Terminator 2 (5 Stars)

Dancer's Top Films #6

Yesterday someone messaged me in Facebook and asked me why this list is called Dancer's top films. It came from a person who should have known me better. I am Dancer. Mike Hood is Dancer. My blog is called Dansator, which is the Romanian word for Dancer. I picked Dansator because Dancer was already taken, but the choice of Romanian wasn't completely random. I've been fascinated by vampires (especially female vampires) for more than 30 years. I'd already watched the old Dracula films as a child, but the turning point was when I saw "Vamp" on television in the late 1980's. That was the film that first showed me how sexy vampires can be.

I am Dancer. Click here if you want to know more about me.

Arnold Schwarzenegger's acting abilities were a standing joke in the 1980's. It was inconceivable why this Austrian bodybuilder should be given so many film roles. "Terminator" (1984) was a change. Playing a robot from the future excused his wooden, emotionless acting, even if it didn't explain his strong Austro-German accent. After that he went back to poor acting in other films like "Total Recall", "Twins" and "Kindergarten Cop". Finally, in 1991 he was given another chance with a new Terminator film. Once more he fell naked from the sky, but this time he played the good guy. He's still a Terminator, but he's been reprogrammed. His mission is now to protect the 10-year-old John Connor from another Terminator sent to kill him.

There are arguments about which of the first two Terminator films is better. The critics prefer the first film, while cinema audiences prefer the second. For years I've been unsure which I prefer, but I've finally decided on "Terminator 2". It's not because of the improved special effects in the 1990's. I prefer it because it contains more of the mind-bending temporal paradoxes that I enjoy so much. It's now revealed that the artificial intelligence of the future has been made possible by researching the computer chip from the first Terminator's brain. i.e. the Terminator could only be built by modelling it on itself. 

Part of the Terminator's appeal is that he looks so cool. In the first film he wore dark glasses to conceal the injury to his eye. In this film the dark glasses are merely a fashion statement.

Even though Arnold's Terminator is the good guy in "Terminator 2", we're constantly reminded that he's a killing machine. He protects John Connor by killing others.

John Connor is played by Edward Furlong. It was his first film. Since then he's appeared in more than 50 other films, as well as various television series.

Sarah Connor is played by Linda Hamilton once more, but she's barely recognisable. Gone is the air-headed waitress who couldn't even balance her cheque book. Now she's a muscular warrior woman. Over the last seven years she's been fighting to protect her son and train him to be humanity's leader.

Don't mess with Sarah Connor!

I find her more attractive in this film, but that shouldn't surprise my regular readers. You know that I like strong women.

"Terminator 2" is one of the best films ever made. In my opinion, the sixth best film ever made. So what are the top five films in my list? I'll keep you in suspense for the next eleven days.

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