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TagJohn Connor (Terminator series)

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Glowing WiFi signals in digital landscape

Terminator 2 Review, Part 4: Anti-Male Spiel Detracts From Show

The line that hung me up was the phrase, “I can take care of myself.” That’s a very odd thing for a mother to say to her child

Last Saturday, young John Connor met the original Terminator and realized it was here to protect him. He then rescued his mother Sarah from a mental institution. I have mixed emotions about the scene that follows. After she is saved from her predicament, Sarah, rather than being grateful, shows anger at John for putting himself at risk. She even tells him that she didn’t need his help. Why is Sarah angry? This scene both does and doesn’t make sense. On the one hand, Sarah wouldn’t want him putting himself at risk for her because he is the future hope for humanity. But on the other hand, she seems more angry about the fact that he saved her than about the Read More ›

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scary corridor of an old mental hospital

Terminator 2, Part 3: John Meets the Robots

At this point, John is on his own because his mother has been placed in a mental institution
The film shows John teaching the Terminator to become more human via the tactic of mimicry, which works as long as it doesn't go too far. Read More ›
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A dumpster is sitting on the sidewalk in front of a building

Terminator 2: The Terminator Becomes the Protector

The transition is uneven and there are hints that James Cameron was subtly mocking his 1984 film
Some plot development choices may have been driven by a sense of the need to tone down the violence a bit. Read More ›
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military robot and skulls of people. Dramatic apocalypse super realistic concept. Rise of the Machines. Dark future. 3d rendering.

Terminator 2: A Good Movie That Hates Itself

Why do the screenwriters appear to want to avoid creating fear of the mechanical monster?
The film seems to want to parody its predecessor while also appealing to kids. That’s why John Connor is an inventive young teenager during the story. Read More ›
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The Terminator: In a Crushing Development, He Is Terminated

The movie makes time paradoxes work well enough by keeping things ambiguous

Last Saturday, we saw that Sarah and Kyle were spending the night under a bridge. They’d lost the Terminator for a while, but it’s only a matter of time before he finds them again. They make their way to a hotel and grab a room with a kitchen. Kyle then leaves to buy some supplies. Sarah calls her mother, who is worried, of course, so Sarah gives her the number of the hotel. However, the Terminator has broken into her mother’s home and is impersonating her over the phone. He uses the number to locate the hotel. How did the Terminator find Sarah’s mom? He’d picked up an address book while at Sarah’s apartment. Now, one would think that the Read More ›

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Dark alley with a single street light at night

The Terminator: Sarah’s Son Will Save the World

A couple of moments in the film reveal waitress Sarah as the decisive military leader she will later become
The hero’s journey is, at its core, an underdog story. This fact makes female action stars ideal, provided the transition to hero is realistic. Read More ›