Terminator 2: Hands of Fate

The theatrical cut has always been my favourite version of T2 but this adds the best parts of the special edition and takes some of the lesser parts of the theatrical cut to forge a great new version. The most impressive part of the edit is the removal of the bad to bone audio which never ever fit well with the tone elsewhere. I've attempted to seperate some of the original dialogue in this scene myself and found it an impossible task to extract something of a high enough quality so massive repsect to the editor on his work here! The recreated titles and THX FAN intro are brilliantly done too and look completely authentic.

The only nitpick I can find in the whole edit which is just a personal opinion is the inclusion of the smile scene (albeit trimmed) I would have cut that being as the 'trust me' line was cut later. A really fab edit of what is easily one of my top 5 movies ever, it has created a bit of a quandry though as everytime I watch T2 now which is at least twice a year I will have to consider this or the theatrical. That was never an issue before darn it!!

This is the definitive T2 version for me. Period! Without the cheese it makes T2 looks like more T1 (wich is my favorite Terminator btw)
Well done!

Original review (2009 DVD):

First off, the A/V quality has been discussed plenty and all I will say is that it was as I expected. The concerns that have been raised are valid but it did not prevent me from enjoying the edit.

As far as the actual editing goes, I was very impressed. The cuts were logical and generally not noticeable (especially if you don't know what to look for). The reworked bad to the bone scene worked very well, and as was made obvious in the great bonus featurette, required a good deal of effort. I miss the "how's the knee" line but understand the reasoning. I really liked the trimmed first dream sequence. I kind of like the "model citizen" line but can understand why it went. Arnie's bike jump into the canal never bothered me that much but this edit handles it just fine (I agreed that it seemed obvious he was already heading down a slope and the jump wasn't necessary). No problemo, hasta la vista, need a vacation, thumbs up - all good cuts.

So all in all, I enjoyed this edit. It won't replace my Extreme DVD due to the A/V issues, but it was a worthwhile watch. And if Throw ever did a V2.0 with improved video and true 5.1? It would be a home run.

Updated Review (2013 HD mkv):

It's a home run!

The 720p mkv is rock solid in quality and the 5.1 sound is now true 5.1. The re-edits to the parking lot and gas station scenes work great. My one minor nitpick was the cutaway from the T-1000 giving Sarah the "no-no-no" finger wag when she runs out of ammo in the end factory scene - it was a bit obvious that something was cut there, and I personally would have just left it intact.

Well done, and thanks for creating this version. I plan on watching it again the next time I have a hankerin' for some T2 spankerin'.

Very enjoyable edit. The goal of removing the extra cheese was carried off very well. Removing the cringe worthy portions made it a much better film for our current time. The only negative I had was the the dialog channel seemed at a lower volume than the rest, but that maybe I should have fiddled with my amplifier more. Don't forget to view the Fanedit "making of" featurette. The editor explains all the steps he went through to clean up a scene and the difficulties involved. (such as inappropriate music polluting all of the audio channels) I like seeing the nuts and bolts of fanediting, it gives an appreciation of what is required to make these changes seamless.

This is an excellent fan-fix. From the excellent integration of the new titles, to the overall tone created by the editor, this is what a fan-edit is all about.

As the editor points out, T2 is a classic, but that doesn't mean a nip/tuck can't provide some genuine improvements. Highlights include cutting of lots of cheese, especially bad to the bone and thumbs up, and including some scenes from the extended edition was a nice touch.

Not so highlights: Some of the cuts were quite noticeable, especially the 'I need a vacation' line, and a couple of others, but it didn't really matter too much. If the line annoyed you that much, have it out I say.

Well done on a great edit, and thanks for releasing in HD!