Guest Post -James M's Review of Terminator Genisys

Hey there people, CrazyGamerHistorian1999 here again and this time, we're talking about the 5th entry in the Terminator movie franchise, the one that changes everything, TERMINATOR GENISYS! As I just said, this film changes everything, not only starring Jason Clarke, Jai Courtney, Emily Clarke, Matt Smith (of Doctor Who fame) and Arnold Schwarzenegger (for the first time since T3), but revisits the first film and takes things in a different direction.

After 2009's Terminator Salvation came out (6 years after the release of Rise of the Machines), it would be another 6 years before we got this movie. Salvation was meant to kick of a trilogy, but it didn't in the end as the studio that made T4 got sued and the rights transferred to Skydance and Paramount Studios where director Alan Taylor and writers Laeta Kalogridis and Patrick Lussier would work on the movie. The movie came out on July 1st, 2015 and while it was mostly a success, Genisys received a lot of backlash to a point where Terminator Dark Fate (the 6th movie), directed by James Cameron (who regained the rights recently), is set to happen after the events of Terminator 2 in an alternate timeline, ignoring Rise of the Machines and Salvation  as well as this movie.

However, if you watch this movie and think about it, Genisys is not that bad, its actually really good and the writers did a great job. I actually enjoyed this movie and want to see it again some point. But enough delaying, lets go over the entire plot. Major warning, spoilers are ahead...

Synopsis/Plot:
*MAJOR SPOILER WARNING*

We begin the movie with a narration by Kyle Reese (played by Jai Courtney), who talks about how the world was once a lovely place until Skynet gained sentience and took over, launching a nuclear attack on the world and annihilating three million people in the nuclear fire. After the events of Judgement Day, Skynet's forces established control of the planet and began wiping out the survivors. Things began to turn around when John Connor (played by Jason Clarke) led the resistance against Skynet and liberated many people from work camps, even saving Kyle when he was a kid.

For most of his life, Kyle has looked up to John as a father-figure, its almost ironic considering the fact that *spoilers* Kyle Reese is John Connor's biological papa due to time travel. Anyway, we finally get to 2029 where the final battle is about to begin. Yup, the first twenty minutes of Genisys is where the original timeline and the other timeline (consisting of Rise of the Machines and Salvation) converge on 2029 and we see the big battle where Skynet is defeated. The night of the big event, just hours before Operation Chrono begins, Kyle and John talk about whats going on before the leader of the resistance gives a speech which goes like this...

"The machine thinks that we cannot triumph, The machines think that we will not strike at the very heart of Skynet. Yet, here we stand, on the precipice of the final battle. If we fall tonight, mankind falls with us. I look at each of you, and I see the marks of this long and terrible war. For are children, our children's children, so they will not carry these marks. (John gestures to his scars upon his face he received years ago) But they will know who we are and what we did. That we did not bow down, we did not give in! We rose up at this moment! At this hour, willing to sacrifice everything, so that they could live in freedom! ON THIS NIGHT, WE TAKE BACK OUR WORLD!"

As John gives his speech, we see scenes of the Resistance launching its attack on one of Skynet's facilities, this is the big final battle that Kyle mentioned in the first film, the facility is the Time Displacement Equipment facility. As the attack begins, we see the interior of the TDE chamber light up as a robotic voice says, "Perimeter breach, activating Model 101". Thats right, we're tying into the first film (for the most part) as Skynet activates the classic Schwarzenegger T-800 (played by Bret Azar with digital makeup) and the cyborg walks into the time machine naked. Meanwhile, outside, John and Kyle, their forces giving it to the machines big time, head towards the facility where they end up engaging a Hunter Killer walker in battle. You know, seeing something like that, the fight with a big robot outside a big facility wouldn't feel out of place in a video game.

Anyways, its at this point that the Colorado Unit destroys Skynet's core and the machines shut down. Thats it, the war is over and everybody can relax, right? Wrong, there's still the Time Displacement Equipment and the fact a Terminator just went back to 1984 to try to eliminate Sarah Connor, John's mum. Kyle volunteers to go back to 1984 on John's behest to protect Sarah, especially after many other soldiers volunteer. After stripping naked, Kyle walks past a row of resistance soldiers, which includes Matt Smith's character Alex ,and John Connor, steps into the Time machine and it activates. As the Time Displacement Field comes online, John tells Kyle, "What you're doing right now, this is the end of the war." Thats a call back to the start of the first movie when the narration said that the final battle of the war with the machines would happen in 1984.

Before Kyle disappears in the time field, Alex (actually the embodiment of Skynet) attacks John and says in his ear in a whisper, "You didn't think it would be that easy did you?" This refers to the victory of tonight. Kyle, who is watching this with shock and horror, gets memories of an alternate happy timeline and a message from his younger self, "Remember, Skynet is Genisys. When Genisys wakes up, Judgement Day will begin." In 1984 at Griffith Observatory, the T-800 arrives and, like in the first film, goes to find clothes, even bumping into the punks from the first film. Here's how things play out...

(T-800 approaches)

Punk: Hey, hey. Whats wrong with this picture?
Punk 2: (As the T-800 walks up) Nice night for a walk, eh?

(The T-800 steps into view and stops in front of them)
T-800: Nice night for a walk.

Punk: Wash day tomorrow, nothing clean, right?
T-800: Nothing clean, right.

Punk 2: (snapping fingers) This guy's a couple cans short of a six pack.
T-800: Your clothes, give them to me, now!

(Punk 2 draws knife)
Punk 2: Hey, FORGET you, a**hole!"

*Side note: When I watched the movie on DVR, I recorded it on a channel that censors the eff bomb. The channel I was watching Genisys replaced "f***" with "forget". In the non-censored theatrical version and on DVD, the punk says "F*** you a**hole" just like in the 1984 movie.

Just before we see the T-800 attack the punks, rip out a heart and obtain his clothes (like in the original 1984 film), somebody not too far off says, "You won't be needing any clothes." The T-800 wheels around to confront... another T-800 (played by Arnold Schwarzenegger), reprogrammed and on the good side. Now we don't know who reprogrammed this T-800, but for simplicity's sake, we'll just assume it was the Resistance.
The newcomer tells the T-800 that its been waiting for him and the young T-800 attacks the old T-800. Yes I said old because the reprogrammed T-800 has been here since 1973. The battle is intense but awesome, the special effects are amazing too. By the way, the concept of two Schwarzenegger T-800s fighting has been around since work on T2 began.

During the battle, Guardian (the good T-800) does get a few hits off the 1984 T-800 before the evil robot overpowers him and, just when it looks like Guardian is on the ropes, a lucky sniper shot takes out the T-800. After the bad guy machine powers down, Guardian gives the sniper a thumbs up. On the other side of L.A, Kyle Reese arrives and, like before, steals pants from a homeless guy. Unlike before, an Asian cop (played by Lee-Bryan Hung) is waiting for him. However, this is not a genuine cop, the guy in the police uniform is actually a T-1000. Kyle gets away from the liquid metal abomination and gets into the mall where he gets his hands on clothes only to run into a couple cops while trying to escape the T-1000.

The cops, O'Brien (played by Wayne Bastrup) and an unnamed cop, arrest Kyle, thinking he's a burglar. When the T-1000 attacks and takes out O'Brien's partner, Kyle and O'Brien hide from the attacking machine, leading to this line of dialogue...

O'Brien: Its gotta be like an alien from outer space.
Kyle: Its a machine that kills humans. Uncuff me...

O'Brien: No, you're under arrest.
Kyle: What part of "kills humans" do you not understand... HANDCUFFS!

(O'Brien uncuffs Kyle and tries to take out the T-1000, but guns are useless, O'Brien gets on the radio)
O'Brien: Mayday, mayday. Officer down. Its some kind of... robot."

Just when it looks like this might be the end of the line, help arrives as a truck smashes into the store and knocks aside the T-1000. The door opens and at the wheel is Sarah Connor (played by Emily Clarke), who shoots the liquid metal monster and yells at Kyle, "Come with me if you want to live, NOW SOLDIER!" Kyle gets in the truck and they make their get away. In the truck, Kyle and Sarah talk about whats going on as things have changed, given the fact Sarah knows about Terminators after the T-1000 tried to bump her off when she was a little girl and Pops the T-800 guardian saved her life. They narrowly escape the T-1000 again, after it catches up with them, and make it to an abandoned warehouse where they fight the T-1000 (once more) along with the young T-800, which reactivated with the T-1000's help.

While Sarah tries to get away from the T-1000, Kyle is left to contend with the T-800. He uses a grenade launcher to try and destroy it, the only result being the T-800's living tissue being burned off by the fiery explosion, revealing its metal endoskeleton. After a lengthy battle, the machine is finally destroyed (again) for good. As for the T-1000, well, Sarah and Guardian took care of it using acid to destroy the monster, but not before Pop's organic flesh takes damage revealing a bit of his metal endoskeleton. As we recover from the battle, it turns out Sarah and Guardian have been building their own Time Displacement machine. Their plans for it? They're gonna go to 1997 to stop Skynet from launching its attack on the world. Kyle tells them everything about his new alternate boyhood memories and the "Genisys is Skynet" message from his younger self, telling them they must go to 2017.

Thank you, Kyle. If you guys had gone to 1997, you'd find nothing. Going to 2017 makes more sense. Remember, the only time Judgement Day would happen in 1997 would be if Cyberdine got its hands on the original T-800's CPU and used it to make Skynet. Because the T-800 got destroyed and whats left of it is being used to power the time machine, we just basically delayed the inevitable and gave the world borrowed time.
 By 1997, we would have 20 years left until doomsday. Anyways, after stripping naked (Sarah/Emily looks good by the way), Kyle and Sarah get in and they depart to 2017 while Guardian stays behind to prepare for their arrival. Arriving in 2017 on a busy freeway, Sarah and Kyle are taken into custody by the police and are taken to the hospital. There, Kyle encounters his 12 year old younger self (played by Bryant Prince) and reunites with an older O'Brien (played by J.K. Simmons).

Not long after, John, who "somehow" survived the encounter with Alex/Skynet and has been there since 2014, arrives. Kyle and Sarah follow John into a parking garage where Kyle learns that he is John's father, much to his shock. Guardian, who's organic flesh regenerated over time and who has been waiting for Kyle and Sarah for 3 decades, arrives and shoots John. Turns out, John has been converted into a new Terminator, transforming him from hero to villain. The new Terminator model? T-3000.
 Narrowly escaping John, after a battle with him which ended with him caught in the magnetic pull of an MRI machine, Kyle, Sarah and Pops head off to their set up secret hideout while the old T-800 explains everything about the T-3000. Towards the end of the war with the machines in the old timeline, Skynet had been experimenting with Machine Phase Matter, which converted people on a molecular level into Terminators. While many did not survive, John is the first of the T-3000 machines.

Later at the hideout, while preparing to attack Cyberdine, John arrives and attacks the trio. During this encounter, Kyle tries to plead with John only for the converted resistance leader to say, "I cannot be bargained with, can't be reasoned with, I don't feel pity, or remorse or fear. And I will not stop, ever, until Skynet rules this world." As Kyle, Sarah and Guardian try to get away from John, he gives chase, leading to a chase sequence that takes them to Golden Gate Bridge where the cops are waiting.
While John gets away, our three heroes are captured and taken to the police station. While Kyle and Sarah as well as Guardian are interrogated, John shows up and chaos ensues as the T-800 attacks him. Oh yeah, Detective O'Brien is there too. Side note; He's basically this film's version of Peter Silberman and, unlike Silberman, he believes Kyle and Sarah are telling the truth so he sides with them in their mission.

During the chaos, Sarah meets with Kyle's younger self and shows him a straight line, just like in Kyle's vision. Pursued by John, the trio of heroes pilot a helicopter, leading to a helicopter chase which ends at Cyberdine with John getting shot down. Entering the building, John and Sarah meet this timeline's version of Skynet (aka Genisys) which is some kind of hologram kid that grows up as time ticks by. John arrives and is temporarily incapacitated by Guardian, the group head deep inside the facility, setting up bombs even as Skynet taunts them and John attacks from time to time. Eventually, during another encounter with a holographic teenage Skynet, Skynet finally morphs into a Matt Smith hologram which says, "What was that he said, I don't think so?" Kyle recognizes it at once, "Thats the thing that attacked John."

 Kyle and Sarah set up the bombs all while attempting to stop Skynet's hologram from interfering, this is not helped by the countdown and the battle between Guardian and John in the factory and in the Time Displacement PollyAlloy room. Thats right, this place has a time machine prototype. During the battle, the T-3000 loses its John Connor look, looking like an ugly muscular robo guy and Pops loses an arm as well as a bit of his skin sheath.
   The old T-800 eventually gets the upper hand and pins John in the time machine, which activates, before telling Kyle and Sarah, "Skynet is almost free, I cannot hold John Connor much longer. Kyle, please take care of my Sarah." Kyle and Sarah escape as the time machine comes online with two metal guys duking it out inside. Pops gets knocked out into a pool of liquid metal and shuts down while the Displacement Field tears John apart, setting off a huge explosion that destroys Cyberdine.

In the aftermath of the explosion, in a safe room, Sarah and Kyle are mourning the sacrifice of Pops when a liquid metal blade pries open a door. For a second they think its another T-1000 when its revealed to be an upgraded Pops. Thanks to the liquid metal, he is now a TX-esque T-800/T-1000 hybrid with who knows what kind of abilities. Kyle pays his younger self a visit and tells him take a message to always tell himself. The message? "Remember, Skynet is Genisys." Afterwards, Kyle and Sarah begin their romance with a kiss (as Pops watches) and the movie ends with them driving off as Kyle does one last narration. However, there is one more thing. During the post-credits, it turns out that the core of Skynet survived, so it looks like Judgement Day will eventually happen.

Thoughts:

Despite its mixed reception, Terminator Genisys is really, really good. Sure it might have issues here and there, but overall, its a fun ride from start to finish. The acting is incredible, the musical score was awesome (even during the end battle) and there were tons of epic special effects and CGI too. Genisys is an awesome PG-13 Sci-Fi movie and is worth a watch, so go ahead and watch it. I give it an 8.5/10. Too bad it doesn't get a sequel that continues the story, oh well, thats what fanfics are about sometimes, often continuing a story. Either way, it doesn't stop me from being interested in Dark Fate. Anyways, I shall leave you be and see you next time. When we meet again, Terminator fans, I will definitely review Dark Fate.

Guest Post -James' Double Review of Terminator 3 and Terminator Salvation

Salutations again, movie viewers.
Today, we will be taking a look at two movies. 2003's Terminator 3 Rise of the Machines (starring Arnold Schwarzenegger along with Nick Stahl) and 2009's Terminator Salvation (starring Chris Bale and Sam Worthington), both the third and the fourth entry in the Terminator franchise. Lets start with Terminator 3 Rise of the Machines...

"Judgement Day is inevitable."

Following the success of Terminator 2, it would be 12 years before Terminator fans got another Terminator movie. James Cameron was not up to the task of doing another Terminator after T2, for him, T2 was it for the story. After the rights went from him to another studio, work on Terminator 3 eventually began. So whats the overall plot?

Its been a decade since the events of Terminator 2 and the Future War hasn't happened (yet), but after the passing of his mom Sarah Connor, John Connor (played by Nick Stahl) is living off the grid and is scared of his inevitable role of leader of the resistance. Living off the grid has benefits as machines from the future can't track him down. But thats about to change again, Skynet sends back another Terminator through time to eliminate John Connor's lieutenants. The new Terminator is a T-X, basically a female Terminator with shape-shifting powers just like the T-1000, only this time, her pollyalloy surrounds a metal endoskeleton and she's packed with weapons on board.

Upon arriving, the T-X attacks a rich woman, acquiring her clothes, her car and a gun from a cop before setting out to carry on with its mission of eliminating future resistance leaders as she picks them off one by one. Meanwhile, another reprogrammed Terminator sent from the future by the Resistance arrives. Its basically a T-850, part of the T-800 line, played by, you guessed it, Arnold Schwarzenegger himself. The T-850 pays a visit to a club where he acquires clothes from a stripper guy as well as some glasses before heading out to find and protect John Connor.

Not to far away, after getting injured in a motorbike incident, John visits a vet clinic to steal some pills so he can dosen the pain in his leg. Shortly after, Kathrine Brewster (played by Claire Danes) shows up, she happens to not only be the daughter of Robert Brewster (who is played by David Andrews), but an old friend of John from back when he was living with Todd and Janelle during the time frame of T2 before the T-1000 attacked. As they talk, the T-X arrives and attacks them, during the struggle, the T-850 saves John and Kathy. Kathy is locked in the back of a van which John uses as a get away vehicle. Seeing this, the T-X takes over several unoccupied cop cars and sends them after John before hijacking a crane and uses it to pursue.

The T-850 also pursues by stealing a motorbike from a cop. The chase goes through L.A, eventually ending with John being saved by the T-850 who takes over the truck and they get away from the T-X for now. As they drive along, John talks with the T-850 and is not only shocked to learn Kathrine B will be part of the resistance, but that the dark future is on the horizon, Judgement Day was not adverted, but merely postponed until Skynet comes online. To make things worse, the TX is advanced, rendering the T-800 models obsolete and the TX is an anti-Terminator Terminator.

Meanwhile, the TX, looking for Kathy, pays her boyfriend/fiancee/groom-to be Scott Mason a visit and actually murders him before impersonating Scott when the police come and visit him. The T-850, John and Kathy visit a maloseum in the Valley of Peace to obtain weapons from Sarah Connor's "coffin" which were left there just in case if the Future War was not adverted. The three of them narrowly evade a team of police enforcers, who were tipped off about Kathrine's whereabouts (which also notifies the TX about where she is.

During the encounter with the police, we bump into good old Doctor Silberman who hasn't changed much since T2, save for the fact he's now having doubts about if Sarah and Kyle's claims related to the Terminators weren't loony talk. As they get away from the TX, Kathy learns her (ex-) fiance is gone while the T-850 tells John that she's not just her second-in command but that Kathrine Brewster is John Connor's wife! As the trio prepares to find shelter from the nuclear war, John learns that Kathy's father is involved with the creation of Skynet and they make plans to try and stop the whole ordeal from happening... again!

Yup, after Cyberdine was destroyed during T2, what was left of it was taken over by the United States Military and Cyber Research Systems began working on advanced technology and actually worked on Skynet. So, despite the Resistance's best efforts to try and change history, the whole thing is gonna happen anyway. We kinda learn about a bit of it early on in the movie where Robert and his associates are contending with a nationwide virus (actually Skynet about to begin its attack) and are having doubts about if its time to activate Skynet. Now, with things about to hit the fan involving the Virus (while the TX infiltrates the base disguised as a millitary member to corrupt and reprogram the prototype robots), everyone decides its time to plug in Skynet, only for Skynet to "get corrupted".

Immediately afterwards, John, Kathy and the T-850 arrive and confront Robert about how to shut down Skynet, after encountering the TX who actually impersonates Kathy at first and then shoots Robert, about Skynet. As the wounded general states the virus infected Skynet, John tells him that Skynet is the virus and the reason everything is falling apart. At the same time, the Terminator prototype robots begin their attack, brutally gunning down those who could be a threat to Skynet. In his office, a barely alive Robert Brewster laments how he opened Pandora's Box and tells John and Kathy to head to Crystal Peak, leading them to believe Skynet's core is there.

After another encounter with the TX, during which the T-850 is briefly corrupted, John and Kathrine pilot a biplane to Crystal Peak and head inside the compound only to meet up with the TX, who followed them there, again as a damaged Arnold fights her one last time, allowing John and Kathy to get inside the bunker as the Terminator tells John, "We'll meet again."

Side note: The T-850 actually assassinated John on July 4, 2032 before being reprogrammed.

After ensuring that John and Kathy will survive, the brave machine destroys the TX and sacrifices itself at the same time by shoving a damaged fuel cell into the TX's mouth while saying "You are terminated" just as Sarah Connor told the T-800 just two decades earlier. The explosion decimates most of Crystal Peak but is enough to end the TX. Deep inside the bunker, John and Sarah are shocked to find not a core but a room for government and millitary officials dating back to some point during the Cold War.

It takes a while for John to figure it out as not long afterwards, a radio activates with somebody at Montana Civil Defense asking whats going on as there's a launch sequence. Accepting their fate as John and Sarah holds hands, John operates the radio and assumes command of the not yet established resistance. As an off-screen John Connor narrates everything, the movie ends with Judgement Day happening as the world engulfs in a nuclear war and we see whats left of the T-850 as John says, "The battle has just begun..."

Terminator 3 Rise of the Machines was a box office success and received positive reviews from critics back when it first came out, James Cameron even said it was great (despite his change in opinion and stance nowadays). Very few people hated this movie for different reasons, I actually liked it. Like the last two movies, Terminator 3 received an R rating despite its limited uses of the word "fuck" and very little blood, awkward considering the fact this movie wasn't rated PG-13.

Anyways, I give this film a 10/10 and with that, lets do Salvation.

Terminator Salvation
_____________________
Review/Thoughts:

Directed by John Brancato and Michael Ferris and released in 2009, Terminator Salvation is the fourth film in the Terminator series and is a shake up as we move on from the pre-Judgement Day times . In 2018, 14 years have passed since Terminator 3 and Skynet rules the world with its robotic armies even as the resistance fights to survive and defeat the machines. The pay off from so much build-up in the last three movies after seeing glimpses of the coming war is super worth it as we finally get to see the war between the human race and the Terminators. Chris Bale plays the role of John Connor, who is not yet the leader of the resistance, while Sam plays the role of Marcus Wright, a man who was converted into a human-terminator hybrid, an actual cyborg.

Kyle Reese appears in the movie in his teens, played by the remarkable Anton Yelchin. As for Arnold Schwarzenegger? He does show up and play the T-800 prototype, but not in the way you'd expect. The Schwarzenegger Terminator is played by Roland Kickinger, who stands in for Schwarzenegger and actually wears CGI make up so he could look like Schwarzenegger so that way, Arnold can be in the movie despite not being there as he was governor of California during that time. The end battle in the Terminator factory was amazing and well put together, the crew did a great job with the special effects and musical score, especially during the scene where the T-800 emerges naked and there's all this smoke and flashing lights going on.

We also meet Skynet for the first time, sort of, it kinda takes on the form of a scientist played by Helena Bonham Carter who showed up at the start of the movie. Salvation is also the first Terminator movie to be rated PG-13, theatrically that is, the Director's Cut is R-rated as it features a lot more action scenes and a small scene showing a partially naked Moon Bloodgood. Either way, Terminator Salvation is a fun watch just like Terminator 3 and is worth your time. If you have time, go ahead and watch either the PG-13 version or the R-rated version, your choice.

Salvation gets a 9/10 and. at last, I close out this double review.
See you later people.
-James M

Guest Post -James M's review of Terminator 2: Judgement Day

Whats popping, movie fans?
Its your old friend the CrazyGamerHistorian1999, here to review the awesome 1991 Sci-Fi action blockbuster hit sequel to 1984's The Terminator known as Terminator 2 Judgement Day or T2 for short which was produced and directed by James Cameron like with the first film. But first, before we start, I wish to mention one or two things I didn't mention in my review of The Terminator. First off, the reason the T800 and Kyle had to obtain clothes is because they weren't wearing anything when they used the Time Displacement Equipment. Apparently, the Time Displacement Field can only be generated by organic tissue and you can't bring any clothes or advanced tech.

Number two, its remarkable that when Sarah Connor became prego with John Connor, she didn't get ostracized for having children with somebody without tying the knot. Well, considering the fact she's on the run after being hunted by a Terminator and is living off the grid, she's very lucky. Anyway's with that out of the way, time to get to discussing Terminator 2, which has Linda Hamilton and Arnold Schwarzenegger reprising their roles and sees the role of John Connor played by (at the time) young actor Edward Furlong, who was 13 years old when picked to play 10 year old John.

So where do we begin with the plot?

It's been 10 years since Sarah Connor narrowly escaped termination at the hands of a Terminator sent from the future by the rogue A.I known as Skynet and she's been preparing John for the day he will lead the Resistance in the Future War against Skynet and its robotic armed forces which will unfold after the events of Judgement Day, the day Skynet nearly wipes out the human race. But by the time of 1995, Sarah has been sent off to a mental institution after trying to blow up a factory associated with Cyberdine, the very company responsible for eventually making Skynet, and for trying to warn everyone about the looming robot apocalypse. What about John? He's OK, he's been living with foster parents Janelle and Todd Voight for quit some time.

It's not long before things change for Sarah (again) and John. One night in Acton, California, after a truck leaves, a Time Displacement Field appears with crackling electricity and an energy bubble and as things come to rest, we see a mysterious figure kneeling in the crater close to a partially ruined truck. One look at this guy and its Arnold Schwarzenegger, back in his iconic role. That's right, Skynet sent back another Terminator just in case the T800 in 1984 failed its mission. So what does the T800 do? It heads straight to a bar to not only seek out a transport but clothes. Why? BECAUSE ITS NAKED! Walking inside the bar, Arnold finds the perfect outfit but a guy is already wearing it, leading to this exchange.

T-800: I need your clothes, your boots and your motorcycle.
(Bikers laugh)
Cigar Boy: You forgot to say please. (Places a smoking cigar on T-800's torso)

Cue the bar fight, which involves the T-800 gripping and breaking Cigar Boy's hand, tossing a biker (who just hit the Terminator in the head with a bat) out the window and pinning another biker to the pool table with a FREAKING KNIFE IN THE DUDE'S SHOULDER! Well, thank goodness there were no ripping out hearts this time. Anyway's, the Terminator obtains the clothes he needs, along with a pistol, the bar owner's rifle, some glasses and a motorcycle before riding off.
Meanwhile, we get another visitor from the future, Robert Patrick's character. The second newcomer takes out a cop before acquiring a police uniform and a gun before setting out to search for John Connor, who leaves his foster home by motorbike with his pal, much to Todd and Janelle's annoyance, the following day.

The T-800 and the mysterious blonde man posing as a cop track down John to the Galleria where during the confrontation, it turns out the T-800 is actually on OUR side this time and was sent back to protect John. The guy in the cop uniform? A new Terminator actually sent by Skynet to get rid of John, the T-1000, but unlike the T-800, this guy is made of liquid metal so he's super impossible to destroy. After narrowly escaping, John learns that his future self reprogrammed the T-800 and sent him back in time to protect John in the past. Side note: During the start of the movie, while getting a glimpse at the war between man and machine, we actually got a glimpse at Future John, who was actually played by Michael Edwards.

Later that same night, John calls his ex-foster parents to try and warn them about the T-1000 but unfortunately, its already too late, the T-1000 is there and actually bumped off Janelle and is impersonating her. To make things a hundred times dark, Todd, who was still alive, is eliminated by the T-1000 when the liquid metal monster stabs him... through the mouth. AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHRRRRRRGH! OK, I said this before that, when it comes to movies and stuff that involves characters getting taken out, I prefer people getting knocked unconscious, blown up, shot in the head or heart or stabbed/impaled through the heart. That is worse than the first T-800 ripping out a punk guy's heart.

Anyway, after discovering the T-800 is programmed to follow HIS orders, John and his protector decide to go and bust Sarah out of the mental ward. Come on, Sarah is John's mum and they're family, they need her and she is vital to the defeat of Skynet too. As John and the T-800 make their way inside the mental ward, Sarah has already begun her shot at escaping. After narrowly getting past several guards and Doctor Silberman from the first movie, she encounters the T-800 just as it is exiting an elevator and carrying a gun. As you can expect, due to the fact she's still traumatized by what happened in the first film, Sarah screams and runs away only to get taken hostage by the doctors including Silberman. The T-800 saves her and holds out his hand to help her up while saying the iconic, "Come with me if you want to live." John does his best to make sure she knows the Terminator is on their side this time and they escape just as they have another encounter with the T-1000. Silberman? He's fine, but he is in shock from seeing a liquid Terminator guy.

After escaping and healing their wounds, plus activating the T-800's CPU so it can learn to be more human, Sarah and the group pay an old friend Enrique and his family a visit so she can gather weapons and flee to Mexico. However, while watching John and the T-800 interact, Sarah falls asleep and has another nightmare about Judgement Day, the day Skynet takes over, which is set to happen on August 29th, 1997, just two years away. I forgot to mention in a previous scene, the T-800 (at Sarah's request mind you) explained how Skynet came to be and how Judgement Day happened. How does Skynet's hostile attack happen? It launches America's nukes at Russia. Aw crap!

Waking up from the nightmare, Sarah arms herself and goes after Miles Dyson, who is working for Cyberdine and is the one who will basically be responsible for the loss of millions if Skynet is built. That's right, Sarah plans on murdering Dyson and destroying Cyberdine, all so she can stop Judgement Day from happening. Ok, Sarah, if you don't want the dark future to happen, WHY ARE YOU WASTING YOUR TIME TRAINING JOHN WHEN YOU CAN JUST LAUNCH YOUR PRE-EMPTIVE STRIKE ON SKYNET AND STOP THE LOOMING APOCALYPSE?!

Anyway, she tracks down Dyson and attacks his home, injuring him and attempting to actually end his life. But she stops at the last minute before she can end the injured man's life, mostly thanks to a combo of John and the T800's arrival, seeing Mrs. Dyson and Danny (Miles' son and wife) protect him and realizing Miles hasn't done anything yet. Hoping to get Dyson on their side, John has the T-800 remove a bit of its living tissue and show a part of its metal endoskeleton and everybody explains the events to come. Dyson takes it rather well, though he is horrified to learn of whats to come and, in a surprise twist, it turns out what's left of the first Terminator, the arm and CPU, is being used. Aw, crap. DYSOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!

Anyway's, Sarah, John and the Terminator with help from Dyson get inside the Cyberdine HQ and get to work trashing the lab in an attempt to get rid of the research and save the future, even obtaining the T-800 arm and CPU in the process. But not long after, the cops arrive, leading to an epic action sequence with the Terminator blowing up cop cars while Sarah has a shoot out with the police. By the end of the battle, the T-800 has received battle damage and several cops have been injured. Dyson uses a bomb and sacrifices himself to ensure his work never leads to the destruction of the world. Unfortunately, things nearly go south as the T-1000 arrives and pursues John, Sarah and the T-800 which leads to a steel factory where the chase ends and the final battle has begun.

The T-800 has a lengthy battle with the T-1000 and ends up getting taken out of the fight, losing an arm like its predecessor and shuts down. Don't worry, our robo hero will reactivate soon. Sarah on the other hand fights the T-1000 and is badly hurt and ends up at its mercy with the liquid metal Terminator threatening to end her. Using its shape shifting powers, the T-1000 impersonates Sarah to lure John out of hiding. However, John catches on, due to the fact the T-1000 is malfunctioning, and the real Sarah attacks. driving the liquid metal monster towards a ledge overlooking a pit of lava. But when Sarah runs out of bullets, the T-1000 taunts her and thats when the T-800 returns and blasts the T-1000 with a grenade launcher, causing it to become mangled by the explosion.

Attempting to reform and repair itself, the T-1000 falls into the lava and is destroyed by the intense heat. Afterwards, John tosses the arm and CPU of the 1984 Terminator into the magma so it will never be used to create Skynet. But there is one more CPU and its inside the still-active T-800 on John's side. John begs and protests but the Terminator has no choice, Skynet must be destroyed at all costs. Stepping on to a crane, the T-800 says goodbye to John as Sarah lowers it into the molten steel. As the Terminator vanishes beneath the molten steel, it gives a heroic thumbs up to John before being destroyed as the young boy mourns the loss of his friend and Sarah hugs her son solemnly.

Here, the end of the movie goes two ways...

Ending one: We get a view of the freeway as Sarah narrates that the unknown future rolls in and she approaches it with hope, the movie ends (kind of setting up Terminator 3) with Sarah saying if a machine can learn the value of human life than so can humanity.

Ending Two: This one's my favorite, thanks to Sarah and John's efforts, Skynet and Judgement Day never come to be and by 2027 (or 2029) the future is bright and the world is safe. John is a senator and Sarah is still alive, but during her narration, she mentions that the dark future still exists for her like traces of a dream, implying that Skynet could still be built and Judgement Day could happen at any moment. But the film still ends with everybody happy.

Final Thoughts/Conclusion:

Terminator 2, like the first film, is a legend in its own time, being well received by critics who commended the action and special effects. It's also still viewed today as the best action movie of all time and the best Terminator movie out there. It was a box office success and paved the way for a theme park ride T2 3D: Battle Across Time and a sequel Terminator 3, which was followed up by Terminator Salvation and Terminator Genisys, which ended up paving the way for Terminator 6 Dark Fate to be an alternate sequel to T2. I found this film to be enjoyable with great acting and incredible special effects and a compelling plot. I give this movie a 10/10.

My Ranking of the Terminator films so far...
1. Terminator 2 Judgement Day -Epic
2. The Terminator (1984) -Good
3. Terminator Genisys -Epic
4. Terminator 3 Rise of the Machines -Awesome
5. Terminator Salvation -Fun

James M signing off!

Guest Post: James M’s movie review The Terminator

Hiya people, James McCormack the Crazy Video Gaming Wizard aka CrazyGamerHistorian1999 here today and I'd like to discuss something and do a little review. Yes, as you can see, I am here as a guest on my mum's blog to talk about the classic 1984 movie known as The Terminator starring our former governor Arnold Schwarzenegger himself. I saw the movie months ago and it was really good, James Cameron did a good job and all the actors, Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton and Kyle Reese actor Michael Connell Biehn were incredible actors.

The idea for the Terminator all started when film maker Cameron, as you can guess, had a nightmare about a huge robotic being emerging from the fire with red eyes. Since that day, Cameron began working on a movie inspired by that. Well, fun fact, not only was the movie inspired by a dream, the other main inspiration was Outer Limits. Specifically, the episode Soldier and the episode Demon with a Glass Hand. Soldier was the inspiration more so due to the fact there was the whole soldiers from the future deal.

So whats the plot of the movie you may ask?
In the 21st century, Skynet, this evil computer system thing, saw humanity as a threat and instigated a nuclear war which devastated the planet. By 2029, Skynet and its robo-cyborg armies rule the planet and the survivors of the nuclear holocaust, with help from John Conner, have formed a resistance named TechCom and are fighting to defeat Skynet and its forces. With the Resistance smashing Skynet's defense grid and on the verge of victory, The supercomputer is left without a choice but to send a T800 (played by Arnold Schwarzenegger) back in time to 1984 to eliminate Sarah Conner, John's mum, before the man himself comes into existence

All of this, sending back the Terminator, was just as the Resistance captured the Time Displacement Machine lab. John sends Kyle back in time to intercept the Terminator and protect Sarah. Arriving in 1984, the T800 (its metal endoskeleton surrounded by human tissue) encounters a group of punks and, after demanding clothes, attacks them, actually ripping out a punk member's heart. Kinda gross and dark, I kinda would prefer people getting shot, stabbed, decapitated or knocked unconscious. But anyway, the Terminator obtains some clothes and manages to buy himself some guns from a gun store for its mission.

Meanwhile, Kyle Reese arrives and steals some pants from a homeless guy before getting some shoes and clothes as well as stealing a gun from the police. Sarah Connor? She lives in LA in the 80s so you can say Terminator boy and Kyle are in L.A. Not only that, she's near the end of her teens and is working as a waitress at a restaurant. The Terminator, looking for Sarah, actually uses a phonebook to try and find her, actually murdering two other people who share Sarah's name. The first is a Sarah Connor who is the mamma of two kids.

Eventually, after "terminating" Ginger, Sarah's roomate, and Matt, Ginger's boyfriend, the Terminator tracks down Sarah Connor to the Tech Noir nightclub and is about to shoot her down when Kyle Reese arrives in the nick of time, gets Sarah out of there and they escape the Terminator. Along the way, Kyle has to explain everything; where he's from, his mission, the Terminators and what happens 20 to 40 years after 1984 with Judgement Day. During the car chase with the Terminator, the police apprehend Kyle and Sarah and a battle damaged T800 (don't worry its the same model) escapes to repair itself. By repair itself, we mean do surgery on its arm (revealing the chasse underneath) and remove its broken human eye (also revealing its robotic eye).

Meanwhile, criminal psychologist Dr Silberman is brought in to question Kyle, who tells him everything, being a soldier from the future fighting for the resistance, Skynet and the Terminator. Just as Reese is deemed a nutcase and people doubt his and Sarah's accounts, good old Arnold walks into the police station, says to a guard "I'll be back", (after being denied entry) smashes down the front door with a car and attacks the station, gunning down multiple cops.
 Reese and Sarah escape during the chaos of the shootout and eventually take up residence in a motel. There, Kyle confesses his feelings for Sarah (eventually) and, yes, they actually have sex on-screen (unknowingly to them for now resulting in John's conception *spoilers*), but not before Sarah tries to call her mum, only for it to turn out the Terminator is impersonating the voice of Sarah's mum.

Not long after, the T-800 is now hot on her tail again, leading to another chase sequence which ends with an injured Kyle Reese and a Terminator with its flesh burnt off (thanks to an exploding truck), revealing its robo skeleton. The barely functional T-800 continues its pursuit of Sarah and Kyle into a Cyberdine factory where Reese ends up losing own life protecting Sarah as the Terminator gets its legs blown off by a bomb. Still alive, the freaking cyborg pursues Sarah a bit more until finally being crushed under a compactor thanks to Sarah herself. "You are Terminated."

Six months later, not only is Sarah on the run from society (for now), she has become six months at best prego with John Connor. During a road trip to Mexico and stopping for some gas, we see Sarah doing tape recordings to give to John when he's old enough and that she not only has a gun (to protect herself) but has a dog with her. Dogs can detect Terminators as demonstrated earlier in the movie at a few scenes.
During her stop by the gas station, the attendant's son snaps a photo of Sarah in the car and (guess what) its the same photo John gave Kyle in the future (or will give to Kyle.) ARGH, I HATE TIME TRAVEL PARADOXES! Anyways, the film ends with Sarah driving off as a storm looms in the distance, practically setting up the next movie.

Final thoughts:

Overall, The Terminator is a legend of its own time. Arnold Schwarzenegger was already made popular early on in his movie career. But after Terminator came out, Schwarzenegger was more popular than ever along with lines such as "I'll be back". The Terminator was well received by critics and was a box office success within the first two weeks of its release, grossing billions of dollars within the day it was released. The film was so successful it not only paved the way for sequels and a TV show years later, it paved the way for a franchise consisting of comics, novels and video games. Heck, in 2008, the film was selected by congress for preservation due to being the most significant in pop culture history.

Well, people, thats my review of the movie. When its good its really good, when the film gets dark and serious, it gets dark and serious. The film had very little cringe moments unless you call ripping out hearts cringe-worthy. If you have time, go watch it, on DVD or Cable.

Have a good day out there.
Peace out.

James M
CrazyGamerHistorian1999