Entered through the front door into the Pantheon of action films, Terminator 2 and its revolutionary special effects is a date in the history of cinema. Its fabulous opening sequence alone cost as much as the first film in the saga!
Forced to boost his creativity in view of an obvious lack of resources, James Cameron managed to deliver with Terminator a masterpiece of SF film, while brilliantly laying the foundations of a franchise which has, unfortunately, never ceased. to decline over the years. But this is obviously not the case of Terminator 2, which entered the Pantheon of action films through the front door, with scenes as exhilarating as they are cult, with revolutionary special effects.
Between an Arnold Schwarzenegger who has probably never been in better shape, playing a Terminator this time on the right side of the fence, the transformation of a fragile Sarah Connor in her beginnings into an absolute icon of badass cinema heroines, its staging which has not aged a bit, and seemingly powerful themes (nothing less than the future of Humanity), not to mention the company’s budget – colossal in fact -, Terminator 2 is in many ways superior to its predecessor.
A sequence that alone costs more than the first film!
With a budget of just $6.4 million, the first opus grossed more than $78 million at the international box office. Enough to comfort Cameron with the ultra comfortable envelope of his second film, this time increased to 102 million dollars.
Of this financial windfall, the portion reserved for the creation of the brilliant opening sequence of Terminator 2 is colossal. It actually cost no less than 6.4 million dollars, the entire budget of the first part of the saga! In total, $53 million, more than half of the overall budget, was spent on T2’s special effects.
Here it is again, for fun…
The opening scene of the film, depicting the future war in 2029, was actually the last scene filmed. It was filmed in the middle of an abandoned steel mill located in Fontana, California, on a plot of land measuring approximately 800m². The site was set up with burned-out vehicle wrecks, as well as bikes and cars from a 1989 fire on the Universal Studios lot. Combined with the creation of miniature models, the visual effects, such as laser shots, were largely carried out by the company Fantasy II Film Effects managed by a brilliant wizard, Gene Warren Jr.