Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991) (Blu Ray) - 10/10

I caught myself going through my Blu Ray collection this morning and realized I had never watched this Sci-Fi classic with the James Cameron commentary track before. This got me pumped. Terminator 2 is the answer to what sequel was better than the original, a true combination of action, sci fi, and special fx that was revolutionary in it's time and still holds up today as one of my favorite movies of all time. Cameron really is a smart guy and I found it very interesting in how much detail he gives while still seeming excited about this movie after so much time. First going into the casting of unknown Edward Furlong who they found at a local YMCA, the commentary gives a unique perspective on how they wanted to flip everything upside down from the first movie by having a normal looking Terminator and Arnold as the good guy while also keeping this epic type feel by showing John Connor fighting the war in the future to give him a more physical presence.

I appreciated the little tidbits he throws around like having to paint out Robert Patrick's dick from the time travel scene, the fact that he used twins in the T1000 coffee/floor scene, or how they had to put Furlong connected to a prop car during the motorcylce scenes b/c he coudn't drive it. The reason this movie is so effective in bringing you into the mythology are the simple rules they implement during the course of the action that come to play farther along in the story. Robert Patrick's T1000 is emotionless and a complete badass villian who they wanted to really be superior to Arnold so that the threat was felt in every scene. From actually blowing up the rented building to getting shrapnel in his arm, Cameron discusses all the tricks he used like cutting in b/w a fake helicopter and a real one during the highway scene where he got the best Vietnam pilot in the business. For me, this movie is iconic in the way that it spreads out the action over the entire course of the movie while also keeping the backgrounds and story moving to the point where it never feels long or boring. I appreciated the passion they brought into the commentary by saying how much fun it was making this movie, using every ILM technique in the book to start a new wave of CGI that enhanced the story, not overpowered it. To me, T2 is the greatest Sci-Fi movie of all time.