By: Eugene Novikov

I was just writing adoringly about Arnold Schwarzenegger, and it brought to mind the epic first chase scene from Terminator 2: Judgment Day, which is just groooop schzzzzz ffffffffffffffsssst...

...

Sorry. It's just that my brain can barely process this much cinematic kick-assery, from a film that is certainly on my all-time top 10 list, and quite possibly top 5 (I really only have a vague list). Anyway, without trying to find words to encompass the overall awesomeness of these seven minutes, I can make the following barely more sober observations:

  • James Cameron is the greatest action technician who's ever lived, period. There is not a cut or camera angle out of place in this entire incredible sequence.
  • This is the part that cements Robert Patrick's implacable T-1000 as a legend among movie villains.
  • Objectively I know the rest of the movie isn't pitched at this level of intensity, but whenever I watch it, it sure feels like it is.
  • That red-haired kid at the beginning? That's Bobby Budnick (Danny Cooksey in real life) from Salute Your Shorts! Any other children of the '90s around here? Give it up!
  • Every clip I could find on YouTube had embedding disabled, I'm guessing through some nefarious plan of Warner Bros. So go here to watch a tragically pan-and-scanned version of the full sequence, or here to watch it letterboxed but with the first two minutes trimmed away.