A Childhood Favorite--Not As Good Now, Though

Rating: 7/10 (29 August 2015)

This movie was far and away my favorite film for several years after it was released. I was thirteen when the film hit theaters in 1991, and I had seen the original "Terminator" over and over again on VHS when I was a kid. Back then, "T2: Judgment Day" seemed like a huge improvement over its predecessor. The effects were much better, for one, and the storyline seemed more developed--and that's probably a true statement.
However, having watched both films this week, I can safely say that as an adult, I now find the first "Terminator" to be far superior to this sequel. The original movie has so much going for it in terms of just being a quality stand alone film. This sequel has its good qualities as well--it's still a good film, which is why I've given it 7/10 stars.
Still, seeing this film now, I'm able to see its flaws a bit more clearly. As good as it is, throughout the film I found myself surprised to imagine that it didn't seem too much better, quality wise, than a made-for-TV movie would today. Schwarzenegger's character still looks fake when the cyborg skeleton starts showing through his face in the final fight scene (although the part where the inner skeleton arm is revealed is pretty cool). That, and while there are plenty of big league action scenes in this movie, the light-hearted vibe of this movie--the witty banter mixed with things like George Thorogood's "Bad to the Bone" being part of the score--just makes this film a bit hard to take seriously. It's a film that was made to be a blockbuster that would appeal to all, whereas the original was a sci-fi/horror flick that happened to become a blockbuster because of its innate quality.
All in all this movie is still good and watchable. But I see it very differently at 37 than I did at 13. 7/10 stars.