Blog

32. Terminator 2: Judgement Day - Fire and Ice

“I know this hurts.”

Note to self: If I see my molten enemy, just shattered after hearing a line from a Jody Watley song, slowly coming back together…don’t sit there and watch!

James Cameron’s 1991 sequel to the non-Conan movie that launched the Guvernator took some big chances. With no other proof of concept than a couple of shots in Willow and The Abyss, Cameron and ILM (along with the inventor of Photoshop) based their whole movie on a villain represented by a brand new technology. In this scene, they really show what he can do.

Part of the magic of T2, and a key to any successful sequel, is that it ups the ante and truly shows us something that inspires more dread than the original. In this scene, it literally kicks the original’s ass.

But it isn’t just really cool morphing techniques that suggest the power of this villain. His gait alone (enhanced by having Robert Patrick walk really fast and then slowing down the film) evokes a sort of Pepe Le Peu “I don’t have to run because I’m that good” confidence that’s very intimidating.

This scene also benefits from some nice parity with the original. At the end of The Terminator, Ah-Nuld’s metal skeleton is crushed by the very machines that will ultimately birth it. Here, we have our final fight amidst the dumb liquid metal that will ultimately engulf its smart liquid metal descendant.

Ultimately, though, it is the imagination involved that sets this sequence apart. How would you fight a man made of liquid metal? What sort of things could he do in a fight that would basically hand you your ass? His head becomes his fist. Let me say that again. His freakin’ head becomes his freakin’ fist!

And the imagination extends to the trippy visuals. If you watch the super-extended-hyper-happy-monkey-fun-time DVD version, there are some “glitching” shots that show Robert Patrick’s terminator morphing out of control with everything he touches. And when he falls into the molten metal, it gets very Pink Floyd: The Wall.

Let’s not forget the role performance plays here, either. Patrick’s cool, calm delivery distinguishes the T-1000 as one of the great movie villains. Here, his torture of Sarah Connor or slow, deliberate beat down of the T-800 are just shy of disturbing.

At the time, T2 was the most expensive film ever made. Each frame of CG carried a hefty price tag. As a result, these big budget filmmakers had to think like indie filmmakers and make each shot count. I like to think that’s part of the reason this sequence, and the film in general, works so well.

Missing the very beginning and very end of the sequence, but you know what happened…

See also: The rest of T2, the end of The Terminator, T-Rex attack in Jurassic Park

Next: Mr. Pibb + Red Vines = Crazy Delicious