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I was having a discussion with a friend today about which we like better, Terminator 1 or Terminator 2.
Terminator 1's story (it started the whole idea) and pacing are better.
Terminator 2's visual effects are superior, as you could credibly imagine the movie was made today and in fact looks better than most of the cgi shit out today.
I think the biggest area of contention is the action scenes: the chase sequences in the two movies, the police massacre scene vs cyberdine destruction, and the final fight scenes.
T2 wins the final fight scene hands down. The crappy animatronics of the T-800 in T1 was distracting and in a fight scene the visuals matter the most. The T2 scene was pretty epic too.
The chase sequences are debatable. While T2 had more cool stuff like T-1000 flying a helicopter, and that scene where T-1000 chases Arnold and John on the Bike, the T1 sequences definitely had more tension because it was a vulnerable human being protecting the target of termination instead of T-800. The chases themselves were pretty good too. But watching T-800 unload a round of M-16 rounds into T-1000's face, then flipping the truck onto its side and steering it into a melting plant was pretty fucking awesome.
The police massacre scene was iconic with its "I'll be back" line, and the sheer amount of violence and the vulnerabillity you feel for Sarah as her only possible protector is handcuffed put it ahead of the cyberdine destruction, which was not that memorable.
I feel the acting is about the same, maybe a slight edge to T2 simply because there was more material to work with. The only real acting we see in T1 is the interaction between Sarah and John, mostly after they settle down in that hotel. However, despite Arnold's awesomeness, I found the kid's acting bad at times. Linda Hamilton is also pretty good in T2 whereas in T1 she was playing a one dimensional character.
Finally, the overall feel of the two movies is different.
T1 is bleak, raw and unrelenting in its tension.
T2 has a hollywood blockbuster feel, and it has those moments like the T-800 and John bonding, which some could consider cheesy while others might see it as a plus and which gives it more emotional punch at the end.
So,
Poll: Which Terminator movie do you prefer?
(Vote): The Terminator
(Vote): Terminator 2
(Vote): Like equally
I expect T2 to win this poll but I'm curious to see if visuals are the only deciding factor.
Poll: If T1 had the same visual quality as T2, how would you feel about them?
(Vote): Like them equally
(Vote): Prefer T1 over T2
(Vote): Prefer T2 over T1
I like them equally although I think if T1's visuals were about the same as T2's, without such shitty image quality and robot Arnold, I would prefer T1 but by a small margin.
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yea dude, I can pretty much agree with most of that. T1 is just so great and tells a great story which sets up EVERYTHING else. T2 is just overall a great action flick , both have a deeper thought to them as well with the whole time paradox and machines with AI etc. That being said, I recently watched both 1 and 2 and I can not really decide which I like better.
I like them both in different ways. If I had to throw out 1 movie I really couldn't decide which to get rid of, I'd probably flip a coin.
you should add a 3rd option to poll #1
edit- shameless plug http://www.teamliquid.net/blogs/viewblog.php?topic_id=100866
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+ Show Spoiler +
I don't really remember too much about either of them unfortunately. Saw them ages ago =/
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You're right, I was going to vote myself and realized I left out my own choice in the first poll 
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it's like godfather 1 and 2, they are both so great you just can't decide which is better.
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I havent seen terminator 1, they show terminator 2 all the time on tv here but 1 never ever gets shown so idk i'd have to say t2
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Terminator 1 is a classic, Terminator 2 isnt. Enough said.
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Terminator 2 is the greatest movie ever created. Ever. Enough said.
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Terminator 2 reminded us we can have our action and our brain working in the same movie.
For that, I am indebted to that masterpiece of film making.
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Zurich15305 Posts
Even though they are part of a series both movies are way too different to actually compare them like you are trying to do (Pretty much what you are saying at the end, but that is the most important point imho). Both are master pieces and classics in their own right.
I personally like The Terminator better but that is just because I love the 80ies dark, bleak types of movies. You can probably compare The Terminator more with Blade Runner (Dir.cut) than with T2, especially comparing the end and overall feeling.
That is not to say that T2 is bad movie, not at all, it one of the best action movies ever created. I also completely agree with the special effects of T2. T2 puts all the billion dollar movies of today to shame when it comes to visually attractive, yet fitting and believable special effects.
What kills T2 for me every single time I watch it is the thumbs up the terminator gives as he is descending into the molten steel.
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T2 definitely. Terminator is also a very good movie though
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On August 29 2009 19:40 zatic wrote:
Even though they are part of a series both movies are way too different to actually compare them like you are trying to do (Pretty much what you are saying at the end, but that is the most important point imho). Both are master pieces and classics in their own right.
I personally like The Terminator better but that is just because I love the 80ies dark, bleak types of movies. You can probably compare The Terminator more with Blade Runner (Dir.cut) than with T2, especially comparing the end and overall feeling.
That is not to say that T2 is bad movie, not at all, it one of the best action movies ever created. I also completely agree with the special effects of T2. T2 puts all the billion dollar movies of today to shame when it comes to visually attractive, yet fitting and believable special effects.
What kills T2 for me every single time I watch it is the thumbs up the terminator gives as he is descending into the molten steel.
so many parts are unintentionally hilarious in the movie now that you watch it in hindsight. I probably laughed more times than in a present day standard comedy.
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On August 29 2009 18:47 zerotol wrote:
Terminator 1 is a classic, Terminator 2 isnt. Enough said.
You like movies purely because of their status?
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Terminator 2. Hands down. Especially the DC with the T800 trying to smile etc.  God I love that movie. Terminator 1 was great as well, just not as good as #2.
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Hah I just watched these movies last night on Bravo. I can't really decide on which one is the better one because they're both completely different, story wise(e.g dialogue and such).
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T1 has way more of an 80s action/thriller kinda deal. There's a lot of tension and the chase scenes and all that stuff are a lot better I think. I like t1 better
T2 is pure Hollywood mega action movie. It's still awesome, but it's almost an entirely different genre
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United States12607 Posts
On August 29 2009 19:40 zatic wrote:
I personally like The Terminator better but that is just because I love the 80ies dark, bleak types of movies.
This is my feeling too. The Terminator just has this certain grittiness that makes me adore it. Also, OP is right to give it some credit for being the first in the series — the entire concept of a robot-human killing machine from the future was totally new, and it pulled it off really well. I mean, Arnold was perfect.
T1 just has so many more memorable moments...the disco scene when Arnold takes that shotgun blast and you realize he can't be human, "C: Fuck You:", the cheesy stop-motion at the end (which is somehow scary, a testament to how well the film draws you in). I just loved it.
T2 seemed so much more cliche and mass-market. It was a more impressive action film, but didn't have the character of the first. Also, I thought the kid who played young John Connor was annoying as fuck.
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Sarah's falling-asleep scene is the highlight of the entire series for me, both its content and the environment where she falls asleep and wakes up - a desert, a wasteland. It's like a massive chorus bridge in a song.
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The point people are overlooking is that thematically T1 doesn't really do too much. It's just a creative world, with some interesting ideas. T2 makes us question what makes us human, and how we can come close to losing it because of revenge, fear, etc.
Not to mention T2 deals with the idea that we always have the power to change our own future an our world. T2 is an incredibly empowering and emboldening film. We always have the ability to make the world a better place no matter what others may believe. It's the ultimate anti-cynicism film.
I suppose ironically enough T3 and T4 kind of flipped over those concepts, but really most hardcore terminator fans see T3 and T4 as being the 'first' movies in the 'original' timeline and T2 as the 'last movie' "chronologically". At least thats how I like to see it.
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EPT
