Terminator 1 vs Terminator 2

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I know 2 is the more popular one. It's a better big budget mindless summer blockbuster movie. But I think Terminator 1 is better from a horror/drama storytelling perspective. It's original and it has a way of making the little moments matter. In T1, one shot of a shotgun was cause for worry. In T2, bullets flow as freely as water.

Terminator 2 pretty much followed the same formula as the first film. While the first half added some texture, the 2nd half was mostly just set pieces which added nothing to the story.



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Calling T2 mindless is extremely unfair. The way they expand on the characters from the prior film while also deepening the lore is very good scriptwriting. It's a classic and holds up much better than the original with a bevy of classic lines and insane set pieces. A truly relentless action film with a great sense of stakes.
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Though I think I'll always give the edge to the first film and can comprehend the inherent flaws in the second film, I think that calling it mindless is being needlessly harsh. It has to change things up rather than slavishly imitate the original (in a way, this is comparable to the shift in tone between Alien and Aliens, where the original could not be outdone in terms of horror so it made sense to up the scale and go all-out in action for the sequel).

Also, it's not like the second half consists purely of set-pieces either. While the first film was a relentless chase from start to finish without much time for introspection, the second film has room to "add texture" as you put it. This is why there's the inclusion of the entire "destroying CyberDyne" sub-plot, which was originally intended for the first film (a deleted scene reveals that the factory from the finale is a CyberDyne factory, which sets up the discovery of the original Terminator's remains).
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Both are great, but I've always preferred the first one and I don't love the second as much as I once did. The darker tone of the first and Arnie as the villain are big pluses.



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Now that I'm older I lean towards the first one, truly visionary filmmaking. The second one is basically just as good.
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T1 is a solid story, a little dodgy in the effects though.


T2 is better in terms of technical ability, and has better action, but the story is incredibly faulted.
I thought the second film, after the ending of the first film, would be Sarah training John. Instead, we have them trying to stop the future... which means Sarah is actually trying to make her own Son not exist.
T2's story makes no sense at all but overall, it's more fun.


T2 for me



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I thought the second film, after the ending of the first film, would be Sarah training John. Instead, we have them trying to stop the future... which means Sarah is actually trying to make her own Son not exist.
T2's story makes no sense at all but overall, it's more fun.
I guess that's got something to do with its very hazy treatment of time-travel that does get more and more convoluted with each new film, so there's no telling whether or not stopping Skynet would actually kill John Connor - I guess it depends on how much of the series you really want to count as canon at this point.

If anything, this thread might as well be a "rank the series" kind of deal like with Indiana Jones. I think that could be more interesting than once again hashing out the same old "1 or 2" debate.



T2 for me too!
The actors playing, direction, story... Everything is a little better :-D



T2 for me aswell, although T1 has that sense of dread all the along, with arnold being the bad guy it felt stranger than it is, but T2 already did a thread about it before, is probably the best scifi action summer movie ive ever seen, it s grandeur still holds up now, look at the set pieces, a movie truly ahead of its time and will hold up in cinema history.



It's about time for another viewing of the first one.

I never liked it all too much, though it's still solid. But maybe I'll like it more now. Anyways, so for now I like T2 a lot more...



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I'm more interested in seeing how people rank Rise of the Machines, Salvation, and Genisys, regardless of the obvious difference in quality between all three.



I absolutely hate Salvation so that is definitely at the bottom of the list for me. I was not really a fan of T3, so I'd probably put Genisys before Rise of the Machines, though I imagine most people wouldn't.



I absolutely hate Salvation so that is definitely at the bottom of the list for me. I was not really a fan of T3, so I'd probably put Genisys before Rise of the Machines, though I imagine most people wouldn't.
T3 is better than most of the movies that came after so for me it's
T3
salvation
genesys



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T1 was an archetype classic, sort of like the first Matrix or Mad Max. I enjoyed what they did in T2 though.
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Myself, I have a soft spot for T3 despite its outwardly derivative nature and somewhat hokey approach ("Talk to the hand", anyone?) but I can still sort of enjoy it as a straightforward action movie. I am torn on whether or not I consider Salvation or Genisys the better film, though these days I want to give Salvation the edge because it at least tried to take a different approach to the franchise instead of the convoluted contrivances that allowed Genisys to recycle the same chase plot from the first three movies.



I, too, remember to enjoy T3 for what it was. An alright/pretty acceptable entry in the Terminator universe, but mostly just a fun action film with some decent action scenes and great practical effects from the legendary Stan Winston (RIP).

Salvation was by far the worst and even though Genysis kind of recycled a lot of elements, I just didn't see Salvation succeeding on any levels. It was barely a decent action not to mention a decent Terminator film - which it was miles and miles from being.



T1 b/c it was closer to the type of gritty, atmospheric terror that authenticates the story extremely well. The movie might've been choppy on a technical level due to it's budget limitations, but it maximized it's strengths and worked effectively as a slow burn sci fi thriller.

T2 is a wonderful technical achievement and undoubtedly the ''cooler'' movie of the two, and it's paced perfectly as a balls-to-the-wall action flick. It does a great job of expanding the arc while making it fit a different tone, and Linda Hammilton's performance is fantastic.



It's tough to pick but T1 left a bigger emotional impact on me. It's more raw/visceral which I think fits the man vs 'homicidal machine' narrative better. They're both great for different reasons, but I can only go w/ what affected me the most.


Edit: I agree w/ the consensus wholeheartedly - The other movies aren't up to par.



The first 2 Terminators were great, two of the best action movies ever. The 3rd one was horrible, and I only watched a third of the Christian Bale one. Id have to give T2 the edge over the first one. Cameron had alot more to work with and he used every bit of it brilliantly. There were more mistakes in T2 than the first, Edward Furlong, but most of it blew me away so much I didnt care.