THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS OF THE DISCUSSED FILM. READERS DISCRETION IS ADVISED.
After the success of Aliens, moviegoers trusted James Cameron in the terms of directing a sequel. So the hype was quickly lived up to when he got around to directing a sequel to The Terminator, a film that put him on the map of Hollywood.
PLOT
Terminator 2: Judgment Day takes place in a fictional 1995, and two terminators come from the future for their own missions. A reprogrammed T-800 Model 101 is assigned to protect the future leader of the Resistance John Connor. An advanced T-1000 (made of liquid metal) is assigned to assassinate him. Both machines encounter John at a mall but the T-800 is able to rescue him. He is now caught up with that the fact her mother Sarah was telling the truth of the future war. He wants to warn his foster parents of the T-1000 but when calling them by payphone, he and his protector deduce that they're already dead. They free Sarah from a mental institution, ironically around the time she had planned to break out. Before that, John makes his protector promise to not take another human life (In a scene from the special edition, she wanted to destroy the chip of the T-800, but her son convinces her not to). When going to one of her hideouts to resupply with weapons, the T-800 explains that Skynet, the company responsible for Terminators, became a reality when Cyberdyne engineer Miles Dyson created a microprocessor that became Skynet's basis. Sarah attempts to assassinate him but refuses to do so in front of his family. When she and the T-800 explain the future to him, he agrees that his work must be destroyed. He and the trio of protagonists go to Cyberdyne headquarters to do just that. They set explosives at the lab and retrieve the same chip and arm from the same terminator in ’84. The police arrive and shoot down Dyson, who is able to set off the explosives as he drew his last breath. The remaining three escape the building but are again chased down by the T-1000, all the way to a steel mill. They succeed in terminating the assassin by shooting it into a crucible of molten steel. They also proceed with throwing the arm and the chip there as well. But the T-800 must sacrifice itself in order to avoid being reverse engineered. Sarah proceeds with lowering it into the vat but this breaks John's heart due to the bond he created with it. The film ends with Sarah narrating, "The unknown future rolls towards us. I face it for the first time with a sense of hope. Because if a machine, a Terminator, can learn the value of life, maybe we can too".
THOUGHTS
When first watching this film as a child, I thought to myself like the trolley kid from The Incredibles, "That was totally wicked". This film is highly entertaining from beginning to end. This is action at its finest because you can't take your eyes off when it goes down. Whenever both terminators collide, or when shootouts display, that is the kind of action that will blow viewers away. The film's biggest accomplishment is the visual effects. Seeing the fictional liquid metal is surreal and it truly is a landmark to using this technology for a film, earning its Visual Effects Oscar. What Cameron did best with this sequel is that the changes made to returning characters do not ruin the story but advance the plot successfully. He creates a story where the lore expands from the predecessor and every moment we get, you are cheering or crying for what transpires, proving how much we connect with the characters that are played to perfection by its cast members. Arnold Schwarzenegger holds it down on going from a merciless assassin to a learning protector. He is supposed to be emotionless in comparison to the human characters, but you are amazed what he gains with the time he spends with John. Plus, he looks badass with a mini-gun. While many were surprised of the reveal of him protecting Connor at the mall, the true payoff that this is a new Terminator is when he gets the new clothes and the song 'Bad to the Bone' by George Thorogood and The Destroyers plays. This one is not the most advanced like the T-1000, but it’s clearly the smartest. The best example is when it tricks its foe to give itself away during the phone call by giving the wrong name of John’s dog. Looking back, that feels like the smartest decision a character could ever make on film. Schwarzenegger has had many iconic one liners in his career like 'I'll be back', but 'Hasta la vista baby' from this movie is the best of the bunch because you know that his character knows that it sounds badass. The scene alone where he says it when shooting the T-1000 is probably one of the best scenes in general cinema because it just feels awe inspiring to witness, that this is what making movies is all about. Breakout Edward Furlong holds his own as the young John Connor. You understand his attitude because he couldn't understand how his mother was trying to prepare him for what would come and when she was taken from him because of her actions, he got stuck with foster parents who lacked affection. He never really had anyone to look up to until he met the terminator. That was the closest thing he ever had to some kind of parental figure. So when it goes, it breaks his heart because there will be nothing to replace the bond with it, making it one of the most heartbreaking endings to see. Seeing the T-800 give a thumb up before being completely terminated sees the deal of pulling our heart strings. Linda Hamilton is the true highlight of this film as Sarah Connor. What makes her great in this sequel is that she has changed overtime and we accept it because we know the stakes like her. She became a much different mother one would ever think she'd be. She spent his whole life preparing him for the worst and not entirely seeing him as a child but as the future savior mainly. In the deleted scene where she dreams of Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn), it is heartbreaking to see because we understand how much she misses him, loved him. She became a strong woman that holds her own throughout this own, a badass of her own right, especially due to her introduction via pull-ups. The look she gives when we first see her is the most intimidating, coming from a protagonist. You understand her not wanting to trust a terminator because one almost killed her and she barely got the upper hand at that time. When encountering the new one, her trauma definitely returned and fear of the worst increased more than ever. She goes through more emotions one character can ever go through after that. She almost acted as a terminator when going after Dyson, so we are relieved that she doesn't move forward, keeping her soul intact. We definitely see her growth when shaking the hand of the T-800 before sending it to the vat because it implies that deep down she didn't want to do so, she understood how much it meant to her son. Seeing all of this in display is a great performance from Hamilton and it sets in stone the iconic status of the character that will live forever like other great characters. For Joe Morton, he does his best to display how Miles Dyson had good intentions with his technology. He doesn't make him arrogant but one that wants to do good. So it was a respecting moment to see him move forward with destroying his life's work but you are bummed out that he lost his life in the progress. What you feel from each protagonist is this theme that humanity can come from the oddest of places and when you find it, it makes the world worth living and worth saving. Lastly, Robert Patrick is perfectly just as terrifying playing the T-1000, just as how Schwarzenegger did the T-800 due to the minimum lines. The look he gives throughout, you just want to run away. All of that earns the spot as a great villain. The love for this movie can never disappear but after the many times I’ve seen it in my lifetime, I can admit that there were things that have bothered me. First off, how did the resistance know Skynet used a time machine before they did? If they just did it with a ‘just incase’ perspective, that would be more believable than just sending the protector at the same time as the terminator. Also, how did the T-800 miss him in the morning? If it wanted to wait out John’s arrival, it should’ve camped outside the house and it would’ve picked him up right after his return. The chase from the mall to under the bridges is pretty intense, but John should’ve driven up the side ramp and out of the concrete canyon to pause the manhunt on him. It would’ve worked because the semi truck that the T-1000 drove would not have pulled off following him in the said vehicle. I adore how John went out of his way to have the T-800 help him rescue his mother, but I feel certain that it didn’t have to happen. I feel this way because future John could’ve programmed his protector to not ever break her out. I don’t want to hate on him, but he is a massive hypocrite for picking on who like Nintendo, yet we saw him at an arcade. It was downright creepy when the T-800 shows off its metal arm, but was that really the only way? I feel like it should’ve made an X ray from Miles' computers to prove himself. I even found myself confused when it said “It’s him” when he didn’t get a good look of its foe, the T-1000. It turns his head once and instantly confirms who it is. I mean if it really did a scan in a short period of time. It would’ve been awesome to see. Speaking of the T-1000, my last issue is that it makes the same mistake as it shoots at its main target, but never the tires. One shot at the tires and they would’ve made a difference. It than makes worse decisions near the climax. It chooses to spare the T-800 when going after Sarah and demands Sarah to call John. Since it can shape shift on its own, I didn’t see the point in attacking he when it can duplicate the voices of others. I know it does imitate right after, but it would’ve been more intense if it just went after John alone. In short,Terminator 2: Judgment Day has grown to be not just a great sequel or a great film of its given genres, but one of the greatest movies of all time for raising the stakes and carefully expanding its lore while improving amazing character depth. If you don't believe me of this film’s greatness, watch it now.
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