52. The Liquid Metal Reveal - Terminator 2: Judgment Day
T2 was, of course, an absolutely landmark in terms of visual effects and set an industry standard for how to economically employ CGI in a mostly-practical production. Whether you saw it in the cinema in 1991 or only watched it for the first time this week, that iconic shot of the T-1000 emerging from the lorry fire in liquid metal form is nothing short of jaw-dropping. Cameron's sparing use of the effects combined with their shockingly high quality has allowed them to age far better than almost every other Hollywood film out there, ensuring that the film will continue to leave audiences amazed for decades more. Also, it reinforced the fact that Robert Patrick's villain was going to make Arnie's Terminator from the original film look like Barney the freaking Dinosaur.
51. Sarah Connor Is Dead... - Terminator 3: Rise Of The Machines
The reasons behind Linda Hamilton not returning for T3 have been widely debated: is it, as she claims, because she felt like there was nothing left for the character, or is it because her acrimonious divorce from James Cameron left her bitter about the whole franchise? Either way, she was summarily written out in the movie, having died from leukaemia after living long enough to see that Judgment Day didn't happen. In case Skynet rose up again, though, she kept a cache of weapons hidden at a false grave site. It's a shame the character had to be binned off so drastically, but if Hamilton is done with the franchise, then it does make sense. But as she proved later, she wasn't totally done with it...
Stay at home dad who spends as much time teaching his kids the merits of Martin Scorsese as possible (against the missus' wishes).
General video game, TV and film nut. Occasional sports fan. Full time loon.
