Terminator 2: 3D (1999)

Rating: ****
Review Date: 7/8/01
Director: James Cameron
Special Effects: Digital Domain
Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong, Robert Patrick

Okay, so it's not really a movie. It's a 3D film attraction at a theme park and it's less than twenty minutes long, but it's important because it's an extension of the Terminator universe and because James Cameron directed it. It's also noteworthy because it contains all of the stuff that "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" (1991) needed so badly: battle scenes in the future, and a close-up look at Skynet. The premise is exceedingly simple - Sarah (Linda Hamilton) and John Conner (Edward Furlong) get attacked by a T-1000 terminator (Robert Patrick) while trying to sabotage a Cyberdine facility. Once again, Arnold Schwarzenegger shows up to rescue them and whisks John off to the future. Once there, a spectacular chase occurs as Arnold takes John to the heart of Skynet. Inside the Skynet facility, they battle the dreaded T-1000000 (in glorious 3D) and destroy Skynet's CPU, while John barely escapes back to the past with his life. An excellent production that was at the time the most expensive film per frame ever made. The 3D effects are superb and maintain suspension of disbelief by rarely breaking outside of the frame and disrupting perception (a common problem with 3D effects). The rest of the sets and effects are spectacular as well, with a huge landscape of destruction available for Arnold and John to negotiate. The only disappointments in the film are some really awful dialog and one really poor special effect, but these are easily overlooked in light of the incredible experience of the film. Definitely worth checking out if you're a Terminator fan.