Terminator 2 - re mastered picture and new Dolby Digital 5.1
Terminator 2 DVD
DVD
Ahhhnold is back and has been re programmed by John to protect...John. Yet a newer T1000
machine comes programmed to kill...John. John is in 1992 living in angst with foster parents
as a young teenager while his mother simmers in a mental ward. In the very near future, John
is the critical link to stop a specific organization from turning over world
powers to a computer, which will then disregard humans.
We witness the blunt and all out war between Ahhhnold, the Terminator, and the newer, liquid metal
T1000 terminator brutally fight for John. Explosions, guns, and chase scenes galore,
this movie is all business. Testosterone is high. But you know it going in.
Terminator 2 (T2) is an exciting movie by James Cameron blowing out all the
stops and, as I remember, overflowing the film budget ~Cameron's trademark~
but kicked all critics in the face proving a huge blockbuster. While Terminator 1
punched with voltage pacing & ballsy chase scenes, (dare I say, a more passionate film),
T2 is much more visually stunning, laughs at itself a tad more, yet still can whiplash you with
pounding action.
DVD image
This movie shines on DVD. I really appreciated all the excess use of haunting,
blue tones in most scenes; I thought it lended itself to the early ninties,
vogue yet cold industrial style. Scenes were typically liquid crystal, razor
sharp clear. Action sequences were a bit rougher & sometimes a little dull,
(the www ALWAYS darkens the pics I post for some reason...?)not necessarily showing
more grain...check out the two unedited pics above. The fighting (above) is a scoche duller,
but the men are moving...slamming each other into walls.
The CAD special effects were kinda like Cameron's 1989's The Abyss as steel; always fascinating.
Special effects supported T2 rather than dragging it. The DVD exploited CAD (computer aided design) use in
unblinking detail swallowing your eyes with inventive creativity.
Villains have the best roles.
Anyway, oh yeah, blacks were deep, crisp and defining, reds didn't seem to bleed on my set.
Contrast seemed right on. I noticed no chromo noise (objects flickering) like Poltergeist.
This disc is 16x9 enhanced too. I did think flesh tones looked weird. They didn't
look too yellow or pink or whatever, they just looked...."rubbery" sometimes.
When Linda Hamilton was in the desert loading up some guns, her arms
and neck area looked...well, rubbery. But the color looked fine...I don't know. Probably movie, body make-up. It just looked odd. Arnie's face sometimes looked rubbery too
yet the picture was so clear his make up was apparent.
These shots as stills don't exactly illustrate what I mean; they
need to be in motion. Maybe this is called "over saturation," but I'm not sure. Just an observation from this Aquarius.
Re mastered 5.1 Dolby Digital Sound
Exciting. Sound is always at least 30% of the enjoyment of the movie. Stakes
are higher with sound's importance in action or supernatural motion pictures. T2's
sound was throbbing, though not as much as T1 (<--but crappy mono). Chase scenes
gripped your spine. Dialogue panned naturally. I've read other reviews that
note the surrounds didn't utilize splitting, but still opened up the sound stage
of the movie experience. I have to agree. Yet a few times I noticed
some splitting,
though, and that was usually with gunfire or some of Brad Fiedel's ruthless score.
(Brad Fiedel also composed a very memorable score for the soon to be released DVD
"Fright Night," a terrific 1985 film.) The sound, though not as "open" as newer films, still
shakes the rafters and gave my bass woofer a workout. Kick it, baby!!!
***********************************************************************
...thoughts...
Writer/ Director James Cameron (Titanic) is a director who dedicates his
being to films to the very end, and they are his films.
One of my all time, very favorite (of his) movies is Aliens (Alien part II).
Cameron always gives a sense of enjoying his actors on the screen, yet balances
his enthusiasm for the storytelling. Appreciated.
I liked his subtle commentary of having the villian dressed as a cop
throughout the movie; this gives a new twist on Ice-T's famed "Cop Killer" scandal
several years ago. I do digress.
But probably the most interesting commentary to me was when Linda Hamilton solemnly
narrated her interesting conclusion of the Terminator's substitute role as a protecting
father as she watched her son, John, goofing around with the Terminator in an ironic,
lighthearted scene:
"Watching John with the machine, it was suddenly so clear.
It would never hurt him, never shout at him or get drunk and hit him, or say it was to busy
to spend time with him. It would die to protect him."
Terminator 2 : Judgment Day
Widescreen 16x9 enhanced 2.35:1 original aspect ratio (terrific!)
139 min, 73 chapter stops
Descriptive Video Service (makes this title accessible to blind and visually
impaired audiences.)
Dual Layer (fantastic)
THX
DD5.1
English, Spanish, French subtitles and dolby 2.0
Catalog no60441
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