Blu-ray Review HTF BLU-RAY REVIEW: T2 Judgment Day - Skynet Edition (1 Viewer)

[Keith_R]

I completely agree with you on this one, I would be at the store the minute they opened

As for T2; I'm on the fence. I have the previous BD of it as well as the Ultimate Edition. The UE was the first DVD I ever got so I really don't care to part with it. I'll be watching on a 32 inch Bravia LCD so I highly doubt that I'd see the DNR issues that extensively and I'm interested in getting the DTS-MA track on this, just not sure that it is worth a new purchase though.

 

[Citizen87645]

As collectors of optical media it's practically a tradition to own every version of T2 that's been released.

Actually, I'm sort of missing the version that had the video description track. I was telling my friends about the feature and T2 would have been a fun one to demo.

 

[Sam Posten]

3/5 for the film itself??!??! BLASPHEMY! =)

 

[Dave H]

I believe the original UK version is region free.

The UK version actually has a hair more detail than the original Lionsgate version, but has much better compression. It also appears the original Lionsgate version has a hair more detail than the Skynet version - at least here. http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htf/...4-post364.html

 

[Kevin EK]

Sam, you caught me there. But the more I think about it, the more correct it feels. Now, if there hadn't been a first Terminator movie, that number would go higher. But it's inescapable that this film simply repeats the plot of the first one - albeit with much nicer effects and a real budget. The first film suffers from having a great plot and story saddled with a horrifyingly inadequate budget. And I don't buy the argument for a minute that the first film was a romance by any means. It was first and foremost an action/scare film, with Schwarzenegger embodying a soulless killing machine that "absolutely will not stop EVER until you are dead!" And it worked great as that. This film works well because it expands the story and gives it some real toys to play with. (But don't ask Harlan Ellison about the story...)

Cameron, this Blu-ray has the video description track as an option.

As for versions of this on home video, let's see:

VHS Pan & Scan (available early 90s)
Laserdisc Pan & Scan (early 90s)
Laserdisc Widescreen (early 90s)

VHS Special Edition Widescreen ('94)
Laserdisc Special Edition Widescreen ('94)

DVD - ('97) (Theatrical Cut only - minimal features)
DVD Ultimate Edition (2000) (2-sided disc, branching for all versions, lots of goodies)
DVD Extreme Edition (2003) (2-disc set, Cameron/Wisher commentary, HD WMV copy of Theatrical Cut)

D-VHS (2004?) (Theatrical Cut only?)

Blu-ray (2006) (Theatrical Cut only)
Blu-ray Skynet Edition (All cuts via seamless branching, PIP, etc)

(And that's not counting if there was an HD-DVD version or any other fullscreen versions I don't know about.) (And you know there will be more...)


DaveH, I have to stand by my statements about the picture quality between the two domestic Blu-ray releases. I watched complete sequences back to back on both of them and noted more detail in the Skynet version. I don't know about screenshots, particularly as the trick here is to see these shots in motion - and almost every shot in the movie is in motion. On a 40" XBR2, the Skynet edition looks better and has more detail. If I were watching on a 65" monitor, I realize I'd likely be singing a different tune. But for those of us with 40" or less to work with, this isn't a bad option.

 

[Tom M]

There was a French (region free) HD-DVD version from Studio Canal+. It has the theatrical cut on disc 1 and the extended cut on disc 2.

The theatrical cut has forced french subtitles. The extended cut has removable subs and DTS-MA audio. I haven't watched it since last summer but might give it a spin when I'm finished with the Star Trek box.

I never thought the original Blu-Ray was bad. It looked miles better than any of the DVD versions to me. Just my opinion.

Also, it needs to be said, the surround mix for the Blu-Ray of the original Terminator is completely new and restores the original sound fx many complained about as missing on the SE DVD. At least the scraping metal sound during the main titles is restored and the Terminator's gun sounds right to me. I'm sure someone will correct me if I'm wrong about the gunshot fx but the scraping metal IS there.

I do agree the original sound mix should ALWAYS be included on ALL releases of a movie.

 

[Carlo_M]

There's only one film with a video descriptive track that ever needs to be demoed to your friends:

Basic Instinct (DVD, first one I think, if it's had multiple releases).

"She straddles his naked a$$" was one line I clearly remember from that track.

 

[Johnny Angell]

As the reviewer of the movie, you are certainly entitled to your opinion, no matter how wrong it is

I just have to disagree that T2 is just a repeat of the first all dressed up in Sunday-go-to-meetin' clothes. Sarah's character has drastically changed at the outset of the movie and has to change drastically during the movie. We get to meet John Connor as a boy and watch him begin to assume leadership. Then there's the genius idea of turning Arnold's terminator into the good guy. Beautiful. Sure, there's still the premise of Skynet sending a terminator back in time but I still feel that T2 continues the story, not repeats it.

I don't think T2 would have been the monster hit it became nor have the lasting fan interest if it was just warmed over T1.

 

[Kevin EK]

Johnny, I'm pulling the fork out of my gizzard, but I do hear what you're saying...

T2 essentially puts Sarah Connor in the position of Kyle Reese from the first film, as the "Cassandra" character that nobody believes but who is cursed with fatal knowledge that affects everyone. Her best moment in the film is the bit where she tries to kill Dyson, and becomes a human Terminator for a brief time. The "Terminator and the Kid" idea drove me crazy when I saw it in the theater at the time and still irks me to this day. I remember people at the time being annoyed with Edward Furlong and openly wishing the Terminator would just end him... And turning Arnold to the good guy was both an interesting plot idea and a necessary one to get Schwarzenegger back to the movie, since he'd been playing solid heroes during the 7 years between the films.

Keep in mind that The Terminator was NOT a hit when it got to theaters in 1984. I was at a CREATION convention in summer 1984 where James Cameron was practically laughed out of the room when he showed slides from the movie of Schwarzenegger's makeup. (He kept saying, "Oh, this one doesn't show it as good as it really looks, trust me." And of course, when I did see it on video, it looked about the same, given the low budget Cameron had.) After The Terminator was put out on home video and cable TV, it really took off. I remember kids in school in spring of 1985 all quoting the lines from the movie, and a friend of mine walked me through the videotape, showing how cleanly it starts, with Reese picking up exactly the items he needs, etc. The strength of the reaction to The Terminator was enough for Cameron's outline for ALIEN 2 to be accepted, at which point he and his wife headed to England to make that sequel. In the spring of 1985, I read Cameron's outline, which had a lot of stuff in it that people had speculated about for years, along with the new idea of the Queen. ("What's badder than the ALIEN? Its Momma") Based on the box office peformance of both ALIENS and even The Abyss, Tri-Star and Orion were willing to pony up enough money for the principals of The Terminator to return for a sequel. I think Cameron was delighted to have the proper resources to make the sequel, given the conditions under which he made the first one. He definitely made some changes, as you have noted, and he inverted the ending from the first one, but the guts of the film are essentially the same.

If I was thinking in terms of a sequel where they really just replayed the original without adding anything interesting, I might have said something along the lines of cough, cough, (Escape From LA), cough, but I figure that's a whole different can to be opening...

 

[Sam Posten]

Haha thanks for the expanded thoughts, but you know I was just busting right? As a fellow reviewer I totally support your score even if I would have put it higher. For me it's not a five but at least a strong 4+ and I think the film has a lot more to offer than just a rehash of T1. There is a lot more character development here to go along with the groundbreaking effects and action. But this is YOUR review not mine! =)

 

[Xylon]

I heard this has much better PQ than the HD DVDs. The superior technical specs of Blu-ray should put this over the edge.

 

[stephenj3]

er, most reviewers said that the HD-DVD (non-US) version of T2 was better than the original BD version. (for e.g., see here):

http://www.dvdtalk.com/reviews/28389...-judgment-day/

http://hddvd.highdefdigest.com/681/terminator2_ge.html

That BD version was mpeg-2, whereas the HD-DVD was VC-1.

Since the new BD T2 is also VC-1, i doubt it will be "technically better" than the HD-DVD. This looks like a case of upgrading the Bd version to equal the PQ of the HD DVD version.

 

[Johnny Angell]

Thanks for your reply and I do hope you understand I was not coming down on your review, but simply disagreeing with one item in it: the evaluation of the movie itself. On something like that, we can all agree to disagree.

I do find the points you make reasonable and I can see where Furlong could be fingernails on a chalkboard for some (though I thought he was good in the role). I do believe that the idea of having the young John Connor in T2 was a very natural thing to do. The actors had aged some and Sarah was already pregnant in T1, I think the natural progression of the storyline required John Connor as a child in T2.

I do agree that T1 was first an action/thriller with some romance thrown in. They dispensed with it totally in T2.

 

[Joseph Bolus]

Actually, there is a "dream sequence" in the Special Edition version which allows Sarah to interact briefly with Kyle on a romantic level. So I don't think the phrase " ... dispensed with it totally in T2' is warranted. It *was* mostly dispensed with, though ...

The reason I have to mention this is due to the fact that my wife gives this movie a 4 star rating with that scene included; but only a 2-and-a-half-star rating otherwise.

To me, it's a four star plus movie either way ...

 

[Johnny Angell]

I just read most of the DVDBeaver review and it looks like they've really made the film a PITA to watch. When inserting the disc it automatically tries to connect to the internet and you have to cancel out of that. Access to some of the extras also sounds like a real PITA.

Just give me lean and simple and intuitive menus please. Don't try to wow me. You know what really wows me? A stop button that allows me to resume the film at the point I stopped. Yup, I have simple needs.

 

[Gary Seven]

Funny, I remember original terminiator as being quite popular in the theaters when I saw it. It put Arnold on the map.

 

[Phil Carter]

This is one of our favorite films (I have the two-disc Ultimate Edition on DVD and my girlfriend, who's moving in with me, has the Extreme Edition on DVD) so I'll no doubt be picking this up. Thanks for the great review!

cheers,
Phil

 

[stephenj3]

IMO that's putting it a bit strongly. Arnie was well-known as a bodybuilder then, and was reasonably well known for his movie roles. I'd say the 1982 Conan the Barbarian film put him on the map as an actor, though Terminator certainly vaulted his career forward.

 

[Johnny Angell]

Before T1, I thought of the Guv as a body-builder who wanted to be an actor. I was not a fan of his previous movies. Then I saw T1 and thought, Wow, that was good. Even then I thought that the Terminator was tailor made for him, that it didn't require an actor with a wide-range. But I got interested in watching more Arnold movies after T1.

 

[Robert George]

The second disc of that release is what was released under the Optimum label in the UK (Optimum is a division of Studio Canal).

I spent a couple of hours comparing the Studio Canal HD DVD to the original Lionsgate Blu-ray back in the day. The Studio Canal transfer/encode is somewhat better than the original Lionsgate disc. Sharper, a bit more detailed, a bit more depth to the image.