Typecasting?

Rating: Null/10 (29 July 2002)

The perfect role for Arnold - an emotionless, musclebound robot who talks monotonously in a series of mono-syllables. Pity he thought that he could act after this, but on balance, I forgive him as this is one of the best sci-fi thrillers ever. Better than the sequel? In that respect it is similar to Alien/Aliens - the shift in emphasis makes comparison very difficult. Personally, I prefer to look at all four movies as classics in their own right.
But give Cameron his due, rather than retreading old ground with his main characters, Sarah Connor and Ellen Ripley are fully rounded and deeply affected by their experiences. No Jamie Lee scream queens here. Compare the burger-flipping waitress in Terminator with the gun-toting borderline psycho in T2. It's almost as though she's turned into an emotionless, musclebound robot...