movie coverI'd rather be watching TV![IMDB link] [Netflix link] WTF? Why did we never watch this? Why?? Oh! I know! Because it took 12 years for the sequel to come out, and another 5 years for me to remember that I need to watch this. Terminator simply wasn’t fresh on our minds!

PEOPLE: Of course we have Ahhnold reprising his role as the Terminator… But everybody else (even the directors) is different. Still, it’s always nice to have Claire Danes from My So-Called Life (and Stardust) around!

QUIRKS: 1) The most destructive chase scene that I’ve ever seen in my life. When you’re driving huge cranes that make a Hummer look like Volkswagen bettle — expect chaos.

2) The Terminator’s heads up display is no longer obviously recognizable Apple2 hex and assembly code and such. Between the last Terminator movie and now, the internet became part of our zeitgeist, and people suddenly needed more realistic computing simulations. Still, I liked the old Apple2 stuff a bit better, and actually find it pretty realistic anyway. Why should he need a fancy interface if he’s a computer? Why does he even need a heads up display at all?

THOUGHTS: This was awesome. We should have watched this 5 years ago when it came out! The story of the Terminators (Skynet vs. Man) is advanced, and we learn more about this alternate earth. We learn how Skynet came about, and how the whole debacle was almost stopped. But it’s hardly a spoiler when people from the future came back and told you this was going to happen.

There’s also a nice twist at the very end. If we were trying to be astute and logical, we should have seen it coming. But better to try not to over-analyze, and have such twists punch you right in your face unexpectedly.

Yes, the quality of the movie in terms of directing, dialog, etc, does not quite meet the quality of the original 2 movies. The director is not as experienced. The original writers are not involved. It’s become a corporate franchise — as evidenced by the Sarah Conner Chronicles series now airing on TV. But this is still a real Terminator movie. They could have done a lot worse. But they didn’t. They did good.

RECOMMENDATION: See it! See it! See it! If you watched Terminator 2 — you need to see this. If you never saw T2… Well, perhaps you should watch both of them now? Maybe if you watch them on successive nights, the quality decline from T2 to T3 is more noticeable. But for me, it was 17 years later. I was genuinely surprised that it was as good as it turned out to be.

MOVIE QUOTE: Arnold Schwarzenegger: “She’ll be back.” (and later) “I’m back.”

COINCIDENCES: Epic Movie – 2 movies in a row with boob-expanding scenes.

FRIENDS’ RATINGS: Jordan, Wayne H, Christian D loved it. Scott S and Darren M really liked it. Chris Z liked it. Benj didn’t like it. Melanie B and Glen hated it.

Mood: gonna watch Iron Man finally..tonite!
Music: Tiamat – Nihil