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13 Review »

1. 

   Review by Captain Khajiit

   **Warning!**

   **This review contains spoilers!**

   As a serious, no-nonsense edition of the film, this is virtually perfect. One of the intentions was to “create a new experience” and the faneditor certainly succeeds here. A series of subtle purposeful cuts gives the movie a much darker, grimmer feel, akin to that of the original. The scenes with Sarah in the mental hospital are now free of the inconsistencies of the original, and the reworked scene when the visitors peer through Sarah’s cell door has an impressive, almost sinister feel to it. I found it heightened tension and made us empathise with the character.

   The rebuilt “bad to the bones” scene was superbly done, and shows exceptional technical skill, although the new voice for the bartender didn’t sound quite gruff enough and didn’t entirely convince me. While this redone scene does give a more menacing aura to the T-101, I still feel the viewer is still left in no doubt that something has changed about him and that the T-1000 is now in the bad guy role. For instance, unlike in the first film, he doesn’t actually kill at the start: he just defends himself, albeit with great force; whereas the T-1000’s first act of impaling a police officer leaves us in little doubt as to what he’s about. The two are obviously competing rather than cooperating to find John (given the T-1000’s contemptuous look and dismissive line at the house when told of the “big guy”: I wouldn’t worry about him!), so I still don’t think Arnie new role is much of a surprise, as it’s the only one he really could have. This is ultimtely down to the fact that the original material was inherently structured and presented in a certain way, not the faneditor. Those who want a more hardcore movie will nevertheless find the new “bad to the bones” scene and the numerous other edits to be definite improvements.

   The weaving forth between theatrical and special edition versions is deftly handled, and the faneditor has a good eye for spotting where the added special addition material can enhance the theatrical cut and where it can be safely discarded. The removal of the majority of the cheese definitely helps the pace of the film, and the faneditor consistently implements his vision for the edit through to the very end, although – in my opinion – John teaching the terminator to smile could have gone, the give-me-five routine could have been shortened and I wouldn’t miss the following voiceover either. Nonetheless, this version was meant as a light edit, and as such it will no doubt be seen as a best of both worlds by many fans.

   Editing: 10 out of 10 for the editing itself
   Entertainment: 8 out of 10 (original theatrical cut 8 out of 10; original special edition 7 out of 10)

   Image and video quality: The video quality was excellent all round. 10 out of 10
   Audio editing and audio quality: I noticed no hard cuts, and the places where the soundtrack has been rebuilt were seamlessly integrated and completely suit the feel of the film. 10 out of 10
   Presentation: If you are a stickler for presentation, this won’t disappoint you. The animated menus could grace an official release, and the extras are implemented in an utterly professional way. I far preferred these menus to those of my Skynet Edition blu ray. 10 out of 10

   Overall: 9 out of 10

   A hugely accomplished and immensely enjoyable edit! While nothing has yet surpassed the theatrical cut for me, simply because of its pace, my special edition DVD can consider itself terminated.

   Review by Captain Khajiit — August 14, 2009 @ 8:08 pm

2. 

   T2HOF cut reactions
   I’ll preface all of this by saying I’m a HUGE Terminator fan and I really don’t know that I think Terminator 2 needs any FanEditing besides the edit that puts the theatrical ending at the end of the special edition. I have a lot of faith in James Cameron as a filmmaker and storyteller (except Titanic and I’m not yet sold on Avatar.) But with Terminator I think he was pretty much spot on for every frame with a few notable exceptions. With that said, here are my thoughts on this FanEdit.

   (after reading Captain Khajiit’s reactions I must say he is much more glowing than I will be.)

   –Bad to the Bone scene: This worked a lot better than I thought it would. My only gripe is the choice of music cue. Culling music from “The Terminator” was certainly a good instinct, but the problem is that even though both scores are by Brad Fiedel they are stylistically and audio quality-wise hugely different. And it seems obvious to me that the way the sequence is shot and edited is for “Bad to the Bone” and the editing here still reflects that. I understand the instinct to change this scene, though—I’d wobble back and forth every time I watched the movie on whether I loved it/hated it. I think it was less about The Terminator and more about winking at the audience because this movie was pretty much Arnold’s epitome as an action star.

   –Sarah Connor’s new introduction. Hated this cut. Before, the scene successfully introduces the audience to a vastly different, much more pathological Sarah Connor than we saw in 1984. I also disagree with cutting “How’s the knee?” I understand the thought that it contradicts her “good behavior” mentioned later in the film, but consider this: she can see that she’s on display to these med students as Silberman’s circus freak star attraction. Silberman made his career off of her and she knows it. So by mentioning the “knee incident,” even if it was over 6 months ago, she’s getting slight but successful payback by creating an awkward situation for him which actor Earl Boen successfully communicates in the original. From a technical standpoint, the scene feels incomplete, there are shots of Sarah that go on for too long, and it’s obvious there are things missing because we learn nothing about Sarah’s character, really—just her situation. Also, disagree with cutting the guards beating Sarah afterward, but I’ll explain that mostly with my reaction to the guard licking scene.

   –Kyle as the silent messenger. This scene in the Special Edition is one that I actually DIDN’T like and I understand why it was cut in the theatrical edition. It feels tacked on and like an unnecessary link to the original that will only confuse those who haven’t seen it. I love me some Kyle Reese, but he doesn’t need to be in T2 as anything more than a mention. That said, I do appreciate the intention of editing this scene. I like the intention of the newly edited sequence quite a bit, actually—it makes the repeated dream more abstract and frightening. However, I still think the scene should probably be cut in its entirety. BUT, I appreciate the intention!

   –Silberman’s “Model citizen.” I can go either way on this, but I DO think it’s a nice line that gives us some valid insight into Silberman’s character. This line tells us that Silberman is always aware that he will have an audience watching with the Sarah Connor case. It hearkens back to the “retroactive abortion” line from T1 and Vukovich’s reaction to it. It’s clever, funny, and pretentiously stated, much like “Model Citizen.” It is Silberman in a nutshell. From a technical perspective, the scene ends prematurely without that line. It doesn’t feel like we’re leaving the scene quite yet, but then we have a hard cut.

   –Recutting of the canal chase. The only cut I really noticed was the fact that Arnold’s motorcycle jump was cut. My question is: why? You fixed the continuity error with the windshield quite nicely but now partially created another in that we don’t know how Arnold gets into the lower part of the canal now. At first I thought maybe it was to cut out obvious stunt doubles, but when “Arnold” pulls around the truck it’s still obviously a stunt double, so that’s not it. So… why? I guess it’s fine to have cut it, but it seems unnecessary and it’s a cool bit.

   –The dog collar scene. I’m fine with this cut. It’s nice to get to see the T-1000 figure out without doubt that it’s been owned by the T-800, but then again the sudden hang up is sort of enough to figure that out. Definitely like keeping the creepy fingers in the room, though. It’s not really necessary, but it lets us know without doubt that this terminator is slicker and sleeker than the T-800 and is operating on a whole new level. I don’t see the harm in leaving the collar scene in, but I can get behind this I guess.

   –Guard licking cut. My problem with cutting out the indefensible behavior of the guards abusing Sarah Connor is this: when she escapes, she beats his face in with the broom handle. If she is merely focused on escaping, all she needs to do is silence and disable. Now, her vicious beating of him and breaking his face—particularly now that he has done nothing wrong—is overkill and makes Sarah Connor a much less sympathetic character. It’s much the same argument without the “model citizen” line. Without Silberman’s clever quip, when Sarah breaks his arm it once again seems like maybe, just maaaaybe, he doesn’t quite deserve it as much and again Sarah becomes unsympathetic.

   –“He’s my friend” cut. I thought I would hate this cut, but I don’t. I actually think it works quite well. The only problem it creates is that we lose a little bit of John’s character in that by saying this Terminator is his friend it gives us some insight into his psyche and lets us know that, while he IS John Connor, great military leader, he is also still a young boy who craves attention and affection. He is still human, and not just a strategy calculator. It also detracts slightly from setting up Arnold as an odd father figure to John for Sarah’s V.O. later.

   –Cutting jive talking in the car. If you’re going to cut “Hasta la vista,” then this makes sense. But, the car jive talk endears the T-800 to us as a character and again lets us know that John is still a boy and wants his friend to be a little less lame. Agreed that the original scene is a little too cheesy, though. In my mind, however, the cheese doesn’t overpower the insights into character, so the scene would stay. Agree to disagree!

   –“Trust me” cut. Yeah, this basically works. Still, it seems odd that John or Sarah don’t speak up at all. The phrasing “take care” of the police seems ambiguous that I would have said something in the same situation. The delivery is a little corny and wreaks of “Trailer shot! Trailer shot! Won’t this be cool in the TRAILER?!” (which, coincidentally, it was). It’s a minor quibble, though—this basically works. I just don’t know that it was necessary, really. It seems to create a minor problem that isn’t really worth it just to remove some “cheese.”

   –“Hasta la vista, baby” cut. If you cut the jive talk, this line has to go, too. However I would’ve condensed the duration. You’ve got this big buildup to the bullet being fired, but the re-framing is odd and noticeable and there’s clearly some lacking audio. Maybe some additional foley would have made this work better? I don’t know, but it’s a bit odd the way it is here. It’s also a key moment that lets us know that the T-800 is now something more than a Terminator. He’s developing a style—he’s LEARNING.

   –“I need a vacation.” Agree COMPLETELY. I don’t know what anyone was THINKING putting this line in there. Just stupid. I actually kind of like that now it plays out like the T-800 is in a bit of program daze. Good job on that one!

   –Thumbs up cut. Hated this cut. This is the T-800’s arc coming full circle. We see John teaching this to the Terminator out in the desert when Sarah is giving her V.O. The shot itself is a little corny, but this is the most human moment the Terminator has. His final statement to John Connor that is more meaningful than anything that has come before. It’s motivated—it’s not just tossed in there for some sort of insipid inspirational message. From a technical standpoint this is also one of the most noticeable cuts made to the original film. It’s a pretty hard cut.

   –KUDOS to using the Theatrical ending. The SE ending was lame to the max and I’m glad they didn’t use it in theatres. Would’ve totally ruined everything that came before.

   I’m not a big fan of giving FanEdits numerical ratings, but I guess I must–see below. I didn’t care for this edition of T2, but I’m a self-admitted Cameron Terminator purist. T3 and beyond edit any which way you like and it’s fine by me :-p.

   Editing: 7 out of 10
   Video (for AVI version): 7 out of 10–the picture is very soft in the AVI version and often blurry. A more crisp re-encoding of the DVD needs to be done.
   Audio editing: 8 out of 10. The re-worked “bad to the bone” was impressive in its totality. However, the mix is off for most of the film. Music is too soft and the bass is often lacking–at least in the AVI version audio.

   Entertainment: 6 out of 10. Had it not robbed or unsuccessfully re-worked some of the character and character motivations this would be higher. I feel this edit really and truly robs the characters of a lot of needed moments.

   Always glad to see another edit submitted to the forum, though! I’m sure others will think it’s a big improvement!

   Review by kemposato — August 14, 2009 @ 10:07 pm

3. 

   Well, I knew it was coming, and I figured fast. This film is a bit of a sacred cow, and I totally understand that. What I don’t understand, is that if going into it you don’t think anything at all should be changed to the film and you hate the cut ideas, why watch it? People, do yourself a favor, if you are like kemposato here, and think the movie is untouchable, don’t watch this fanedit!

   I’m not going to comment on all the things you’ve posted, just agree to disagree with you on the majority of your points. My intentions for this edit, and reasoning for cutting is well explained in the synopsis and cut list above, and if you watch the featurette on the DVD, you get even more of an idea why I did the things I did. I stand by all the cuts I made, and feel that they have made improvements for my viewing experience.

   While I love T2, I think the theatrical cut is as close to perfect as its officially going to get. The extended special edition has terrible pacing. To each their own though. Thanks for taking the time to review.

   Review by ThrowgnCpr — August 15, 2009 @ 2:18 am

4. 

   Well, ThrowgnCpr, I must own up to one point: I will never be accused of “subtlety” in an argument about film. I do hope my arguments don’t come off as sounding offended or angry with this edit–nothing could be further from the truth, chum! Purely sporting remarks! FanEditing is one of the best things ever, and it takes some SERIOUS balls to even attempt to edit a “sacred cow” like this since inevitably there will be people that disagree with the choices made. I do feel bad, though–I did a FanEdit of the 1st Blade that was, in my mind, a big improvement. Most people seemed to prefer the original and I didn’t feel very good about myself after a few people dissected it. But I suspect your T2 edit will fare much better than my Blade did!

   Review by kemposato — August 15, 2009 @ 3:17 am

5. 

   Ok, here is my review of T2 HANDS OF FATE.
   Now as a way of setting this up I must mention that I know of ThrowgnCpr, he’s a talented graphic artist, a sort of visual effects guru and very good with the birds.
   You should also know that I don’t hold any hatred or animosity towards him.
   Sometimes I have been accused of being unduly harsh and insensitive.
   But that is not my intention, I just call it like I see it.
   And in this medium, its pretty hard to hide, a bad edit is a bad edit and a good edit is a good edit.
   it’s there, you can see it.
   So ThrowgnCpr, if you are ready for this read on…

   T2 HANDS OF FATE.
   This one came out of nowhere for me. ThrowgnCpr reminded me of posting about it but I plum forgot.
   But it was instantly exciting. Although I haven’t seen it, ThrowgnCpr’s work on BATMAN CONSECUTION is highly talked about and he’s the go-to guy when it comes to visual effects questions.
   It had been a while since I last checked out one of ThrowgnCpr’s efforts.X-Files – Exordium being the last one.
   I skipped BECAUSE YOU WERE HOME because i don’t watch horror films.
   So, I wondered to myself, has ThrowgnCpr seasoned as a faneditor and has he brought his keen eye and artistic aesthetics to make T2: HANDS OF FATE a truly superb alternate T2 experience?
   The answer is no. A resounding no.

   LOVE CONQUERS ALL
   Watching this fanedit was not unlike watching one the earliest fanedit ever.
   It was made in 1985 and it’s called LOVE CONQUERS ALL: THE SHEINBERG VERSION of what we know as Terry Gilliam’s BRAZIL.
   Don’t know of the battle or heard of the cut? here are the stats:
   In the red corner we had Terry Gilliam, a relatively inexperienced filmmaker fresh off the success of TIME BANDITS.
   In the blue corner there was Sid Sheinberg, president of MCA-Universal and a man who had dealings with some of the most influential and powerful people in Hollywood.
   And at the centre of it all was the film BRAZIL. A bleak story about the future in which a man can only escape the inhumanity around him by escaping into a fantasy world, the film came complete with an ‘unhappy’ ending. Well, if Gilliam had his way at least.
   But Sheinberg had other ideas. He wanted to shorten the film, get rid of the bummer ending and emphasize the love story.
   Gilliam wouldn’t re-cut.
   Sheinberg wouldn’t release Gilliam’s version.
   So as head of the studio, Sheinberg got an editor and made his version of BRAZIL: LOVE CONQUERS ALL.

   Much as how you can’t help staring at a car wreck, there’s a sick fascination with how Sheinberg was able to change BRAZIL from one of the greatest films of all time to a bland, unmemorable love story without any apparent sense of humor.
   Which brings us back to T2 HANDS OF FATE.
   Now I’m sure ThrowgnCpr had the best of intentions as I’m sure Sid Sheinberg thought he was doing good.
   But ultimately, it’s what’s on the TV that counts.
   And what I saw in this fanedit is that ThrowgnCpr had forgotten someone very important: the Audience.

   THE CONS
   The world of fanediting is vast. In it you are encouraged to do versions of films as you see fit.
   You are in control, cut it like you want, bro!.
   The complications arise when you want to share this with the world.
   Because pleasing yourself and pleasing an audience requires 2 different mindsets.
   James Cameron, Gale Anne Hurd, William Wisher are no dummies.
   They didn’t accidentally let comedy slip into their film.
   They know the comedy is there for a reason.
   For a true roller-coaster ride audiences need variety.
   Pull and push, up and down, laugh and cry, rise and fall and yes, in and out.

   Nothing illustrates this better than:
   The “Bad to the Bone” scene.
   ThrowgnCpr’s main reason for this fanedit. He writes “We are supposed to fear the Terminator because of our previous experience with him. Though with this scene, suddenly he is cool!! and this totally spoils the surprise and shock of his new role.”
   Unfortunately that is the point of the scene. Changing the tone of the scene by expertly removing the rock track and even hiring an actor to ADR the scene does not change the fact that it is meant to be funny.
   It adds nothing new to the T-800 as a bad-ass since he’s just wiped out a club full of bikers.
   Grabbing the shades from the bartender adds nothing in comparison and in ThrowgnCpr’s version, brings the film to a grinding halt.

   Much better would have been to cut from
   - Biker on the ground tossing the keys “Take it!”
   - Terminator snatches the keys off the air.
   - The cop car in another part of town as the T1000 arrives.

   THE TECH
   There are other editing choices that I disagree with but that have already been covered in other posts.
   But it is mainly technically were this fanedit suffers the most.
   The DVD-9 video I downloaded was pretty much un-watchable.
   This takes me back to the days of vhs copies of vhs copies.

   As an experiment go to any portion of this fanedit. Say like the truck chase. Now step through it frame by frame.
   Every frame should be crisp and clear. Like a photo.
   Instead what I see is stuff like this from the Bar fight.

   http://img39.imageshack.us/img39/9114/trouble.jpg

   I have my suspicions as to what went wrong but these technical explanations are beyond the scope of this review.

   Also not helping is the dvd source for this fanedit.
   Check out the black edges on the right of the frame. Also you can see the ghosting on the left and right created by EE.

   http://img193.imageshack.us/img193/6872/98853534.jpg

   Much better source would have been using the EXTREME DVD were the image goes right to end of the frame and there is no EE.

   http://img29.imageshack.us/img29/521/74902022.jpg

   THE PROS
   Is there any good in this fanedit? Yes. ThrowgnCpr has a real passion for the subject and a flair for entertainment.
   These are evident on the DVD design and the supplements.
   I imagine many late nights putting this show together.
   I find that kind of dedication admirable. I always want people like this to succeed with their projects,
   for the results of their up-late-at-night-after-work machinations to become interesting, wonderful fanedits.
   It’s too bad this one falls way short of the mark.

   On my Street-wise rating system I give this fanedit
   A RED LIGHT:

   http://img80.imageshack.us/img80/8283/trafficlightsstop104037af3.jpg
   DON’T CROSS.

   If you’re interested in BRAZIL: LOVE CONQUERS ALL. THE SHEINBERG VERSION check out
   http://www.amazon.com/Brazil-Criterion-Collection-3-Disc-Boxed/dp/B000G8NXZK/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=dvd&qid=1250558036&sr=1-3

   Review by killbillme — August 18, 2009 @ 4:38 am

6. 

   Let me preface this review by stating that I am huge Arnold Schwarzenegger, James Cameron and Terminator fan. I have seen T2 dozens of times and have owned about 6 releases of the film over the years (currently 3 – ultimate edition dvd/xtreme edition dvd/skynet edition bluray)
   This does indeed bias my review because many of my comments are tied to my love of the original film and how ‘I would have done it’ had I been the editor.
   As always, no disrespect is intended. Only a constructive criticism and review.
   
   !!!SPOILER WARNING!!!

   First off, we have a DVD9 release, very nice. this allows for a complete release with all the bells and whistles of a commercial DVD. even without popping the disc in I know this is a cut above the normal fanedit DVD.

   Upon start up we are greeted with a slick image of an Owl and the words “A ThrowgnCpr Production” with some nice bass groove. This is nice and adds to the production value IMO.
   Then Bang! we get launched into a really fantastic menu intro clip in near HD quality followed by the interactive menu typed onscreen in terminator-vision. Amongst the options are more features than some commercial releases: play, chapters, bonus features, etc. each with a sleek motion transition to accompany the action. This is without a doubt the best fanedit menu I have seen all year.

   The Main feature:
   Technical: As mentioned before Throw chose to use the Ultimate Edition DVD as his source which was his only pitfall. The Ultimate edition released back in 2000 looks poor when compared to newer transfers/releases of the film. The image is blurry at times (on my 40″ 1080p HDTV the white intro credits were very soft and showcased lots of color bleed) and looks less good than what we have seen in other transfers. It isnt what I would call unwatchable, but it looks worse than it should (or could) have. There were also instances of judder noticeable when slow camera pans across stationary objects occurred (see: the intro w/ flames on playground equipment and the fence at Pescadero) These observations aside, the picture was clear and stable throughout and was quite watchable.

   The Edits: Many tiny changes have been made and I felt most were for the best. the addition of “Hands of Fate” where we normally see “Judgment Day” in the credits was masterful, my jaw dropped with jealous zeal when I saw it slam up with seamless integration. I dont know how Throw accomplished this but damned if it isnt beautiful.

   Custom credits allowed ‘fanedited by TC’ another seamless integration.
   The new bad to the bone scene makes me smile because other than the first time I saw the original I have always disliked the silliness of the scene. Throws reconstruction of the scene from the ground up is really something special even if it adds nothing to the narrative besides concealing the t-800’s allegiance this time around. I did feel that the sound effects/dialog needed to be louder here though as they seemed (to my ear) a little low in the mix. but I’ll take it, the score from T1 works wonders here and masterfully calls back to the original terminator film.

   Removal of Robo-humor throughout helped the film but I think the editor should have gone further. the ‘’stand on one leg” scene could do without johns “put your leg down” line and the smile scene is always painful to watch. its sooooo slapstick and fails to work for me every time. I know the point is to show the T-800 is learning but I still hate that horse face smile.

   Other instances of audience winking/robohumor removal puzzled me (this is where ‘I would have done it different’ comes in)
   The “model citizen” line from Silberman seemed to cut too late -I would have cut on sarahs face, rather than as Silberman begins to turn
   The “Trust Me” Arnold line in Cyberdyne (I feel) cuts too late also, as we see John beginning to run to Arnold to stop him from killing humans. I would have cut earlier, but thats just me
   I also felt the Kyle Reese dream sequence played funny. I wish I could better articulate my feelings here but i cant, something just felt off.

   - I only raise these issues to better illustrate my personal bias. I feel it would be unfair to not explain where I am coming from even if personal bias is usually something you dont want in a review, a classic like T2 is impossible to remove bias from the equation.

   Otherwise the edits are spot on and really benefit the film, I didnt for a second miss the “No Problemos” the “Chillout Dickwads” and the “Hasta La Vista Baby’s” great work!

   Custom end credits were very smooth, almost too smooth, and looked very crisp compared to the films intro text. I love the attention to detail by adding yourself in twice (that I caught) as well as the fanedit.org and ThrowgnCpr Produtions logos. very well done.
   I was caught off guard when I saw my handle in the credits, I dont know what I did to deserve that honor, but I thank you all the same as it was a very pleasant surprise.

   The Bonus Features: Wow, for a fanedit, theres a truckload of material here the featurette focusing on the sound reconstruction of the bad to the bone sequence is the crown jewel. its informative and interesting, well narrated and a great example of how fanediting can be used to alter/enhance a scene. Even though its a few minutes long IMO this is right up there with the commentary track on Attack of the Phantom. Required viewing for any aspiring editor.

   Easter Eggs: great stuff from SNL/30 second Bunnies/GNR I havent seen the ‘Toonces’ skit or the ‘You Could Be Mine’ video in YEARS and never saw the ‘30 second bunnies’ before. Nothing remarkable about this material other than its inclusion to round out a full package.

   Overall this is a great package for Fanedit fans as well as Terminator fans. We get a great edit of a classic film and pile of features not previously released on the plethora of Terminator DVD’s over the years.

   Editing: 9 of 10 As I mentioned there were no technical issues in the editing only things I would have done differently
   Entertainment: 9 of 10
   
   Image & Video Quality:
   Image quality was less than optimal. The source material wasnt the best choice but it was still enjoyable and not too distracting. some minor judder in certain camera pans.
   Video Quality: 7 of 10

   Audio Editing & Audio Quality:
   Seamless, great editing from start to finish. my only quip is the levels on the reconstructed scene seem slightly low.
   Audio Quality: 9 of 10
   Audio Editing: 10 of 10

   Presentation:
   Best DVD authoring I have seen all year. Fantastic menu w/ full transitions. A truckload of extras and smooth near HD quality motion menus.
   Presentation: 10 of 10
   
   Final Result: 8 of 10 for me
   A few minor issues hold this back from being a perfect edit but most are technical in nature and do not reflect on the editing and enjoyment of the film. This is a fantastic take on a classic and provides yet another option for us folks who have seen this film in 3 different versions (more if we count ADM/Tubes/Scaperat’s edits ) Required viewing for T2 fans.

   Review by elbarto1 — September 2, 2009 @ 8:19 pm

7. 

   Awesome edit. The beginning was great. However, I felt that the thumbs up at the end wasn’t sappy more than it was a robot who couldn’t learn new protocols displaying his new-found protocol “emotion”. I think it was a very powerful scene and got lost in the editing due to all the other hollywood crap throughout. Good edit, gave it 8 out of 10.

   Review by Dillington — September 10, 2009 @ 11:18 pm

8. 

   I like the new scenes a lot. I like what you cut. But I still prefer the original movie as it felt more complete.

   Review by walls83 — September 22, 2009 @ 4:56 pm

9. 

   I am not a huge Terminator fan and I feel that the first movie is the easily the best. Terminator 2 is the wilder ride with a considerably larger budget, more relentless action and Arnie as the good guy. Being so I can understand why some feel it is the superior movie.

   Just recently I saw Terminator 2 again and enjoyed it. The only obvious fault I noticed was a continuity error during the chase with the truck, when the front windshield is seen to fall away but in the next shot it is intact again. A pretty harmless error in service of the spectacular stunt.

   Due to the passionate fan-base that these pictures have attained, I would not have assumed that Terminator 2 was in need of a FanEdit. Throwgncpr has a different opinion and has presented us with Terminator 2: Hands of Fate.

   Firstly the DVD menus and extras are beautifully presented but are really “window dressing” when compared to the all important feature FanEdit.

   The first thing I noticed with Terminator 2: Hands of Fate, is that the quality of the image seemed less than crisp. Perfectly serviceable but not of the quality I would have expected.

   Also the sound design appears odd at times. It is hard to put your finger on but during the opening bar scene there are sharp score fades and overtly loud sound effects. It all feels somewhat unintegrated.

   In the original version Cameron introduces us to Sara Conner with humor and spirit. Instantly we empathize with her and her sorry predicament. Strangely, we are robbed of this insight with Terminator 2: Hands of Fate. It is such a subtle change but it reduces her character development and she becomes less sympathetic or accessible.

   In this version the continuity error with the truck windshield is corrected seamlessly but we lose the money shot of the truck in slow motion crashing to the ground. Also, I am not sure why the motorbike stunt with Arnie (jumping into the canal) is removed as it takes away from the continuity of the action scene.

   I would have to say that if I had to choose between having this version or the original, I would keep the original. James Cameron, for all his faults, is a master film director and I am sure that all his choices for Terminator 2, even if they might appear cheesy or manipulative, were considered with great care because the over-all impact of Terminator 2 is of a satisfying whole. He used all the cinematic techniques at his disposal to produce a real blockbuster and he succeeded triumphantly. Taking away any of those components impacts upon the whole.

   Review by Rock Savage — October 2, 2009 @ 12:42 pm

10. 

    I agree to some of the previous reviews: it has flaws, it could have been better. But I enjoyed the new take and the different scenes a lot. It’s not an improvement, but big fun to watch. Thank you, Throwngcpr.

    Review by r8s8fr8 — November 27, 2009 @ 8:46 pm

11. 

    I was VERY hesitant to add my review, considering the length and vehemence of all the other reviews. I am probably the dissenting / counter-point review in this bunch. First, it is important to say that I am not a newbie to fanedits (having owned a copy of the original vhs edit of “The Phantom Menace”; then the re-edit when phantomeditor made it digitally for DVDs). I have quite a few fanedits, that to this day, I watch instead of the original.

    Having said that, I don’t understand why the previous reviewers are so upset that ThrowgnCpr attempted an edit of “T2″. I thought that one of the points of “fan-editing” is to give us an alternate take on a movie. “T2″ is a great film as it was released, yet, I have always thought there were parts of it that had an “UGH” factor to it. Partly due to the time the movie was made (owing to the culture of the the early 90s) and partly due to some misguided attempt by Mr. Cameron to make the movie more accessible to a mass market.

    I have noted that many of the previous reviews said that this movie has achieved “sacred cow” status and should not be edited. Yet, I have never heard/read any review stating the same about any of the Star Wars fanedits. [I agree the Phantom Menance etc definitely needed edits and are NOT "sacred cows"] One of my top 5 fan edits is Adywan’s “Star Wars:Revisited”. I would consider any of the original three star wars movies to be far more “sacred cows” than “T2″. Yet no one calls Adywan’s edit pointless.

    As for the technical aspects of this edit, I think they rate, overall a 8.5/10. The few flaws the I noticed were minimal at best and did not detract from the overall movie watching experience. and afterall, isn’t that the point of this entire endeavor? To make a movie a better watch, right?

    Review by flyboy707 — December 14, 2009 @ 8:14 pm

12. 

    Regarding editing decisions:
    The obivous high point to me is the reworking of the bar scene.
    No more Bad To The Bone.
    I actually liked it in the original but it works ALOT better here.
    It would have worked even better if the T1000 doesn’t kill the cop when he arrives. This way, we are more inclined to think that he is a good guy.
    The way it is now, they both look like bad guys and we wonder which one worse.

    I agree more robo humor could be cut. The standing on one leg scene along with the horse face smile could easily go.
    Actually, that whole leg scene is groan worthy, especially where John acts like a douchebag (“are you calling moi a blah blah blah?).
    I’d cut some of John’s lines short as well whenever he says stuff like “that’s intense” or “now we have skynet by the balls” and things of that nature.

    Cutting the torment that Sarah goes through early on makes her look way too mean when she breaks out. When she beats the crap out of that guy with the broom stick, we actually feel sorry for the guy. Instead, I’d like to be cheering her on since the creep is actually getting what he deserves.

    Why cut the motorcycle jump? That was cool…
    The T1000 going through John’s room doesn’t really add anything.

    I had no issue with the video quality. It seems to me that this issue is way overblown for this edit.
    The DVD menu and extras are all impeccable and truly impressive.

    Overall, I enjoyed this very much and was well worth the download.
    Highly recommended
    8/10

    Review by zeppelinrox — April 4, 2010 @ 10:21 pm

13. 

    I didn’t have time to review the other’s amongst mine, please forgive me if I repeat.

    Barely 15 minutes into it and I cannot accept the cuts, This now progresses like a bad -B- Movie.

    The Bar Scene – the Bad to the Bone music change makes sense, but it now DRAGS until john takes off on his bike… I hope you see that music also helps with pacing. Since you are already dicing this up – Just cut out the bartender scene; right after the patron says “Take it…uhh..” straight to the electrical disturbance – based from the first one, and if you have any sense at all, you can already tell he was there for his clothes… he will obviously have them on in the next scene. Perhaps the glasses came with it… just imagine what dirty deeds he could have done to get that gun?… unimportant details you decided to keep because you wanted to put some T1 music in there?

    The intro to Sarah Connor’s cuts are horrible and jumpy. If you are going to cut Soberman and Sarah’s conversation, why not do the whole thing, The jump after the “Hello…” is too drastic. If your intention was to insert “repeated escape attempts”, why not fit that post “…and here we are”? the moment she turns around only to notice people watching her (as if they were there the whole time) – just make the “repeated escape attempts…” sound as if he is on the other side of the door; (and please, only 1 turn around, there are 2 in the official versions) were you tired of attempting audio cuts after that bad bartender impression?

    Without the Orderly abuse scene, the dream sequence seems to be unjustified with it’s new placement (and it was butchered)… I stopped watching after that bad interpreted slow motion.

    Audio, 3D and animation is my profession – I give you a thumbs up on the attempt to redo the beginning titles and the Gaffe work – I can’t give you a theatrical quality thumbs up… but the attempts weren’t horrible.

    Review by tigyi — April 16, 2010 @ 8:13 am

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