Customer Reviews

Terminator 2: Judgment Day (2-Disc Extreme Edition)

5 star:		(411)
4 star:		(101)
3 star:		(26)
2 star:		(16)
1 star:		(23)

 

 

We are all too familiar with the story of this movie, so I will spare you the details. "The Terminator" was a sleeper sci-fi hit that was a rarity in its genre. Movie-goers were beginning to see sci-fi films that rose above others in the genre and even other genres. "Alien", "Blade Runner", "Star Wars", and, the film that started the revolution, "2001: A Space Odyessy". What made "Terminator" so different was not just another bleak view of the future, but a tense, edgy thriller with some damn fine writing. But while it took an effort to make films like those, it took a greater one to make a sequel. "Aliens", "The Empire Strikes Back", and very few others accomplished this task successfully. As for "T2", unless you've been living under a rock, we all know how well it did. This is definitely the best of the series (in my opinion at least) and definitely one of the best action movies to grace the face of our planet. This is the movie that also started the trend of making action movies with ridiculously huge budgets and paying action stars ridiculously huge salaries. But T2 delivers, with a great story, stunning visuals, and Schwarzenegger in his prime. Plus who can forget Brad Fiedel's synthetic score which has been parodied numerous times?
Why another DVD though? This film has been put on DVD almost as many times as "Independence Day". Special features are somewhat reserved here, so what justifies another release? DVD producer Van Ling answers the question in a quaint little insert about how new technology has developed since the last T2 transfer. They can now present T2 the way it should be, digitally mastered from a 1080p, 24sf digital telecline transfer for "superior video and audio quality". This release of T2 is aimed toward the home theater crowd. All that confusing talk means that the picture is presented with more clarity.
And the sound is just awesome. The DTS track has been dropped from the "Ultimate Edition" in exchange for a Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround EX track and a Dolby headphone track. If you have the technology, try to watch a DVD with a DTS track whenever possible. In the case of this DVD, there's only the Dolby 5.1 EX track. But the track on this "Extreme DVD" defies both the Dolby and DTS tracks from the "Ultimate Edition". It takes full advantage of a dimensional sound field.
The goodies here are minimal; a SFX documentary, a behind the scenes montage, and a few DVD-ROM goodies that I didn't bother to try. But there is the original version of the film available to Windows Media Player 9 users on the second disc. You can watch it on the first disc as well, it's disguised as an easter egg. On the main menu of Disc 1, hit the right button five times while highlighting "Play Extended Version". There's also an enhanced mode with behind the scnes and there's a spankin new commentary by James Cameron himself.
But the question remains; is this DVD worth buying? It really boils down to what your reasons are for buying this new DVD. If you don't own the film, yes. If you're troubled by the mediocre video quality of either of the first two releases, then yes. If you want Cameron's commentary and other new supplements, yes. And if you want to playback T2 in HD on your PC (and even if you find that your computer equipment is currently insufficient for HD playback), yes. But if you want extensive behind the scenes, you might want to stick with your "Ultimate Edition". This "Extreme Edition" delivers though, despite falling short in the behind the scenes section.

The Extreme edition is clearly a marketing ploy targeted to bring in extra $$$ with the upcoming T3 release. The so-called improved picture in the Extreme edition is not noticeable compared to the Ultimate edition. The Ultimate edition contains more versions of the movie and also has the DTS soundtrack that the Extreme edition lacks. If you already own the Ultimate edition, don't waste your money on the Extreme edition.

as good as the first terminator movie is,this one is better.it's got
harrowing action sequences,quite a bit of humour,and more character
development.it's not as dark as the first one.instead it has more of
hopeful tone.it has strong message too,that is becoming more and more
relevant each passing day Arnie is back,but this time his terminator is
has more dimensions to his personality.Joe Morton,a terrific(though
underrated) actor also plays a prominent role,and is also
terrific.Linda Hamilton returns and her character is much more defined
and has more to do.she is certainly up to the task.but
really,the(human)star of the movie has to be Robert Patrick in what i
think was a career making performance.the guy is just amazing.the
biggest star of all in this movie would have to be the special
effects.they were beyond cutting edge then,and they still stand the
test of time today.for me this movie is definitely in my top 10 movies
of all time.my vote for Terminator 2:Judgment Day is a perfect 5/5

Ahhhh, Terminator 2. After countless DVD releases and a substandard Blu-Ray disc featuring only the theatrical cut, it's nice to see the film get it's proper double-dip. The SkyNET Edition of T2 is essentially the theatrical and special editions of the film on one Blu-Ray, packaged within some nice bonus materials. It isn't perfect though.

The mainmost reason to buy this particular edition of T2 is because of Blu-Ray's capabilities. Here, they're put to awesome use. The picture has never been cleaner or sharper than in 1080p, and the new audio tracks are flat out rockin'. It's nice to hear a 6.1 DTS-HD lossless audio track rumbling the walls. So, from a purely moviegoing standpoint, SkyNET wins big.

That being said, the movie flops on bonus features. Well, actually, if compared to the majority of Blu-Ray releases out there, the film might fare well, but I pitted the SkyNET Edition against the standard-def ULTIMATE EDITION DVD, and it didn't win. The tin-case Ultimate Edition is now and out-of-print collector's item, and it still remains the quintessential king of T2 releases, bar none. Where the SkyNET Edition does pack in some interesting features (including an audio commentary with 26 crew and cast members), most of them must be accessed during the actual movie playback. Only a few of the features can be accessed from an index, and the important ones (like behind-the-scenes footage) are crunched down to a small window at the top right-hand corner of the screen. ARGH!!!

Why they just didn't decide to incorporate ULTIMATE'S plethora of bonus features (which clock in at almost 11 hours, last I checked) is beyond me. In short, the SkyNET Edition was supposed to usurp the throne, but it ended up falling a bit flat.

Nevertheless, this is the best way to actually watch Terminator 2. It's so squeaky clean that I actually noticed a few things I hadn't noticed before, even after having seen this movie for the 100th time. Not bad! The audio is a surround sound lover's dream come true, and the extras....well, they get the job done. Barely.

After the moderate success of The Terminator, James Cameron decided to outdo himself with the old "bigger is better" modus operandi, and together with the greatest special effects maestros in Hollywood, created one of the most amazing sci fi action thrillers ever! This time around, Schwarzenegger was to be the good guy and fans were less than happy with the idea. The Austrian oak who immortilised himself as the unstoppable killing machine who spoke the famous line: "I'll be back!" But movie geeks had little reason to worry, for Cameron had something better up his sleeve, with the T1000, an even more invincible killing machine who could take on Arnie's T100. The tantilising premise and top-notch talent behind the collosal project ensured boffo box office. And once again, Arnie (with shades for added coolness) proved that when it comes to blowing up things with really big guns, there is no substitute.
The action set-pieces are some of the most incredible ever put together, and with Stan Winston's lethal creation and ILM's morphing liguid metal guy (a menacing Patrick Stewart) battling it out for the future of mankind, the stakes are high, and the action ante even higher. A seriously buffed-up Linda Hamilton is a much stronger character than in the first film, and her hard-edged persona is well-played and fits the film's "come and get it!" tone. While the original's tense structure and nerve-shredding pace makes it superior in terms of cracking action, but in terms of spectacle and jaw-dropping SFX, T2 wins hands down. Wether this of the seminal original is the best is debatable, but what is for sure is that it is truly one awesome thrill ride packed with out-of-this world effects that still amaze 11 years later. Will the upcoming Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines be better? Only time will tell, but rest assured, T2 takes it deserved place in the collection of all-time greats and is a must-have on DVD.

After the moderate success of The Terminator, James Cameron decided to outdo himself with the old "bigger is better" modus operandi, and together with the greatest special effects maestros in Hollywood, created one of the most amazing sci fi action thrillers ever! This time around, Schwarzenegger was to be the good guy and fans were less than happy with the idea. The Austrian oak who immortilised himself as the unstoppable killing machine who spoke the famous line: "I'll be back!" But movie geeks had little reason to worry, for Cameron had something better up his sleeve, with the T1000, an even more invincible killing machine who could take on Arnie's T100. The tantilising premise and top-notch talent behind the collosal project ensured boffo box office. And once again, Arnie (with shades for added coolness) proved that when it comes to blowing up things with really big guns, there is no substitute.
The action set-pieces are some of the most incredible ever put together, and with Stan Winston's lethal creation and ILM's morphing liguid metal guy (a menacing Patrick Stewart) battling it out for the future of mankind, the stakes are high, and the action ante even higher. A seriously buffed-up Linda Hamilton is a much stronger character than in the first film, and her hard-edged persona is well-played and fits the film's "come and get it!" tone. While the original's tense structure and nerve-shredding pace makes it superior in terms of cracking action, but in terms of spectacle and jaw-dropping SFX, T2 wins hands down. Wether this of the seminal original is the best is debatable, but what is for sure is that it is truly one awesome thrill ride packed with out-of-this world effects that still amaze 11 years later. Will the upcoming Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines be better? Only time will tell, but rest assured, T2 takes it deserved place in the collection of all-time greats and is a must-have on DVD.

The extras are really awesome, with a commentary by 26 Members of cast and crew, commentary by director James Cameron, Commentary by Arnold Schwarzenegger, trailers, the 1.85 Widescreen Theatrical Version, or you can choose the 1.85 Widescreen Special Edition Version. Also, there's over 6 hours of content, "The Making of T2" Featurette, "T2: More Than Meets the Eye" Featurette, "The Making of T2: 3-D: Breaking the Screen Barrier" and Supplemental Material - additional features which cover every aspect of the Terminator 2: Judgment Day film making process. Plus a nice 32 page collector's booklet. 5 star film, 5 star DVD.

Well, people have nearly said it all about this new DVD edition.
But I just wanted to add a few things:
The version in this Extreme DVD, is the "Special Extended edition". Despite what it says on the menu, it is not the plain special edition. It actually includes all the possible deleted escenes they ever took out.
And some people are saying that the only way to see the theatrical version is by playing the disc on your computer's DVD-ROM, on windows media 9 series. Well, that is not truth. You can watch the theatrical version on your normal DVD player. Just highlight (red) "sensory control", then on your remote control press the "right" button 5 times. To the right, the phrase "The future is not set" will appear. Then press "enter" on your remote control, and the "play special edition" will morph into "theareical version". There you have it.

Probably one of the biggest sci-fi movies come on Blu-ray.

The SkyNet edition features both the theater and extended version of the movie plus the unused ending and some deleted scenes.

Of course it has the commentary stuff but that's about it. Everything else is on Blu-ray Live.

And that is really sucky because the DVD "Extreme" edition came with a load of extras.

So if you don't want the extras this is fine.

I think you need a firmware update for your player. Take a look on the company's official website; there should be instructions. Firmware updates come out regularly and can help improve BD playback. BD is a new technology and is constantly being modified. I've only had my player for 8 months and in that time there have been two firmware updates for my player. Also, your player may not be hooked up to the internet. If it was, "Skynet" tracks your location on a map and displays your IP address, and identifies you as a "target."

Personally I had no problems with this release except for a slight waxy look to facial features. Huge improvement over the previous edition.

This is a cheap blu ray and you do not get a lot for your money. No uncompressed sound, no great image quality, no wonder they are coming out with better versions