Terminator 2: Judgement Day Is At Number 4 On The M-Net Movies Bucket List Countdown

The big moment has finally arrived. It’s time for the M-Net Movie Bucket List Top 10 Countdown.

The M-Net Movies Bucket List pop-up channel (109) is well under way as the channel counts down 100 popular and iconic Hollywood movies to see before you die.

Get to learn more about these iconic films with fascinating trivia and see movie critic heavyweight Leon van Nierop’s thoughts on you’re the top 10.

#04

Terminator 2: Judgement Day at 20:00

James Cameron and Arnold Schwarzenegger create an action sci-fi masterpiece. A cyborg is sent back in time to protect the future leader of the resistance against the machines.

Leon van Nierop: “Terminator 2 is the only science fiction film you’ll find in the top 10, it’s also one of the most superior sci-fi films. This film is a tribute to special effects to exactly how far special effects could go in cinema and those special effects had personality and had character. Arnold Schwarzenegger got paid US$ 15 million dollars for this film and he only had 700 words of dialogue.”

The name of Arnold Schwarzenegger’s Terminator is the Terminator Series 800 (shiny metal endoskeleton) model 101 (Arnold’s actual skin on that skeleton).

Production took sufficiently long, that Edward Furlong visibly aged during the shoot. He is clearly much younger in the desert, for instance, than in other scenes. His voice began to break, and had to be pitched to one level in post-production.

Until The Bourne Ultimatum (2007), this was the only sequel to win an Academy Award when the previous instalment(s) received no nomination.

In the audio commentary, James Cameron says that not only was the biker bar scene filmed across the street from where LAPD officers beat up Rodney King, but that they were filming the night of the beating.

Special Effects guru Stan Winston and his crew studied hours of nuclear test footage, in order to make Sarah Connor’s “nuclear nightmare” scene look as realistic as possible. A miniature Los Angeles was made to simulate the scene. Some of the materials used in the miniature that mimicked all the destroyed masonry were Matzos crackers and Shredded Wheat. After each take, it would take on average two days to set the model up to shoot again. In late 1991, members of several U.S. federal nuclear testing labs unofficially declared it “the most accurate depiction of a nuclear blast ever created for a fictional motion picture”. The special effects team members have also stated that no other scene that they ever worked on has elicited such strong emotions in viewers.

Robert Patrick trained in a rigorous running regime in order to be able to appear to run at high speeds without showing fatigue on film.

According to James Cameron, Linda Hamilton suffered permanent hearing loss in one ear during the elevator shootout because she had not replaced her ear plugs after removing them between takes.

This is the only Terminator film to win or be nominated for an Oscar. It won four, and was nominated for two others.

Linda Hamilton learned to pick locks for the scene in the mental hospital where she does precisely that with a paperclip.

Linda Hamilton’s twin sister, Leslie Hamilton Gearren was used as a double in scenes involving two “Sarah Connors” (for example, when the T-1000 was imitating her), and in a scene not in the theatrical release (but on the DVD) as a mirror image of Linda.

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The Terminators seen at the beginning of the movie were fully workable animatronic models.

By Andrew Germishuys

Founder of SAMDB | Actor | Armourer | Tech Enthusiast With over two decades in the film industry, I'm a seasoned actor and skilled armourer. I hold numerous certifications in acting and filmmaking, complemented by degrees and diplomas in IT and technology, giving me a unique blend of creative and technical expertise. When I'm not on set or in the workshop, you'll find me immersed in the world of gaming and VR, fuelling my passion for cutting-edge technology. Connect with me: X / Twitter Facebook Instagram Mastodon Threads Explore my work on SAMDB IMDb