Henry Hildebrandt

64 A movie I wish was better than it is. A Groundhog Day plot in a military end of world situation is generally interesting. However, the movie bogs down for me (especially towards the end) to just barely over the finish line.  With what I don’t like, the alien design is just straight up bad. I can’t tell what’s going on and it’s not very stylistic either. The only character that are actually written out are the two main ones. And in the end, I got tired of all the “I know what you’re going to say and what happens and I know everything about you.”  With some of those characters, it would just make no sense he spent that much time learning about them - like the secretary.  The action is also lack luster for me. In the end, this left me feeling not really anything at all. I didn’t feel for the characters, I didn’t really care they won - the only thing I cared about was tom cruise meeting up with Emily blunt at the end (the only decently written characters).  This movie has an identity crisis imo, and I feel like if they spent a bit more time in pre production, this could be a really solid block buster.

71.5 I don’t know if I’ve seen a sequel build upon its original so much. It’s genuinely so interesting to see the consequences of the first film, an aspect of sequels that isn’t utilized much. Most of my problems with the first one are apparent, like the dialogue. (Although Sarah’s Voice Overs were well written imo) But man where this movie succeeds, it really succeeds.  Everything with the T-1000 is so cool. The concept and execution are great. I wish he had more to do, especially in the middle, but I loved the effects here. The melting scene of the T-1000 is a highlight. I still have problems with the score and the action sequences running way too long and being too boring. John is a fine character. Definitely not the worst kid character. I think what they did with terminators character was really cool, especially how he progressed to be more human after spending time with John.  Overall, this isn’t the best movie. The problems are big. But then again, the good things are big. So it’s a lot of conflicting feelings. Idk if I’ve seen a sequel be so much more improved than the original though. The effects are probably the biggest jump for me. This makes the first one worth it imo. This is the best that this kind of movie can be.

52 Possibly the cheesiest thing put to screen. Didn’t expect to rate this low. The indoskeleton/cyborg prop was by far the coolest thing in the film for me. Especially the stop motion. Everything else didn’t really get me going in the slightest. The score, besides the theme, didn’t help at all and is one of the worst I’ve heard. All that being said, I’m excited for T2

83 Possibly the loudest, quietest movie I've seen. It's grand, but it doesn't get in your face about it. All the quiet things that PTA uses to make you feel a certain way definitely don't go unnoticed. The subliminal was executed perfectly. Overall, the performances were very solid - a few standouts and only a couple who didn't. What an interesting device to tell this story. In the end, it's not the best, cleanest movie. But what a movie it is.