Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

 ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) – J. Cameron

Until I rewatched The Terminator (1984) at the end of last year (and Aliens, 1986, at the start of this one), I had forgotten what a great director of action James Cameron was (having more or less tuned out after Titanic, Avatar, etc.).  So, I guess it comes as no surprise (in this rewatch) that Terminator 2 plays out like one long action sequence. This is (of course) a sequel but the original film’s sci-fi plot with its potentially confusing time-travel elements did not really take too long to explain to Amon (who missed the first one):  AI-robots send a “terminator” (Arnold S.) back in time to the kill the mother of the future leader of the revolution against the machines before he is born (and a human also comes back with him, hoping to protect Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton), but ending up fathering the future hero as well).  As T2 begins, we are advised that another terminator and another protector have come from the future – to the 90s – this time to kill John Connor (Edward Furlong) himself.  So, when Arnold appears, naked as before, seeking clothes, a gun, and a motorcycle, from the local biker bar, we think, yup, that’s the terminator.  Yet, this is not the same Arnold that we saw in 1984 at the start of his career, more of a monosyllabic tough guy (“I’ll be back” notwithstanding). Fast forward to 1991 and he’s revealed his comic side and presented a more charismatic face to the world (beyond just the brawn). So, again no surprise that Arnold plays John Connor’s protector in this film (reprogrammed by Connor himself in the future) and the true bad guy, the T-1000 liquid metal terminator model, is played by Robert Patrick. Patrick needs to kill Connor to stop the revolution but the heroic trio need to stop not only T-1000 but also Joe Morton from using the remnants of the Terminator from the first film to engineer the robots of the future who eventually take over, setting this plot into motion. But the special effects are really the star here, which is no slight on Hamilton’s buffed up Sarah, Patrick’s steely singlemindedness, Furlong’s cocky but vulnerable teen, or Schwarzeneggar’s compelling schtick (“Hasta La Vista, Baby!”).  Nevertheless, despite so many minutes given over to sheer action (and shape-shifting Patrick), by the time we get to the ending, the film has earned its emotional conclusion (which might have prevented the opportunity for a sequel, given that the future can change, but you know).  You might call this one of the sequels that tops the original but I do have a fondness for the trashy low-budgetness of the first.

Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)

 ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ½

Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) – S. Leone

Amon did not make it through to the bitter end (too slow, he said) which means he missed the climactic scene which reveals the mysterious motives of Charles Bronson’s “Harmonica” as he flashes back to his first meeting with Henry Fonda’s evil Frank nor the denouement which finds Harmonica and Jason Robards’ Cheyenne saying farewell for the last time, leaving Claudia Cardinale’s Jill to move forward from the Old West to the New West, as the train arrives at the station still being built in Sweetwater. Under Sergio Leone’s operatic direction, the plot moves like tectonic plates shifting each character inevitably toward this conclusion. Admittedly, it does take a while to get to this rewarding pay-off.  Who knew that this was meant to be Leone’s final Western and he had hoped to kill off Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach, and Lee Van Cleef at the start of the film?  When Eastwood declined, he opted for Woody Strode, Al Mulock, and Jack Elam instead in what remains an amazing near silent opening scene (if not a cosmic joke on those hoping for another Good, Bad, and Ugly). That 10-minute scene tells us right from the outset that Leone planned to use the widescreen format as a huge tapestry with geometrically opposed characters as well as giant close-up heads (not to mention a short scene in Monument Valley, as an ode to John Ford, shot away from the regular set-up in Spain and Cinecittà). Also sweeping through the film is Ennio Morricone’s music, replete with themes attached to the characters, which builds on the Spaghetti Western soundtracks of the past decade – the sound is immediately recognizable and perfect for the final duel. Despite the determined pace, there are numerous iconic scenes where Leone builds suspense, such as when Cheyenne rescues Harmonica from Frank in railway exec Morton’s railcar. Sure, it might take a while for some parts of the plot to become lucid to first-time viewers but when viewed again (and again), one can see Leone’s full vision playing out in majestic harmony. An elegy for the Old West, yes, but also a damning critique of capitalism even if the film still somehow holds out hope for a new sense of community going forward. Masterful.