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“ It took nearly two years, but The Matrix has finally been deposed. Judgment Day has arrived, and it really is the ultimate DVD! ”

T2: Ultimate Edition review

T2: Judgment Day UE DVD
...really is the Ultimate Edition

From: DVD Review Collector's Edition #2 Top 100 DVDs
Date: Uknown
By: AM

This is it, folks - this is the big one. If you ever had any doubts about DVD's potential, firstly, what the hell are you doing reading this magazine, and secondly, T2 proves once and for all that those shiny little discs really are the future of home entertainment. And aside from a few small ommissions, this Region 2 two-disc set contains everything found on the American version.

In cinema, nobody does things bigger than James Cameron - the only way you could get a more impressive light and shound show would be to sit directly under the engines of the space shuttle as it took off, or if Dubya Bush got a bit hammered one night and pushed the button, if he did, you'd probably start comparing the apocalypse unfavourably to T2's nuclear nightmare even as the flesh was seared from your bones. Spielberg and Lucas know their onions when it comes to spectable, wannabes like Michael Bay have tried to challenge, but when it comes to an all-out cinematic blitzkrieg, Cameron is still The Man.

And T2 is The Film. Ten years on, it's still one of the most exciting and eye-popping action movies ever made, and the morphing T-1000 is still unmatched as the most imaginative bad guy ever. But the blistering set-pieces are backed up with a very human story and whole it's not as effective as the love story of the first film, it still holds your interest while the T-1000 is off screen.

Contrary to what you may have read elsewhere, the R2 T2 is not identical to the R1 version. The one thing that will send Region 1 purists into a frenzy of griping and sneering is the lack of the American edition's seamless branching, which allowed viewers to choose between the original theatical cut, the extended Special Edition and the even longer Ultimate Edition. Here, on the other hand, it's the Special Edition or nothing. While this omission is a bit annoying, it's not really the end of the world. The few scenes that were added to the Ultimate Edition are included on the second disc. The other things that have been left out from the R2 edition are minor things like some of the trailers and Easter eggs. Unless you're a fanatical Terminator completist you won't miss them, and if you're a fanatical Terminator completist you'll already have the R1 disc anyway.

Thankfully, all the important extras are featured here, with both the massive 'Data Core' and 'Interrogation Surveillance Archives' featured in full. These two humungous sections go into amazing detail about the making of the film from start to finish, and if you add on the hour-plus long trio of documentaries, the audio commentary (Cameron doesn't contribute, sadly) and all the other extras like storyboards, you'll be in sillicon heaven for quite some time.

It's a toss-up as to wether T2 os The Phantom Menace represents the best in video and audio reproduction on DVD. In the end, we think the award for picture would go (just) in George Lucas's favour simply because The Phantom Menace is a newer film and therefor benefits from a slightly better image to work from. However, Cameron needn't fret too much as we'd give him the nod on the sonic side of things. Tipping the balance in T2's favour is the awesome DTS ES soundtrack, which announces its presence in the opening future war scenes with ear-splitting laser blasts and explosions that threaten to demolish your house along with the ruins on screen. Not that the Dolby EX alternative is any slouch either - if you've got an EX system, you can finally take advantage of it. T2 should be played loud, loud, loud! Find out when your neighbours are going on holiday so that you can turn your system up to the max without fear of the police knocking on your door demanding you shut things up. The only reason not to buy the Redion 2 edition of T2 is if you already own the Region 1 disc. That aside, you have absolutely no excuse. It's the new benchmark for UK DVDs, and is without a doubt the disc to use if you want to show off your system's talents to the fullest.

It took nearly two years, but The Matrix has finally been deposed. Judgment Day has arrived, and it really is the ultimate DVD!

Article inlays

Below are some inlays as found throughout the article.

What's new

The Special Edition of T2 is about 11 minutes longer than the original release; here are the most important of the extra scenes...

  • Orderlies
    A pair of hefty orderlies at the mental hospital 'insist' - with truncheons and tasers - that Sarah take her tranquillisors. The more obnoccious of the two is the one that Sarah beats the crap out of later, so he gets what he deserves.

  • Reese
    Michael Biehn returns for a cameo during a brief dream sequence as Kyle Reese, Sarah's lover from the first film and the father of John Connor.

  • Die Like A Dog
    After taking out John's foster parents, the T-1000 finished the job with John's pet dog, and discovers that he's been tricked by the Terminator - he gave himself away by not knowing the dog's real name.

  • Dyson's Prototype
    Miles Dyson, the scientist who was responisble for developing the Skynet computer that would start World War III, talks about the prototype neural network chip he is developing with his wife.

  • The Chip
    After escaping the hospital, the Terminator asks that Sarag reset a vital chip in his brain so that he can 'learn'. After removing it Sarah wants to destroy it, but John takes charge for the first time and prevents her.

  • Smile, Please
    A brief comic relief moment as John tries to teach the Terminator how to smile. His fist attempts, shall we say, rather less than convincing.

  • Malfunction
    A series of shots after the T-1000 recovers from being frozen, showing it losing control of its morphing abilities. This sets up a key moment when John realises the T-1000 is impersonating Sarah - it's feet have morphed into the floor.

Special Features

Those extra features that only DVD can provide...

Disc 1
  • Scene access
  • 'Mission Profiles' (cast and crew bios)
  • THX Optimode
  • Subtitles in English, Spanish, Portuguese and Dutch

Disc 2
  • Information Programs
    - 'The Making Of Terminator 2: Judgment Day' (30 mins)
    - 'T2: More Than Meets The Eye' visual effects documentary (22 mins)
    - 'The Making Of T2 3D: Breaking The Screen Barrier' theme park attraction documentary (23 mins)

  • Data Hub
    - 'Source Code' - complete shooting script
    - 'Data Core' - 50-chapter making-of section including text, stills and video
    - 'Tactival Diagrams' - storyboards
    - 'Interregation Surviellance Archives' - 60 behind the scenes featurettes including Ultimate Edtion deleted scenes, multiple angles, multiple soundtracks and audio commentaries

  • Visual Campaigns
    - Teaser Trailer
    - Two theatrical trailers
    - Special Edition trailer

Arnie Action-o-meter

The Austrian Oak has had ups and downs in his action carreer; the ups have readed to be in association with James Cameron, while the downs have been... well, pretty much anyhing in the last five years. He badly needs the upcoming Collaterral Damage to be a hit - or, failing that, hook up with Jimbo again!

  • The Terminator - $37 million
  • Predator - $59 million
  • Total Recall - $119 million
  • Terminator 2 - $204 million
  • Last Action Hero - $50 million
  • True Lies - $146 million
  • Eraser - $101 million
  • End Of Days - $66 million
  • The 6th Day - $34 million
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Page last modified: April 24, 2012 | 11:49:30