One of the interesting things about this year is that so many of the iconic films of my youth (Top Gun, Terminator) are seeing resurrection. I was 15 when the first Terminator film came out in 1984 and suspect it was a couple of years later I actually saw it.
Just been to see the latest Terminator and the imax in Chichester and enjoyed it although I would suggest that it’s still a long way behind the first two. My main objection is to the fact that the action scenes are pushed just too far so they become implausible, the cuts are too fast and things like car chases are so extreme they no longer seem real. It’s a trend that I’ve noticed in other films too - Jurassic Park etc. If you watch the original Terminator film some of the most tense scenes are for example when Michael Biehl playing Kyle Reese breaks into a clothing store to get trousers and sneakers pursued by a Terminator. That scene is very very quiet and subtle but nail bitingly tense. I think film makers seem to have lost the art of putting in scenes like that before building up to the big climax. Films nowadays are just a series of action set-pieces with very little between them and everything is turned up to the max.
It’s a bit like studio recordings - the ones with the most impact are usually the ones with the most dynamic range rather than those that are heavily compressed with everything on 10.
Lovely to see Linda Hamilton back though and to see an older actress in a lead role. Arnie does his usual Terminator nice guy role with some great humorous moments!
As a lover of the franchise I enjoyed it but I did come away thinking that just because CGI can do anything on screen isn’t necessarily a reason to do it!
Overall probably the 4th best Terminator film.
Jonathan