Teminator vs Terminator 2 - Alien vs Aliens

[Winston Wolf]

Terminator 2 over Terminator (close)

Alien over Aliens (not so close)

 

[DIABOLUS]

I watched T1/T2 today for the 100th time

T2 is just amazing .

Going to watch another James Cameron movie tonight, never actually watched this one at all, despite having it for years.

the abyss

I remember seeing that one as a kid and being traumatized by the scene where Ed Harris and Mary-Elizabeth Mastrantonio were trapped in the ship that was filling with water. Him giving her CPR and slapping her around while screaming at her. Scary stuff.

I also oddly felt bad for Michael Biehn's character when his underwater ship developed a crack in its glass bubble and he knew he was going to die horribly. I knew he was the bad guy and all, but I still felt bad for him for some reason.

 

[BisexualMMA]

I remember seeing that one as a kid and being traumatized by the scene where Ed Harris and Mary-Elizabeth Mastrantonio were trapped in the ship that was filling with water. Him giving her CPR and slapping her around while screaming at her. Scary stuff.

I also oddly felt bad for Michael Biehn's character when his underwater ship developed a crack in its glass bubble and he knew he was going to die horribly. I knew he was the bad guy and all, but I still felt bad for him for some reason.

It was a well-written and portrayed villain. He was nuts but he was doing what he thought was right. I also felt what he was feeling as his pod was sinking.

Perhaps the greatest proof of James Cameron's skill as a director is the performances he gets out of Michael Biehn compared to other directors.

 

[Prefect]

The sequels in my opinion have more things that would hook a 13 year old, kick ass space marines and awesome liquid metal special effects but I think people who are not as impressed by those things or have no nostalgic longings would say the originals were better.
This is sort of the same argument but which batman is better. If you don't place as much weight on the joker in DKR, Batman Begins starts look like the better directed movie with the better plot.

 

[Law Talkin’ Guy]

It may seem silly but one thing that always annoyed me about The Terminator is how Kyle is in a department store and gets a pair of Nike shoes, a new trench coat.... but steals pants from a homeless guy.

Doesn't he steal homeless dude's pants before going into the department store? Maybe he upgraded while in there and they just never showed it.

 

[BisexualMMA]

Doesn't he steal homeless dude's pants before going into the department store? Maybe he upgraded while in there and they just never showed it.

Would have made a great deleted scene, along with Reese and the Terminator flipping through all of the necessary phone book pages to get to "Connor," and Reese locating a hacksaw to cut off the shotgun barrel.

 

[The Diplomat]

Alien was more like a horror/slasher flick in the same vein as Terminator, both used different and unique monsters. Their sequels are similar in that both are more action orientated, guns guns and more guns. But top notch AAA quality action movies, best of the best IMO.

So yeah, Alien/Aliens and Terminator/Terminator 2 are both similar and amazing.

 

[The Diplomat]

It may seem silly but one thing that always annoyed me about The Terminator is how Kyle is in a department store and gets a pair of Nike shoes, a new trench coat.... but steals pants from a homeless guy.

I liked how he seemed ruthless and barbaric in the beginning, as that's probably closer to how his world really is.

 

[I Am Legion]

Terminator is the superior film. Original, relentless. T2 was great but more kid friendly. Hell Ahnold was good and the kid had more lines than anyone.

Alien is an all time great slow burn horror sci fi Classic.
But Aliens is the greatest sci fi action movie ever made.

 

[benebox]

Terminator 2 is my favourite of the four and Alien probably my least favourite. The other 2 are on par with each other.

 

[simps3d]

Two of the best SciFi movies and two of the best sequels of all time.

The idea of taking the Alien sequel and switching the genre from horror to action was genius and we're lucky the studio allowed Cameron to do that. I don't think they'd ever go for that today especially at how they handled part 3. Cameron was a master filmmaker, not only did he give us T1 and T2 and Aliens but The Abyss as well, which is severely underrated. I really wish he would give us something great like these again instead of 4 more blue smurf movies.

 

[BisexualMMA]

Two of the best SciFi movies and two of the best sequels of all time.

The idea of taking the Alien sequel and switching the genre from horror to action was genius and we're lucky the studio allowed Cameron to do that. I don't think they'd ever go for that today especially at how they handled part 3. Cameron was a master filmmaker, not only did he give us T1 and T2 and Aliens but The Abyss as well, which is severely underrated. I really wish he would give us something great like these again instead of 4 more blue smurf movies.

James Cameron should make the first sequel to all great movies.

He took Alien and made a magnificent action sequel. And he took the character drama of First Blood and pretty much did the same thing as he did in Aliens and (as co-writer) put the first film on steroids.

He should be making Blade Runner 2, and should have made Tron 2.

 

[TrueBias]

These two movies and their sequels are vastly different from each other...what do you feel about that? which one do you prefer? Do you still like both.


Terminator had awesome synth music that they didnt really use in the 2nd movie and had a more horror grimy feel to it that i wish we could have seen more of. David Cameron made a wholly different movie with T2 but,hell its still a great fucking movie in its own right,but its just not as gritty of course,and we have a wise cracking kid,which seems like a requirement for every big budget film...

Alien was a slow paced movie where not alot happened...but when you first watched it,you had no conception of what the monster actually was,and you rarely saw it. You didnt even really know what it did to people. It just snatched them and dissapeared. They didnt really have any weapons to deal with it,but in Aliens,the monsters are everywhere and are more or less easily dispatched by automatic weapons...but the fear is still palpable.The people in the movie react more or less realistically to the situation,which is missing in most movies today...David Cameron also handled Aliens and he did a similar job in transferring it into an action movie,and not trying to outdo or mimic the original at what it does...

This kind of shit puts me at war with myself, but I can still battle.

I saw Terminator on VHS cuz I wasnt old enough to see in theaters. I was never scared of horrors, but this was a horror.
Terminator 2 I actually cant remember if I saw it in theaters, but this was one that I loved.

Aliens is what I saw first in my age. I found it highly entertaining and didnt find it scary.
Shortly after, I saw Alien, probably because my parents figured I wasnt much of a pussy. Anyway, this was a true horror and it did scare me a tad.

REVISITING THEM

T2 has a 90s feel to it that I dont like much. I want to blame the lighting, but the music is at fault too. We go full sci-fi/action. Plus, Arnold isnt scary anymore. Still, its the epitome of a blockbuster.
Terminator is more in touch with the humanity side and how vulnerable Connor, Reese, and every human in the scope of this robot. Its sci-fi/horror with a dash of action. Its a perfect blend and though its got that 80s feel, its antique at this point, and adds to its charm.

Terminator wins.

Aliens and Alien are a much harder comparison. Personally, I watch them both about the same amount of times. Aliens always will have the higher replay score because as a teenager into early 20s, I watched the fuck out of this. Alien, is perfect horror. At its anatomy, its your sci-fi/horror, both at their maximum level, even though its a slasher. However, its age ADDS to its genre blend. The sound, set, costumes, hair style, it all looks foreign to me, making it unknown. Unknown addresses the science buzz and unknown reeks horror because "man fears what he doesnt understand."
Aliens is your perfect plug n play movie. Its sci-fi/action/horror and it divides them perfectly, whereas T2 forgot about horror.

Its a fucking shame both series had lousy follow ups, but with all the receipt retro shit happening and selling, perhaps that new Alien director has what it takes to scratch us where we itch. Imagine, just making a sequel to the last great entry in a series, ignoring the others...? What a functional concept.

 

[BisexualMMA]

This kind of shit puts me at war with myself, but I can still battle.

I saw Terminator on VHS cuz I wasnt old enough to see in theaters. I was never scared of horrors, but this was a horror.
Terminator 2 I actually cant remember if I saw it in theaters, but this was one that I loved.

Aliens is what I saw first in my age. I found it highly entertaining and didnt find it scary.
Shortly after, I saw Alien, probably because my parents figured I wasnt much of a pussy. Anyway, this was a true horror and it did scare me a tad.

REVISITING THEM

T2 has a 90s feel to it that I dont like much. I want to blame the lighting, but the music is at fault too. We go full sci-fi/action. Plus, Arnold isnt scary anymore. Still, its the epitome of a blockbuster.
Terminator is more in touch with the humanity side and how vulnerable Connor, Reese, and every human in the scope of this robot. Its sci-fi/horror with a dash of action. Its a perfect blend and though its got that 80s feel, its antique at this point, and adds to its charm.

Terminator wins.

Aliens and Alien are a much harder comparison. Personally, I watch them both about the same amount of times. Aliens always will have the higher replay score because as a teenager into early 20s, I watched the fuck out of this. Alien, is perfect horror. At its anatomy, its your sci-fi/horror, both at their maximum level, even though its a slasher. However, its age ADDS to its genre blend. The sound, set, costumes, hair style, it all looks foreign to me, making it unknown. Unknown addresses the science buzz and unknown reeks horror because "man fears what he doesnt understand."
Aliens is your perfect plug n play movie. Its sci-fi/action/horror and it divides them perfectly, whereas T2 forgot about horror.

Its a fucking shame both series had lousy follow ups, but with all the receipt retro shit happening and selling, perhaps that new Alien director has what it takes to scratch us where we itch. Imagine, just making a sequel to the last great entry in a series, ignoring the others...? What a functional concept.

Sounds like you might be glad to hear that they're making a sequel to Aliens that ignores Alien 3, 4, etc.

Neil Blomkamp is writing and directing it. The good news is that he wrote and directed District 9. The bad news is that he wrote and directed Chappie.

 

[TrueBias]

Sounds like you might be glad to hear that they're making a sequel to Aliens that ignores Alien 3, 4, etc.

Neil Blomkamp is writing and directing it. The good news is that he wrote and directed District 9. The bad news is that he wrote and directed Chappie.

I was one of the few that didnt love District 9, but I can see his love for detail. If he loves the Alien/Aliens movies, then he honestly has my confidence in restoring that universe.

 

[BisexualMMA]

I was one of the few that didnt love District 9, but I can see his love for detail. If he loves the Alien/Aliens movies, then he honestly has my confidence in restoring that universe.

After seeing Chappie, I could tell that he loved Robocop, but that didn't prevent him from making a horrible, terrible version of Robocop in Chappie.

I want to be optimistic, but all I can do is be hopeful.

 

[DIABOLUS]

T2 forgot about horror

You made a lot of great points in your post, but this jumped out at me. While T2 definitely is more of an action movie I wouldn't go so far as to say it forgot about horror. There were definitely some scenes in it that I found unnerving, especially as a kid.

...

T1000 killing John Connor's stepfather by stabbing him through the mouth (and a milk carton)

T1000 stabbing the police officer in the mental institution through the eye, causing him to spill his coffee.

T1000 chasing Arnold and company through the institution's halls...then passing right through a closed gate like it was nothing.

The elevator scene with T1000 stabbing down through the roof.

The foundry scene where T1000 assumes Sarah Connor's appearance and tries to lure John to her/it.

The death scene with T1000 assuming the appearance of its past victims.

...

It's definitely no horror masterpiece like the original, but T2 definitely had its scary moments.

 

[TrueBias]

You made a lot of great points in your post, but this jumped out at me. While T2 definitely is more of an action movie I wouldn't go so far as to say it forgot about horror. There were definitely some scenes in it that I found unnerving, especially as a kid.

...

T1000 killing John Connor's stepfather by stabbing him through the mouth (and a milk carton)

T1000 stabbing the police officer in the mental institution through the eye, causing him to spill his coffee.

T1000 chasing Arnold and company through the institution's halls...then passing right through a closed gate like it was nothing.

The elevator scene with T1000 stabbing down through the roof.

The foundry scene where T1000 assumes Sarah Connor's appearance and tries to lure John to her/it.

The death scene with T1000 assuming the appearance of its past victims.

...

It's definitely no horror masterpiece like the original, but T2 definitely had its scary moments.

hah, perhaps I was desensitized by then. I was 11 and the only part that struck out in memory when I made my post was the walking through the close gate scene.

Only reason why I didnt find much of the killings the T1000 did was because of the presentation. The stepfather had a milk carton, making it look almost slapstick, the police officer death was also slapstick (I also remembered those 2 were actual twins that did comedy gags), the elevator was mostly action because of the music, the replication of sarah I guessed as a child.

I dont mean to challenge what you found scary. In Terminator, Arnold is just shooting shit up in the police station, but when his skin started to come off, it was revealing a much more sinister, yet TRUE look underneath. The T1000 wasnt scary looking. Shit, half the time he got shot, I was either wowed by the effects, or laughing because he was laffy taffy. If I am laughing, I am not scared.

 

[TrueBias]

After seeing Chappie, I could tell that he loved Robocop, but that didn't prevent him from making a horrible, terrible version of Robocop in Chappie.

I want to be optimistic, but all I can do is be hopeful.

I avoided Chappie because I thought it was Short Circuit 3...?

 

[Pugilistic]

I know people are big on Aliens, but I much prefer the first Alien for its slow pacing, build-up, and atmosphere. The sense of dread looming incessantly over the film is fucking perfect. Although the Queen idea makes more sense, I liked the original idea of the Alien transforming people. It’s much creepier I think. I remember seeing the chest buster scene when I was 7 and freaking out and never going near seeing the movie again. I finally saw it when I was 23 and I loved it and followed up by watching all the other movies in the franchise. I like Aliens, but Alien is one of my favorite movies of all time.