the creative shortcuts that the filmmakers took advantage of. As most of us know, these films will never stop playing, even if franchise follow-ups stop being produced. The best way to say it, is to simply the paraphrase, "this will be back".
