The original is better

Rating: 7/10 (16 March 2020)

Watched the Extended Special Edition cut for the first time and definitely prefer the Theatrical over this. That said, this review is for the Extended Special Edition cut.
Unfortunately for T2 there is little in the way of story that's very fresh. It's essentially the same movie as the first movie. It hits the same beats in the same places and has incredibly similar action set pieces. There are some new things in here like them going and blowing up Skynet. There a few new places they visit but at the core of it, it's very similar. Plus, the humor and one liners go little bit too far. There's great moments with the Terminator learning human emotion like when he attempts to smile but, there's a bit much of it. Speaking of elements that are a bit much, the product placement is EXCESSIVE. The amount of Pepsi and Subway in this movie is insane. Drinking, eating, and turning products towards the camera are only the start of it. While I'm complaining I may as well address the bizarre structure choices. The first hour or so is the Terminator sequel we would expect. A Terminator trying to get a guy and a guy protecting that guy. Pretty simple stuff but then it shifts into being about the creation of Skynet. Where our characters confront the creator and blow up the cyberdine building. It almost completely abandons the T-1000, barely mentioning it and showing it even less. When the T-1000 forces its way back into the movie it feels like the Skynet creation movie ends and the Terminator sequel begins again. It's jarring and only works thanks to pretty good writing but it's still an odd choice to make.
But this movie still rules. The characters are far more interesting then they are in the first movie and the themes presented far outdo the original. Even though there are a lot of similar action sequences, they absolutely RIP in this movie. The camera work is far slicker and more fluent thanks to the big budget making each sequence more engaging. There's a great blend of old school effects (rear screen projection, puppeteering, matte paintings, stop motion) and new school effects. It's also one of the last big budget action movies I can think of that meldes a ton of genres together seemlessly. You got The Thing type body horror, big action set pieces, comedic moments, character drama, and of course sci-fi. The Terminator is cooler, the action hits harder, the characters are more dynamic, and the filmmaking is top notch. Still one of the coolest sequels to a classic movie ever.