The first official critical reviews are in for Studiocanal’s theatrical re-release of Terminator 2: Judgment Day, and they are positive! Of course the film itself has already been hailed by critics everywhere as one of the greatest science fiction films of all time, so positive reviews do not come as a surprise. However, what we are paying close attention to is the analysis of the 3D conversion, remastering, and any other changes that might have occurred to T2, and they seem to be positively received as well.

CinemaBlend conducted an extensive review and analysis of the 3D conversion of “Terminator 2: Judgment Day”. They also use a very in-depth grading system to score their 3D experience, scoring a 1 through 5 in specific categories like for brightness and how sick you might feel after leaving the theater (due to 3D side-effects). One aspect they really enjoyed with T2 in 3D was its “before the window” effects, where objects feel like they are protruding out of the screen:

CinemaBlend: “I went into my 3D screening of Terminator 2 expecting to be somewhat let down by the “Before The Window” aspect of the presentation, given that those elements usually require some of forethought on behalf of the director (for example, a shot of a character specifically firing a weapon at the screen). Color me surprised! While not having anything like CGI snow or ash to play with, the film does still find ways to reach out into the audience — whether it’s having Arnold Schwarzenegger’s shotgun protrude from the frame, or just people having a conversation.”

They were pretty fond of the brightness of T2 in 3D as well:

CinemaBlend: “Until engineers find a way to develop a way for theaters to project 3D without audiences needing to wear glasses, brightness will always be a factor in the presentation. And when it comes to a movie like Terminator 2: Judgement Day, which has a lot of sequences set at night, it can be downright hazardous. Fortunately, well-made conversions factor this in, and Terminator 2 is a well-made conversion. While it’s not perfect, the majority of sequences aren’t muddied by the tinted glasses, making it perfectly watchable.”

And their final thoughts:

CinemaBlend: “Using this same metric back in 2010, we graded Avatar with a 31/35, so a 27/35 admittedly isn’t all that impressive. Terminator 2: Judgement Day isn’t a 3D experience that is going to blow you away. That being said, it is still worth seeing. You’re not going to think that you’ve stepped into the world of the movie, but the extra dimension is a nice added effect to an undiminished cut that is rarely back on the big screen.”

Now JoBlo.com’s Arrow in the Head also reviewed “Terminator 2: Judgment Day 3D” and was pleased the film was pretty much untouched in comparison to the original, as well as preserving its original theatrical cut length:

JoBlo: “It should be noted that someone has tidied up a few shots, as when Ridley Scott reissued BLADE RUNNER in THE FINAL CUT, with CGI used to eliminate some of the obvious doubling during the famous motorcycle chase early in the film. Otherwise, it’s been left untouched, and I’m glad they’re putting this out in the original theatrical cut, which I’ve always thought was the superior version.”

Giving it a 10 out of 10 score, this was their final thoughts:

JoBlo: “While a 2D release would be just as welcome, this is a 3D face-lift done right, and a far cry from the conversions we saw even just a few years ago (it looks a lot better than TOP GUN: 3D did). More than anything, it’s just nice to see it on the big screen, as many of us were too young to see it that way originally. This is a true cinematic event, and it would be pretty nifty if, at the end of the summer, T2 was once again ruling the box office.”

These reviews sound great, don’t they Terminator fans! We can’t wait until T2 in 3D is theatrically released to the public!

We’ll be back!