There really isn’t anything
about James Cameron’s still gargantuan, mammoth beast of a sequel to his 1984
low budget smash hit The Terminator that
hasn’t already been said by this point.
In terms of pushing the envelope technically, boasting still astonishing
action set pieces and taking the mythology established in The Terminator full circle to it’s logical end, Terminator 2: Judgment Day it goes
without saying remains one of the greatest science fiction action thrillers of
all time and the pinnacle of early 1990s sate of the art visual effects
technology.
In short, it was a game
changer. Up to this point, the $102
million movie was the most expensive film ever made and went on to rake in over
$519 million to this day before winning four Academy Awards for Best Sound,
Best Sound Editing, Best Makeup and Best Visual Effects. For all the financial and personal hurdles
writer-director James Cameron suffered with his previous film The Abyss, Terminator 2 put Cameron back on top and cemented his status as one
of Hollywood’s most exciting and innovative big summer movie filmmakers.
Years since the 1991 film,
however, the series went downhill with the films that followed as Cameron
departed the director’s chair and redirected his attention to other
projects. In the midst of preparing his
soon-to-be Avatar sequels (whether
anyone still wants them or not), Cameron would in the process of preparing the
forthcoming 4K digital remasters of The
Abyss and True Lies for blu-ray
disc revisit Terminator 2: Judgment Day once
again in a newly remastered 3D edition making it’s limited theatrical
re-release in cinemas across the nation prior to an upcoming 4K UHD disc
release.
Why one of the greatest
science fiction action thrillers of all time initially shot and exhibited in 2D
should get a post-production 3D conversion at a time when the television, home
video and theatrical film industry (notably IMAX in a recent announcement)
seems to be moving away from the format after lukewarm sales represents a
curious disconnect James Cameron seems to have with the changes sweeping the
film business. While the rest of the
industry is doing away with 3D altogether as audiences are tiring of being had
by exorbitant ticket prices, Cameron remains that one guy still pushing for
what is quickly becoming a sinking ship.
The sad thing is for all the efforts put into retouching the film via
CGI to remove faces of stunt doubles, obscure a naked actor’s nether regions
(yes, Robert Patrick’s exposed genitals are obscured in this re-release since everyone was looking for it before) and
augment shots with slightly more depth of field than previously, there really
isn’t much to this ultimately pointless 3D reissue.
When compared to some of the
other 3D reissues of 2D films that have come before, notably things like The Wizard of Oz which presented
startling use of the 3D conversion technology, Terminator 2 still looks flat and like a 2D movie with some
occasional depth perception when the 3D glasses aren’t making viewers go cross
eyed. Where Terminator 2 easily would have sold tickets and filled movie
theaters had the film simply been re-released as audiences saw it in 1991,
Cameron’s decision to revamp the whole thing and charge $15 a head for the 3D
glasses may have actually hurt the film’s potential box office earnings. Speaking for myself, the 3D actively worked
against my enjoyment of the film.
That said, if you can
tolerate it and have the extra money to spare, Terminator 2 3D or not still represents one of the prime examples
of big budget science fiction action filmmaking with a stellar cast, still astonishing
visual effects and spectacular set pieces and a textbook example of what a
summer tentpole movie should be. One may
even argue it is the best thing currently playing in cinemas right now. It’s a shame that the 3D technology in this
case didn’t do Cameron or his film any favors and watching it I was pining for
the 35mm release I was lucky enough to catch at the Main Art Theater some years
ago. Now if Cameron will just listen to
reason and leave Aliens alone and not
give that the 3D treatment also…
- Andrew Kotwicki
Score: Film
Score: 3D
