Terminator 2: Judgment Day – James Cameron, 1991

The Terminator failed to kill Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton), but 10 years after the attack Skynet’s new T-1000 (Robert Patrick) arrives in 1995 to terminate the future rebellion leader John Connor (Edward Furlong) himself. The rebellion however managed to reprogram an old T-800 (Arnold Schwarzenegger) and send him back in time to assist the 10-year old John in his fight. While the T-800 tries to shield John from the attacks of the far more advanced T-1000 Sarah Connor is locked up in a mental institution, preparing her every muscle for the next encounter with the deadly machines. When she finds out that her son has disappeared she plans her escape.

Edward Furlong and Arnold Schwarzenegger in Terminator 2

I’ve been dodging this film for years knowing about its great reputation, but now I finally got around to watching it. What can I say? I loved it. Terminator 2 is as impressive to me as it would have been 10 years ago. What I like most about it are the writing and directing. Cameron managed to capture my mind from the very first scene. The characters’ decisions are understandable and even anticipated by the audience so we feel closer to them and their story. The action scenes are great too: thrilling and fast-paced but not confusing or unnecessarily violent. The special effects may be outdated, but were revolutionary at the time and still look decent enough. I’ve grown pretty tired of action movies by now, but that film left me wishing it was even longer than its already long 137 minutes.

The Last Stand (Jee-won Kim, 2013)

The international drug lord Gabriel Cortez (Eduardo Noriega) manages to escape the claws of the FBI in a spectacular rescue mission. He takes one of the agents hostage and heads towards Mexico in a modified super car (Corvette C6 ZR1). Cortez intents to cross the border near the little town Summerton (which is conveniently empty for the weekend), but his plan has one missing link: It is 1,88 meters tall and listens to the name of Ray (Arnold Schwarzenegger). Ray is the Sheriff of Summerton and he will do everything in his power to protect it.

Arnold Schwarzenegger and Johnny Knoxville in The Last Stand

I watched this film because of Schwarzenegger, whose distinctive accent makes the film funnier than it actually is. The rest of The Last Stand is solid, mindless action material. However I was quite delighted with the appearances of many actors I like (Johnny Knoxville, Peter Stormare, Harry Dean Stanton). The film gives you exactly what you expect and is executed quite well, using skilled actors and some cool action scenes.

TL;DR: Fine mindless action film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger and Johnny Knoxville.

Btw: Cliff Lin‘s music is featured in the trailer below!