Episode 62: The Mitchells vs the Machines & Terminator 2: Judgement Day

Cinema in Context

Robot uprising films. Sarah Watt, Jeremy Downing and William Chen discuss The Mitchells vs the Machines (2021) and Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991), two films detailing the robot apocalypse and dysfunctional families finding their way in the skirmish. We begin by talking about The Mitchells vs the Machines, comparing it to Phil Lord and Chris Miller's other works, notably Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs and Spider-Man: Into the Spider-verse. We applaud the visual style of the film, but critique how all the pieces fit together. We further compare the film to WALL-E, Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood, specifically how animation is used in conjunction with real-world elements - further comparing styles to The Mandalorian, The Congress, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, Da 5 Bloods and The Irishman. We then move into a discussion of Terminator 2: Judgement Day, specifically how the special and practical effects hold up. We talk about the film in connection to Jurassic Park, Shocker, Aliens, Titanic and Breaking Bad. Our conversation then moves into how the story is established and paid off throughout the film, connecting to the Greek prophetess Sibyl, 12 Monkeys, The Matrix, A Glitch in the Matrix, I, Robot, Lego Movie 2: The Second Part and Avatar.