T2

A couple of nights ago I went to see a showing of the new Terminator. I'm not anti-action movies-with-endless-sequels, but they typically aren't my favorite thing either. 

However, when it comes to Terminator II, well that is just a different story. Seriously, how much more awesome can you get than a movie written/directed by James Cameron:

Starring Linda Hamilton's Biceps:

 And the hot police officer (who's actually just a freaky robot):

Not to mention (and just as cool), Arnold S. "Hasta la vista", a ridiculously long motorcycle chase scene, and totally ahead of its time special effects.  

The new Terminator Salvation also had many a neat effect (including a sweet cgi replica of the Arnold Terminator). Still I couldn't help but notice the difference between the two movies:

a. New Terminator submerged itself in the effects, relying on them as a sort of visual showcase to create fear, awe, excitement, humor etc. to inform, drive and create the story.

b. the original T2 used a well-developed story driven by well-rounded characters -  filled in by some freaking cool effects that contributed to (note: not created) the story. 

And therein lies my beef with the action genre. Sometimes I just want the writer/director/producer to get away from the computer and start investigating human interaction again. Look at J.J. Abrams (Star Trek, Lost, Fringe).

Ok so even though I put T4 down, I still would recommend seeing it. If only for the fact that the effects are sweet and Christian Bale has a voice like a rock-crusher.