Most Chinese awareness of Hollywood blockbusters stems from two movies.
One is "True Lies" starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, and the other is "Titanic" starring Xiao Lizi.
The former is the first Hollywood action blockbuster introduced by the mainland, and the latter is a love blockbuster that has triggered a movie-watching frenzy of thousands of people and saved the unprofitable mainland theaters.
The two films have a common director, James Cameron.
Before "True Lies" and "Titanic", Cameron also had a sci-fi blockbuster, that is, the "Terminator" series, he personally directed "The Terminator" and "Terminator 2: Judgment Day".
Among them, the T-800 of the leather-clothed sunglasses locomotive played by Arnold Schwarzenegger is the sci-fi enlightenment of many people, and the liquid robot T-1000 played by Robert Patrick is the childhood shadow of many people.
James Cameron also became famous with the "Terminator" series written and directed by himself, becoming another Hollywood technical master after George Lucas and Spielberg.
The "Terminator" series is the first film rarely seen in film history that is a classic enough, but the sequel surpasses the previous one.
No wonder "Terminator 2" was rated by Americans as the most outstanding science fiction film in history after the millennium, and Arnold Schwarzenegger became an idol for American teenagers.
At the beginning of "Terminator 1", accompanied by a radiant electric light, the naked Arnold Schwarzenegger knelt on one leg, and the memory of a generation began.
From the current point of view, the story of "Terminator" is too simple and the production is relatively rough, but watching "Terminator" is never a story, but a setting.
The sci-fi setting of "Terminator" is the core of the film, in 1984, humans never came to the past with the help of time shuttles, and the setting of fighting cyborg sent by Skynet is very novel.
In addition to sci-fi elements, "Terminator" also integrates commercial elements such as suspense and horror, and the shootouts, actions and other scenes in the film are templates for standard commercial films.
The narrative rhythm of the film, fast and sharp, does not drag mud and water, combined with electronic background music, so that the audience can watch enjoyable and easy to understand, this is what a good movie should look like.
Especially the cold-faced Arnold Schwarzenegger shows a "cool" word from beginning to end.
Although it is a supporting role, it steals the limelight of the protagonist, and a "I'll be back" is popular all over the streets of the United States.
At the end of the film, Arno was burned in the fire to expose the original appearance of metal, and then stood up from the fire, with skulls, blood-red eyes, and mecha bodies, and the classic image of the film history screen was born.
Perhaps it is precisely because Arnold is too attractive in the film, and in the second part, he directly became the protagonist from a supporting role, and the villain became a positive character.
Compared with the first part, "Terminator 2" has been comprehensively upgraded in editing, special effects, story, camera movement, characters, scene scheduling, and stunt performance.
Cross-montage is added to the editing to create a tense, suspenseful atmosphere.
For example, the T-800 and T-1000 found John Connor at the same time in the trade center, and the part where they met in the corridor and shot was an excellent use of montage techniques.
In terms of special effects, it is obviously much broader than the shabby investment of 6.4 million in "Terminator".
The action is no longer rudimentary, various speeding car chases are staged in turn, and the robot has also been innovative in liquid form, and the metal robot has been retained.
The T-1000 turned from a floor tile to a robot, and the computer special effects of the gun being stuck through the iron gate of the prison are simply shocking like science fiction, and now it is amazing to watch.
In terms of character setting, it is different from the dullness of the first part, which exists only to advance the plot, and is a proper tool person.
In the sequel, the T-800 slowly learns human nature under the guidance of humans, approaches humans, and realizes the sublimation from ignorance of emotions to emotions to self-sacrifice.
This change in theme ideas makes "Terminator 2" not just a sci-fi movie, purely to fill in commercial elements.
An extra layer of Cameron's philosophical concept of human thinking and discussion of the meaning of human existence makes "Terminator 2" an immortal classic.
The reason why "Terminator 2" can become a classic is also because the total cost reached 102 million US dollars.
The production cost $51 million, James Cameron's directing fee is close to $6 million, and Arnold Schwarzenegger's salary is $17 million worth of the Bend 3 aircraft.
Coupled with the salaries and publicity expenses of other actors, this makes "Terminator 2" the first film in the world to invest more than $100 million, fortunately the final box office reached $520 million.
For Cameron, the jaw-dropping investment in Terminator 2 is nothing at all.
Because the later "Titanic" was the world's first film with an investment of more than $200 million, the production cost of "Avatar" alone was $237 million, and "Avatar 2" increased this figure to $310 million.
Although Cameron's film investment has repeatedly set records, he has never let the investment lose money, "Titanic" global box office 2.201 billion US dollars, the third in the world, "Avatar" 2.847 billion US dollars, the world's first.
When Motion Picture Weekly selected one of the most collectible films of the 20th century, the Terminator series won the first place with a high number of votes.
Not to mention other genre films that have left behind in history, in the field of science fiction alone, there are Kubrick's "2001: A Space Odyssey" and Ridley Scott's "Blade Runner" in the 20th century.
One has become the textbook of today's science fiction films, and later science fiction films can basically see its shadow, one is the pioneering work of cyberpunk, why can the "Terminator" series beat them?
Because in the advancement of film, each of Cameron's films will change film technology.
" Terminator 2 " featured the first film protagonist T-1000 produced entirely by computer imaging, and used motion capture technology for the first time in a movie.
After the box office of "Future Water World" in 1995, Hollywood no longer believed in blockbusters, but two years later "Titanic" changed the production system of Hollywood.
"Avatar" is completed using motion capture technology throughout the process, achieving a perfect upgrade, and also making 3D technology popular, and the theater system and shooting equipment began to be updated.
On the other hand, Marvel's superhero movies are also completed with technology, but they are completely reduced to junk food.
They don't have Cameron's innovation in technology, nor Cameron's innovation in scripting, nor Cameron's innovation in making movies look better.
Not only that, with Marvel, the movie is no longer a movie, it has become a complete Easter egg collection, and watching movies has become a fault for everyone.
This laments Cameron's extraordinary insight and ability, he spent a lot of money to make movies to make himself money and fame, but also brought good news to the entire industry.
And Marvel is an industry lamp, everywhere it goes, full of copper stench, not far from the collapse of the building, the movie needs Cameron, not Marvel.