T2: Judgment Day: The Skynet Edition– This Week’s Deviant Knowledge DVD Pick.
Still stinging from the slap in the face that is Terminator Salvation? Here’s something bound to make you feel a little better. T2: Judgment Day the Skynet Edition on Bluray has also been out for a couple of weeks now and it’s a beautiful way to really make yourself feel even worse about T4. If you haven’t tossed a dozen or so bucks at McG yet to see his blurred vision of the War Against the Machines, I can promise after watching T2 again that there is not one solitary shot in Salvation that holds a candle to the opening sequences of T2’s vision of Los Angeles 2029 A.D. and the scarred John Conner watching decimated human infantry getting fried mercilessly in the 1991 vision of that cool yet depressing future.
Watching T2 in Hi-Def is one of the best Bluray experiences I’ve had since getting the player. And as someone who still thinks digital watches are pretty neat idea and still wondering how I waited so long to get an Ipod I was utterly impressed when the opening menu of T2: The Skynet Edition commandeered my internet connected Bluray player and informed me that Skynet had located me as a target and showed me on a map of the U.S. where I happened to be watching the movie down to my latitude and longitude or the latitude and longitude of the closest main fiber node that was the generating point of my IP address. It missed my zip code by about a mile and a half.
It will take me a about 6 months to pound through all the commentary tracks and features, so a “full” review is not forthcoming, but suffice to say that I shed more tears than Linda Hamilton and Ed Furlong as I watched the film that in virtually every scene. Not because of the tenderness of the film, but because it reminds me of everything that was missing from Salvation: heart, story, characters you care about, emotional connectivity, and nary one moment that was even half as cool as half a dozen moments in T2.
While you may argue the sanity of the world we live in when you realize you’re watching the current governor of California blow the shit out of a just about everything (but not everyone…he swears he will not kill anyone), it’s still more believable than his election in the first place.
For anyone that really liked Terminator Salvation, I would be willing to put it to the test that if you backed up to 1991’s vision that it would instantly remind you that it’s still light years ahead of most any action or sci-fi flick made since.
Note that this release also carries that extended edition of the film that adds about 16 minutes of footage as well the cut with alternate ending. Most notably, the extended edition of the film adds in the one scene that made the entire second half of the original film make sense with the Conner family “opening” Arnold’s head and adjusting the Terminator’s CPU to allow him to begin “learning.” This is the scene that pretty much makes all of Furlong’s scenes with Arnold afterward much more pertinent.
The Skynet Edition can be had for $19.99 at certain economy destroying monster discount chains or a fair priced $29.99 MSRP anywhere else.
Purchase it today or the Terminators win. For those incredibly pissed after purchasing the edition with the alternate ending requires the Skynet “access” code, it’s 82997. I love all the features the Bluray discs have, but when I pay the bucks, don’t make me hunt the internet for a code to unlock the advertised features, damnit!
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Tags: DVD Picks
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2 Responses to “T2: Judgment Day: The Skynet Edition– This Week’s Deviant Knowledge DVD Pick.”
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June 1st, 2009 at 8:21 am
So how does it compare with the original Blu-ray version of the film? Any need to buy it again?
June 1st, 2009 at 6:24 pm
Hard to say. This is THE first time I’ve owned the film since the original DVD release in the 90s. The picture is gorgeous, but I don’t have the first Bluray release to compare it to. I would be very hesitant to recommend a repurchase, but it’s a no brainer if you don’t have the original Bluray. The only additional scene that is meaningful is the CPU scene I mentioned above. The original ending and the other added scenes are just padding and the alternate ending is terrible, and I assume all that is on the original Bluray release anyway.
There is bonus content if you have storage and internet connection but I haven’t plugged a jump drive in to see what that’s all about. I imagine you wouldn’t need the jump drive if you have a PS3. All around I would say that the picture quality is easily equal to or better than any other Bluray I own.