Synopsis:

This edit aims to keep the ambiguity of whether Reese can be trusted and if his story is even true for as long as possible. The audience is learning information along with Sarah instead of being way ahead of her.

Intentions:

T2 seems to have been written with ambiguity over who was the protector and who was the killer at first. This culminates in the great scene where both appear from opposite ends of the corridor with John trapped in between them. This got me thinking if a similar concept could be applied to the original with regards to Reese's motivations. Is he the killer? And if he's not, is he a delusional man with crazy visions of a future war against the machines? This is a version of the film where all the time travel and cyborgs come as a surprise instead of being the main selling point.

Change List:

Cut 2029 prologue and Onscreen Text. Replaced Credit Sequence with custom Title Card. Credits moved to the end of the film. Cut all Terminator arrival scenes. Aerial from the 1984 section of Terminator Genisys used to open film. Cut Reese arriving from the past. Start with him already in the alley and getting to his feet in pain. Cut homeless guy’s line about stealing his pants. We don’t confirm if he is still alive or dead after encountering Reese. Cut shot focusing on Reese’s stolen Nikes in the photobooth. (Don’t want the audience focusing on the particular shoes he wears to aid a later mis-direct). Cut Terminator hotwiring car. Cut Gun shop scene. Cut Terminator looking up Sarah Connor address in phone book as well as the first murder. Cut Reese’s future dream in the car. Now he just hotwires the car and immediately drives off in it. Trimmed end of the scene where Reese watches Sarah leave the garage on her bike so that we don’t see him drive after her. Added the shot of the sliding door opening to the end of the scene where Ginger & Matt are ignoring the answering machine. Cut Terminator attacking and killing Ginger & Matt. We find out they are dead when Sarah calls. Trimmed Sarah’s answering machine message and recut the scene to show someone is still there searching the apartment. But reframed shots to not show the Terminator’s face. Recut the build up to Tech Noir shootout to only reveal the Terminator properly when he directly approaches Sarah through the crowd. Cut red Terminator vision shot during alley foot chase. Cut Terminator voice mimicry of the policeman. Cut Sarah asking Reese “Can you stop it?”. She hasn’t fully accepted his story yet. Cut Terminator surgery and repair scenes. Cut “I’ll be back” scene. Now he just rams through the doors unannounced. Cut red Terminator vision during police station shootout. Trimmed the future flashforward scene to end midway through the Terminator attack. This is to be interpreted as Sarah dreaming of the world Reese has been describing to her, rather than a definite confirmation of his story being true. So the business with Reese having the photograph of Sarah was removed as this is a detail Sarah couldn’t know to dream about. Moved scene of Terminator flipping through Sarah’s address book later. We go straight from Sarah and Reese leaving the tunnel to them arriving at the motel. Address book scene now used to bridge Reese leaving to get supplies and Sarah talking on the phone with her mother. Cut all shots of his damaged eye, the Terminator vision shot, as well as the “Fuck you, asshole” exchange. Ended Sarah’s phone call on “Ok here’s the number”. In this version it's her actual mother she’s talking to, not the Terminator. Cut Terminator driving back from the cabin and used the earlier scene inside the cabin in its place. Moved audio around so the Terminator is just dialling the motel with the number he’s found. Scene ends before he responds to “Tiki Motel...”. Intercut future shots of Reese and the photo with the scene in the motel where he tells Sarah about it. Cut Terminator vision outside the motel. Trimmed shot of Terminator turning to camera just before being hit by the truck as it spoiled the red eye reveal. The first time we see the red eye is when he turns to face the guy in the truck. Added a short music sting that had been removed from earlier in the film to underscore the moment. Cut “Get out” line. Just a look from the Terminator is enough. Cut Sarah’s melodramatic screams of “No! Noooo!” at seeing the endoskeleton rise from the fire. Reframed shot of endoskeleton opening door to remove visible operator behind. The cut opening credits added to the end of the film. Main cast billing order changed to Hamilton/Biehn/Schwarzenegger.

Additional Notes:

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Other Sources:

- Terminator Genisys blu-ray for 1984 Los Angeles aerial - The Great Outdoors blu-ray for cabin exterior shot - The Terminator Teaser Trailer for logo - The Terminator Definitive Edition Soundtrack - Freesound.org

Special Thanks:

Dwight Fry for his fantastic ideas and feedback that really improved this edit no end. And all his championing of it on the forums to get it approved!