Phone Booth, from "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" (1991), directed by James Cameron

One of the best sequels ever made has no shortage of setpiece action scenes (I'm tempted to include Sarah Connor's dazzling hospital escape). But for me, this quiet, exquisitely constructed, suitably coldblooded vignette may be the best thing in the movie. Ah-nuld and Edward Furlong both appear, but the sequence is anchored by a chilling and hypnotic turn from Jenette Goldstein -- you might remember her as the tough Private Vasquez in Cameron's Aliens. Here she plays the T-1000 Terminator impersonating John Connor's foster mother, Janelle. The moment when she switches the phone to her other hand, so she can ... deal with ... the irritating Todd (Xander Berkeley), is quite priceless, and the camera pullback to witness Todd's fate is one of the greatest and most pleasurable sci-fi/horror jolts in history. See the appreciation, below, by my friend Noah Berlatsky, who praises "Jenette Goldstein's brilliantly not-quite-right performance; the simple sleight-of-hand special effect of having John's voice come out of the T-800's mouth; the sound design combined with the careful framing of shots, so you don't know what that marvelous snikt [sound] is until later. And finally the up-to-date early-'90s digital effect of the liquid metal arm that morphs back into Jenette's hand as she looks at it with an odd look that mirrors the audience's wonder. ... The scene reminds you how shocking, funny, weird, and exhilarating movies can be."

Article:
Terminator 2's Phone Booth Scene Still Makes Us Choke on Our Milk

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