The Sequel Was Better? is a series of reviews looking at famous movies with sequels that are considered, rightly or wrongly, to be better than the original movies. Typically, sequels are a step down in quality, acting, and/or production value. But not always. See other reviews here.The Terminator turned forty last year! 1984 was a long time ago, when Arnold Schwarzenegger was young and willing to play a villain.
The Terminator is a seminal sci-fi picture that spawned a lot of sequels and sidequels. Since time travel is a key component of the plot, things were bound to get wonky as Hollywood squeezed more money out of a classic. The movie's first sequel,
Terminator 2: Judgment Day, was even more popular and is also considered a classic in the genre. But is it the better movie? Let's find out...
The Terminator (1984) co-written and directed by James Cameron
An opening scrawl sets up the situation: In the future (2029, so not too far away now), machines have risen up against humanity after a nuclear war. A glimpse of the conflict is shown--air ships and futuristic tanks fire on fleeing human soldiers. After the credits, the story moves to 1984, where a naked man (Arnold Schwaarzenegger) shows up by a Los Angeles dump truck at 1:52 a.m. with a lot of electrical discharges around him. He walks off, running into some punks. After a brief and odd conversation, he demands their clothes. They pull knives on him and he rams his fist through one guy's chest, pulling out his heart. The other guys start to undress.
In another part of town, another electrical discharge lets out another naked guy (Michael Biehn) who is in worse shape. He takes some pants from a homeless guy and is pursued by the cops. He corners one cop, takes his gun and asks the date, including the year. The other cops chase him into a department store where he gets more clothes and escapes. He manages to steal a shotgun from a police car and then walks off into the dark night. He finds a phone book and takes the page that lists three Sarah Connors.
The next day, one of the Sarah Conors (Linda Hamilton) rides her moped to a waitress job, late again. She has a hard time with her customers (partly her own fault) though her coworkers are supportive. Meanwhile the first guy goes to a gun store and asks for a lot of weapons. When the clerk tries to get him to pay, the guy shoots him. Also meanwhile, the second guy saws off the shotgun stock so he can hide it under his coat. The first guy gets into a car, finds a phone booth and the list of Sarah Connors, then drives to the first one's house. He executes her with ruthless efficiency. Back at the diner, Sarah's co-workers bring her into the back room where the local news reports on the first Connors's death. They have a laugh about their friend being dead.
At night, the second guy lays low in a hot-wired car and has a flashback to his life as a soldier fighting against the machines in the 21st century. He definitely has some PTSD issues. Sarah and her roommate Ginger get ready to go out. The phone rings and Sarah answers. It's Ginger's boyfriend who pretends to be a stalker and talks dirty on the phone. Sarah laughs it off. Then they check phone messages--Sarah's date has canceled. She decides to go to a movie while Ginger goes on her date. As she leaves, she's a bit paranoid about being followed, which guy number two is in fact doing.
At a police precinct, Lt. Traxler (Paul Winfield) looks at a report of a second killing, another Sarah Connor. The press have showed up and the Lieutenant gives them the "No comment" treatment. The cops have tried to contact Sarah Connor #3 (that's Linda Hamilton) in the phone book, but they have been unsuccessful. They try again, but Ginger and her boyfriend are having sex and ignoring the phone. Traxler decides to make a statement to the press so Sarah might see the report and contact them. Sarah's at a restaurant and sees the report of the two shootings and decides to go for a walk after she sees she's next in the phone book. She spots guy number two following her and ducks into a nightclub that has a working payphone. She contacts the cops who tell her to stay put and they will send a unit to pick her up.
Back at Sarah's apartment, guy number one shows up and kills the couple. After putting six bullets in Ginger, the phone rings. Sarah is calling and leaves a message, letting guy number one know exactly where she is. Before leaving, he goes through Sarah's address book and finds a photo ID. He heads off to the club, looking for her in the crowd. Guy number two is there too. The first guy spots Sarah and moves in for the kill. Guy two shoots guy one five times with the shotgun, but guy one gets up and still tries to kill Sarah. Another round of shots throw number one through the front window. To Sarah's amazement he gets up yet again and guy two tells her, "Come with me if you want to live." They sneak out back where they get in his car. Number one chases them on foot, eventually jumping on the hood and punching through the windshield to get Sarah. They manage to get him off the car and flee past a cop car. Number one knocks out the cop and takes his vehicle.
As they drive off, number two explains that he is Kyle Reese and he is here to help her. She's been targeted for termination. She doesn't believe it but he explains that the first man is a Terminator, a machine sent from the future to kill her. The Terminator is part machine, part man, so he bleeds but is never really hurt. He has no fear, remorse, or pity. And he won't stop. She has a hard time believing he's from the future. He's just a combat grunt, so he doesn't know the technicalities of how he got there or a good way to explain the science. They abandon the vehicle in a parking garage but the cops spot it. The Terminator hears about the abandoned car on police radio and heads over while Reese hot-wires another car. Sarah asks why the machine wants to kill her. He tells her she will be the mother of John Connor, the head of the resistance that rises up after the nuclear war that happens in the future. A machine network was set up to run national defenses, but it decided that all humans were the enemy and started an all-out war on people. Reese grew up after the nuclear holocaust so he only knows the aftermath. Sarah hasn't had the child yet. The Terminator finds them in the garage and another chase scene leads them out into the streets where the Terminator's cop car crashes into a wall. The other cops have finally caught up, so Sarah and Reeese are taken into custody while the Terminator has vanished from the scene.
At the police precinct, the criminal psychologist Doctor Silberman (Earl Boen) evaluates Sarah and Reese. She's having a breakdown as she finds out Ginger has been killed in her place. The Terminator returns to its flophouse room where it fixes its broken arm and takes out a ruined eye with an exacto knife. It collects some new weapons and puts on a pair of sunglasses to cover the exposed mechanical eye. Meanwhile Silberman gets a statement from Reese, getting more detail of how he traveled back in time. John Connor seized the time travel facility, sent Reese back, then blew it up so no one else could come back. Sarah sees the videotape of the Reese interview. The doctor is happy that the story is so airtight and lacks holes, even though he thinks its bonkers. Reese starts to rant about the robot killing Sarah. They all think he's crazy and try to come up with excuses how the Terminator didn't die when shot (maybe tactical armor?). They convince her to try and take a nap on a couch while her mother comes down from her remote cabin to take care of her. The doctor leaves for the night as the Terminator walks into the precinct. The front desk officer refuses to let him see Sarah. The Terminator looks over the structure and then says, "I'll be back." He drives his car through the front of the precinct then starts shooting up the whole place. The lieutenant tries to keep Sarah safe. Reese manages to escape and takes Sarah out of the precinct and they flee again. They hide out under a bridge where she shows her first survival skills as she bandages one of Reese's wounds. They talk about Reese's life and what John is like. She asks about the father but no one knows who he is. Reese says he volunteered to come back to see the legendary Sarah Connor who trained John to be organized and ready to fight. She scoffs at the idea that she is competent enough for what she will face. Reese tells her a message from John, a short inspiring speech. They get some rest as another flashback reveals that Reese had a picture of Sarah that John had given him. Meanwhile, the Terminator goes through Sarah's address book and goes to her mom's cabin.
The next morning, Sarah and Reese hitchhike to a hotel and get a room with a kitchen. Reese plans to make explosives, so he goes for supplies while Sarah tries to relax. He leaves her with a gun. She calls her mom who convinces Sarah to tell her where she is. Of course, her mom is dead and the Terminator is using the mom's voice on the phone. The Terminator calls the hotel to get the address. Reese returns and they work together making bombs. She still is nervous and shaky and does not feel heroic at all. Sarah asks if Reese had a girlfriend in the future. He didn't and winds up admitting that he's in love with her as he talks about the picture of her. They have sex. Later on, as they are dressing, they hear the hotel owner's dog barking and make a quick exit out the back as the Terminator shoots up their room. They drive off as he chases them on his motorcycle. Kyle is shot and both vehicles crash. The Terminator is run over by a gas truck, which naturally does not kill him. He takes over the truck and tries to run down their vehicle. Sarah and Reese barely make it out. Reese puts one of the homemade bombs in the truck's tailpipe, resulting in a huge explosion. Sarah and Reese survive. They think they have won, but the Terminator rises back up out of the wreckage with all its flesh burnt off, leaving a gleaming exoskeleton.
They race into a factory where they start the machines to distract the Terminator. After some running around and menacing, Reese is able to plant the last bomb inside the Terminator's skeleton, blowing it apart. By this point, Sarah has developed a lot more toughness, bearing up with serious gash in her leg. The explosion has killed Reese, who could not get away. And the Terminator still isn't destroyed. The top half of its body drags itself after her. She lures it into a press where it is completely crushed. Except for one hand that was reaching out for her. She's taken off to a hospital while Reese winds up in a body bag.
The movie ends with a recovered and very pregnant Sarah driving to Mexico. She's recording tapes, explaining what has happened, mostly to help her remember. She's trying to decide whether to tell John that Kyle is his dad. She stops for gas and a local boy takes her picture and sells it to her to make some money. It's the picture that Reese had in the future. The boy then says that a storm is coming in. Sarah says, "I know," and drives off. Cue the credits.
The special effects look dated by today's standards. A lot of the models look like models (the fake Terminator head that cuts its eye out looks animatronic even though a lot of effort was put into the effect) and some green screen scenes are obvious. The stop-motion Terminator is very noticeable even if it is a step up from the Ray Harryhausen movies of the previous decade. A lot of the night exteriors look very gritty which fits the movie's tone. The budget clearly wasn't big, but the film makers made the most of the situation. The editing is very tight, helping to sell the lesser effects. There are a lot of exciting and well-executed fights and chases.
The score is almost completely synthesizers, like a lot of late 1970s and 1980s movies. It has a lot of intensity and works well, with some mechanistic beats and a distinctive sound. It helps to connect the bleak future landscape to the current day happenings.
The story is well written. The psychologist is right when he claims Reese's narrative leave no real holes. The time travel is consistent, not relying on a huge flip or a completely altered world at the end. The theme of machines both being a help and a problem is strung throughout the film. On her answering machine, Sarah claims even machines need love! That particular machine is mostly a hinderance for her but the factory at the end turns out to be a boon.
In a brief, pre-credits sequence, Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) gives a voice-over monologue the future apocalyptic landscape and history, mentioning the first Terminator sent back in 1984 as viewers watch humans futilely battle the machines of Skynet. A second Terminator is sent in 1992 to kill young John Connor (Edward Furlong) before he can grow up to be the leader of the human resistance against Skynet. A lone hero was also sent by the resistance to protect John.
After the credit's Arnold Schwarzenegger's Terminator (hereafter AT) arrives. He walks over naked to a honky-tonk bar where he takes the clothes and motorcycle of one of the patrons in a humorous and violent sequence. Another Terminator (Robert Patrick) shows up across town by some tractor trailers. A cop is in the area and sees the lightening effects of the time travel and goes to investigate. He is taken out by this other Terminator, who gets in the squad car and starts looking for John Connor. This second Terminator (hereafter T2) is made of some sort of liquid metal and can shape-shift into, among other things, people it has come in contact with.
The next day, John Connor is with his foster parents in suburban Los Angeles. John's mother Sarah is in a high-security asylum called Pescadero. He has no respect for his adopted parents and leaves them behind as he takes a friend to the mall.
At the insane asylum, Doctor Silberman (Earl Boen again) explains to some interns the history of the first film from his perspective while Sarah is in her cell. She works out and is in trim shape.
T2 shows up at the foster parent's house and finds out John went to the mall and that a big guy on a motorbike was already there. John uses the survival skills his real mom taught him to steal money from an ATM to have fun at the local mall. He cruises over there with another delinquent boy on a dirt bike. They play video games as the two Terminators approach the mall.
Sarah has a psych evaluation with Silberman. They watch a video where she derangedly describes the destruction that will happen in the future. Now she is trying to convince Silverman to transfer her to minimum security where she could see her son. She denies her belief in that future, claiming the company hasn't covered up any evidence of the first Terminator, i.e. any leftover bits at the factory. The movie cuts to Miles Dyson (Joe Morton) who works at Cyberdyne which does have the leftover arm and a microchip from the Terminator in the first film. Back at the asylum, Silberman refuses her request and she flips out.
Meanwhile, the AT and T2 search the mall for John. John's friend tips him off that a cop is looking for him. John flees to the access hallways of the mall where he runs into AT who pulls out a shotgun. John runs in the other direction where T2 shows up. AT protects John and fires several shots into T2, which only temporarily stops him. The machines get in a fist fight and John slips away. John makes it to his dirt bike in the garage. T2 almost catches up to him on foot. On the streets, T2 commandeers a truck and a big action sequence ensues with AT following on his motorcycle. The chase winds up in a drainage ditch where T2's truck crashes in a fiery explosion. AT and John escape on the motor bike while the T2 walks out of the burning wreckage.
Once they are safe, John has AT stop and talks to him about what he is and what is going on. AT says his mission is to protect John. In fact, AT was sent by future John. AT wants to leave town to keep him safe. John wants to warn his foster parents even though they are annoying. They call from a payphone only to find out that the T2 is already there trying to find John. John and AT continue to flee and John comes to realize Sarah is right about the apocalyptic future. John also discovers AT will follow any orders he gives. They argue about the next step. John wants to save his mom and AT thinks it is a bad idea. John orders AT to help him without killing anyone.
Back at the asylum, Sarah is told that AT is back (they have pictures from the mall) and John is missing. She manages to steal a paperclip from the photos. The T2 shows up as a cop and gets into the asylum where he plans to kill and copy Sarah. Sarah is strapped into her bed but she is able to unlock herself with the paperclip. She starts her escape as T2 copies one of the workers and moves in. She takes Silberman hostage and tries to talk her way out. That doesn't work and she winds up racing down the hallways to escape the guards. She runs into AT, which scares the living daylights out of her. John tries to calm her down. She barely does when T2 shows up, walks through a barred door and starts another shooting match with AT. Another chase and battle happens as John, Sarah, and AT barely escape the asylum in a cop car.
They stop at an abandoned gas station to hide out. They patch up their wounds and talk about things. AT says his wounds will heal and he has a neural net processor for a brain so he can learn from humans as he has more exposure. They steal a station wagon and head south. John gives AT some pointers on how to blend in using slang. They stop for gas and food and see two kids pretending to fight. They have some discussion of humanity's future--AT says humans have an inclination to destroy each other. Sarah asks AT for details about how Skynet rises. AT tells her about Dyson and how he develops a microchip that sends Cybrerdyne down the path of success, getting military contracts and eventuially automating the military, bringing about Skynet.
They continue traveling to one of Sarah's old Mexican friends. They have a warm reception but all Sarah wants is new clothes and supplies from the weapon stash hidden there. John and AT gather weapons and he gives AT backstory about their lives on the run. John reveals that he knows who his father is. John talks about crying, something AT does not understand. They get along. Sarah has another voiceover monologue about how great AT would be as a father, always being there for John, never worrying about himself. She thinks he'd make a good father figure for John, better than any of the guys she has been with. She falls asleep and has another nightmare about the nuclear destruction in 1997. She wakes up to see she's carved "NO FATE" on the picnic table where she fell asleep. With a renewed sense of purpose, she races off to kill Dyson before he can start the apocalypse. John and AT go after her.
John and AT talk in the car. John does not want his mom to kill Dyson. AT does not understand why. At Dyson's house, Sarah fills it full of bullet holes, though a convenient circumstance enables Dyson to avoid getting killed immediately. She bursts in and threatens the whole family. She says it is all his fault but he does not understand. Ultimately, she can't kill Dyson. John and AT show up and explain what is going on. Dyson decides to destroy his research after he sees AT peel the skin and flesh off his arm, reveals his endoskeleton (and an arm just like the one at Cyberdyne). They go to Cyberdyne to destroy the chip and arm along with the research. Sarah gives another voice-over about how things might actually change as they drive to the research lab.
Dyson gets them in past the initial security but as they progress inside, the silent alarm is tripped and everything is locked down. John breaks out his ATM equipment to open the vault with the arm and chip while the rest of them destroy the computers and other records. Other security in the building calls in the cops. Meanwhile, T2 shows up at Dyson's home and sees the burning records. He hears the police report about the break-in at Cyberdyne and heads over.
Lots and lots of cops have shown up since Sarah and AT were identified as the intruders. AT reassures John he will not kill anyone as he fights the cops. He breaks out a window and starts shooting up all their cars, forcing the cops to move further back. A SWAT team in gas masks infiltrate the building, hoping to stop the heroes. They get far enough to pin down the Connors and AT. Dyson is holding the detonator for the explosives but gets shot up. His dying act is to blow up the research floor while giving everyone (including the SWAT team) time to escape.
Back in the building lobby, AT and Sarah shoot their way out without killing any of the cops in another exciting fight sequence. By this point, T2 has shown up, riding his bike up to the blown-out research floor. AT goes out and takes the SWAT truck, drives it into the building, picks up Sarah and John, and heads out. T2 sees this from upstairs and jumps out onto a helicopter, taking it over to pursue the truck. The truck is loaded with weapons, so Sarah fires at the chopper as AT drives. Another exciting chase scene/fire fight happens. The copter eventually crashes into the truck and truck falls over. T2 takes a truck with a load of liquid nitrogen while the Connors and AT commandeer a private pickup truck. The chase continues till they wind up in a steel factory. AT jumps on the nitrogen truck and causes it to crash. The liquid nitrogen spills everywhere. The factory workers flee as the T2 walks away, though it freezes solid from the nitrogen. AT says "Hasta la vista, baby" as he shoots the solid T2 which shatters to bits. The liquid metal from the factory starts melting the T2 bits, which start to come back together. The Connors and AT head into the factory for the final confrontation.
XXXXThe T2 stalks after them. They split up, with AT fighting T2 hand-to-hand, resulting in AT's arm getting caught in the factory's mechanical gear. As T2 goes off to find the Connors, AT breaks off his arm so he can pursue. John goes into hiding as Sarah starts fighting the T2. Her gun isn't enough to stop him. He demands she call John back. She stalls enough for AT to get back in the fight, where T2 beats him with a huge piece of hanging metal and then stabs him through the back, causing AT to shut down. Sarah reloads as John crawls through the plant. AT reboots and gets back in the action. John hears his mom calling for help, goes to investigate. His real mom appears behind the T2 pretending to be his mom. She shoots T2 multiple times, forcing him to the edge of the railing over a lake of molten metal. Her ammo runs out but AT show up with his bigger gun and shoot T2 over the edge. T2 melts into nothing in the lava-like metal.
They pick up AT to look at the destroyed T2. John throws in the chip and hand from Cyberdyne. Then they realize they have to destroy AT to ensure no tech is left. He cannot self terminate, so Sarah lowers AT into the molten steel. John objects but AT explains he must be destroyed and now he understand why humans cry even if it is something he can never do. They lower him in after Sarah shakes his hand. He slowly melts away, leaving a raised arm that makes a thumbs up before sinking into destruction.
Sarah and John drive away with another voiceover by Sarah, where she says that if the terminator can learn the value of human life, maybe we humans can too. Cue the credits.
The movie has a much larger budget which shows in the bigger special effects and set pieces. Sarah is a better developed character and Arnold gets to show some comedy in his performance, lightening the mood considerably. This is a crowd-pleasing summer movie extravaganza, well-orchestrated by Cameron.
So is the sequel better? Let's look at some points of comparison.
- SCRIPT--The script for the first film is a rough and ready action vehicle that has a smart execution of the time travel element of the story. Cameron did well with a low-budget, writing something doable and interesting, with good central characters and performances. The second movie has a much larger and more complicated script which is not as tight on the time travel element if you take Sarah's upbeat voiceover at the end as the future having changed (there's an alternate ending where Skynet hasn't happened and everything is peaceful, which makes a hash of everything that came before in the films--if Skynet never happens, how does Kyle Reese and the Terminators get sent back to stop Skynet from happening?). Slight advantage T1
- ACTING--In both films, the actors deliver solid performances that sell the script and their characters. Hamilton has a lot more to do as Sarah, going from deranged despair to a more hopeful place. Schwarzenegger is more entertaining as the good-guy Terminator, delivering some comedy in his performance. Slight advantage T2
- ADVANCES THE STORY/MYTHOLOGY--The second film builds on what came before, though there's is not much more to learn about the future (they skip over how another time travel machine was built and if it was destroyed or not). More detail is revealed about Cyberdyne and Skynet which is interesting but not the focus of the movie. The dubiously hopeful ending of T2 did not shut down the narrative as can be seen from the numerous sequels and spin-offs.
- SPECIAL EFFECTS--Obviously T2 has much better special effects thanks to the larger budget and eight years of technical advances. While the original movie has dated effects (that animatronic head! Some of the green screen work!), the sequel still holds up really well. The digital effects (i.e. liquid metal terminator) still look good because the character is a bit unreal to begin with. They do a great job with the lighting and the reflective surface, convincing viewers that the liquid metal man is really there in the scene with the human actors. Advantage T2
- VISUAL STYLE--Again, T2 looks a lot better because it involves a lot more and larger set-pieces and the effects are much better. It's less gritty than the first film but is on such a larger canvas that grittiness would probably not have worked. Cameron was brilliant at refining the style just enough to keep it Terminator. Advantage T2
- THE BIG FINALE--The first film's finale at the factory was well executed but has a bunch of effects work that has dated in the intervening years. The coda of Sarah driving to Mexico is well done and brings everything plot and thematic elements together nicely. The second film has a much bigger action sequence as the Terminators are destroyed in molten metal. Its coda is a little less convincing. It's hard to decide which is better as an ending, so...TIE
FINAL THOUGHTS
Terminator 2 is definitely the more entertaining and crowd-friendly film (even though it is R-rated). The action is exciting and well-crafted and frequent. The introduction of comedy makes it easier to take the violence (instead of killing people, AT often shoots people in the knee--the first time he does this, he quips at John, "He'll live.") For a fun time I'd watch this. But, I do enjoy the tightness of the first one. There's little waste and the growth of Sarah is satisfying. It's one of the few logically consistent time travel movies. T2 waffles a bit at the end but leaves open a consistent interpretation (which is more pessimistic than Sarah's character at the end).
I love them both but for different reasons, making it a hard choice. Which one I would watch depends on the mood of the day. It's hard to go wrong with either.
Daredevil: Back in Black Volume 8: The Death of Daredevil written by Charles Soule and art by Phil Noto
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