T1 Far Better Than T2

Rating: 9/10 (4 July 2001)

For me T1 outstrips T2 in many departments, primarily because any sequel that rides off the back of a very successful original will have a bigger budget, more technicians, more scriptwriters, bigger & better sfx etc etc.
So it came as no surprise to see that T2 had all these features but at the end of the day it was nothing more than a retread of T1, and as a consequence doesn't fall into the same classic status as its parent.
When I first saw T1 back in 1985 I'd hardly heard of Arnie apart from his Conan films. But as the film rolled I immediately began to warm to him as the cold calculating cyborg on a mission to kill his nemesis (sarah Connor) from the past who's future son will change the outcome of a war between humans & cyborgs, something that Arnie, as a T800 cyborg has been returned to the past to prevent.
As one would except from a Cameron/Hurd film the action comes thick and fast, but the story & the characterisation isn't forgotten in all the mayhem.
The lead protaganists, Connor (Hamilton), Reese (Biehn) and of course Arnie, do a very good job with their characters. Ok, so Arnie doesn't get round to saying too much, probably because of his Austrian accent being a little too thick for American audiences to take on board. However, his accent is perfect for the T800,adapting to the world of 1984.
There are many great moments in the film and of course there are one two classic quotes that will go down in cinema history, such as "I'll Be Back!!" and "F**k You, ***hole!". you just have to watch the movie to understand how those quotes fit perfectly into the story!
It was interesting that Arnie very much wanting to play the badguy in T800. Perhaps he felt at the time that this would be his big chance to get into the Hollywood limelight - and boy did it pay off in spades.
T1 is good on video but is even better on DVD. You can still see the small budget in this film and there are a lot of sfx that look quite basic, as well as positively visible. However, that was all to change when T2 came along and a new generation of cgi & morphing made audiences' jaws drop in amazement.
But for the gee-whizz sfx of T2 I would recommend T1 first and foremost. Its a great film and has a cult following too. We will have to see what T3 has to offer next year, but T1 will still be way ahead of the crowd.
****/*****