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Which is better, Terminator 1 or 2? (1 Viewer)

Richard Kim

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I got The Terminator SE early (heh, heh) and watched T1 and T2 back to back. T2 used to be my favorite, but now I think T1 is better. Some stuff in T2 I find annoying, like John Conner. Also the T-1000 doesn't seem to be as menacing a villian as the T-800 in T1.
Anyway, which Terminator film do you prefer?
[Edited last by Richard Kim on September 30, 2001 at 10:43 PM]
 

Joe D

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Terminator 1.
T1 is such a great film, with such a tight pace to it, having a smaller budget made this film better.
T2 on the other hand has extremely cool parts, but the whole movie isn't nearly as good as T1. The movie to me is way to preachy.
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Kevin Potts

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Well I guess I'll be the first to vote for T2. Although I loved T1, I though it was a bit cheesy in certain parts and the special effects could have used a little more work.
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Inspector Hammer!

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You didn't find the T-1000 as menacing as the T-800!?! He's 10 times the killing machine than Arnold ever was! T2's my pick.
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brentl

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If The Terminator was done today I might just pick it.
but
I still will pick Term 2 even though Ed Furlong it in it
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LL cool B
 

Tom-G

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That's a tough call. Both had great stories and obviously the special effects were better in T2, but I'll have to give the edge to the first one because it started it all.
Both are awesome movies and two of my favorites.
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Keith_R

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I'm going to vote for T2. I liked T2 more because of the whole "stop Skynet before it starts kind of thing." I like the concept of changing the future before it occurs. Bottom line I enjoyed T2 slightly more than T1 however I think both movies are great and should be in anyone's collection.
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Alex Spindler

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I would say that Terminator 1 stands well on it's own as a solid science fiction story. Terminator 2 is a better action movie, and has the benefits of nearly flawless special effects, but is really dependent on the first one to make it great.
I would give the edge to T1 in this case.
 

Peter Mazur

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The Terminator is in my top 10 all time favorite films. With a budget of only 6 million, I feel the special effects hold up well.
T2 on the other hand is my most hated big budget film. I detest everything about it. I try my best to forget it was ever made.
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SteveGon

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I can't really decide. The Terminator is lean and mean while Terminator 2 is more ambitious and expansive. I guess both films have equal merit on their own terms.
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Rob Tomlin

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Terminator 1, definitely. I listed it as number four on my all time top 10 movie list (see other thread).
I do like T2, but it is not as good a movie as the first. I am surprised that nobody has mentioned that T2 was way too toned down compared to the first one. The fact that Arnold "had" to be a "good" terminator was something that I have always had a problem with. Then, to make matters worse, he couldn't even kill anybody! So he shoots people in the knees instead, while going around with a whiney teenager (Furlong). T2 had a lot of humor in it as a result of this. The original had almost no humor in it at all.
The writing for the original was lean and tight. I still think that it is one of the best written sci-fi scripts ever! T2 just didn't quite live up to that, although, like I said, I did enjoy it a lot too!
 

Jeremiah

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Rob, I was going to post the exact same thing.
I love The Terminator because it has more raw violence than part 2 imo, I just love how Arnold would just kill every Sarah Conner in the phone book. T2 just seems too bubble gum for me.
 

Dome Vongvises

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I'd have to go with T2: Judgement Day on this one. I found the movie to be just a teeny weeny bit funner to watch (yes, you heard me right, I watch movies for fun). Although I'll have to admit, I found the portrayal of the T-800 in The Terminator to be more menacing.
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Colin Dunn

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I give the nod to T1. Despite the low budget (and the more primitive F/X that had to be used), the story was much more compelling. T2 was too "Hollywood" - bigger budget and much better F/X, but it made some ill-conceived attempts to appeal to a mass audience.
There are especially two things about T2 don't sit well with me:
1) A whiny child actor (Edward Furlong) played a major part, but the movie was made from the get-go to be an R-rated action movie. Doesn't it seem ironic that one of the stars wouldn't be allowed in the theater to see the completed film? If the movie is for an adult audience, why cast a prepubescent actor for a major part? If the movie is really for 8- to 14-year-old boys, make it PG-13...
2) It is hypocritical to make a Terminator movie that exploits violence, but then jam the movie with anti-war preaching. The stylized/glorified violence of T2 is nothing like the gritty realism of "Saving Private Ryan," which is much more sincere at depicting the horrors of war. Despite the "good terminator" not killing any humans, the F/X were gorier than in the original, which made it seem all the more exploitative and less sincere.
T1 was a tighter movie, presented with the right tone. T2, to me, tried to be all things to all people and was worse off for it.
As action movies go, I don't think T2 was a BAD movie, but it didn't quite live up to the original...
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