James Cameron's Best

Rating: 10/10 (4 July 2008)

Pardon the pun, but Arnold Schwarzneggar is back in his greatest role: The Terminator. But wait  this time he is the hero.
Terminator 2 Judgment Day is one those rare sequels that outshines the original. In the 1984 blockbuster hit, the Terminator goes back in time to 1984 to try and kill the mother of the resistance movement against the machines. It fails as Kyle Reese saves Sarah Connor from certain doom, and fathers the man, Jon Connor.
In Terminator 2, Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) has gone nuts knowing about the future. She tried to blow up a computer lab to stop Judgment Daythe day when the Computer Skynet takes over all U.S. Defense systems and launches a nuclear attack against the former Soviet Union to start a Nuclear War.
Jon Connor (Edward Furlong) is in foster care, but has been getting into trouble over truancy, shoplifting, and other juvenile offenses.
Then, a new Terminator, a T-1000 comes from the future to assassinate Jon. It is made of liquid metal, can assume the form of almost anyone it touches, and can create stabbing weapons.
Enter the good Terminator (Schwarzeneggar). It goes back to time to protect Jon, rescue Sarah from the mental hospital, and hopefully stop Judgment Day.
Terminator 2 has so much going for it, it is difficult to know where to begin. First is the acting and the characters. This was the part Arnold was born to play. Linda Hamilton plays Sarah with such depth, anger, fear, and desperation, it is stunning. Newcomer Edward Furlong also does an outstanding job as someone who knows too much about the future as well.
A smaller supporting cast member, Joe Morton, plays Miles Dyson who invents Skynet, and he must deal with knowledge of the future. And Robert Patrick, who plays the T-1000 is one of the greatest villains in movie history. His eyes and moves makes up for his lack of lines. And he is the first villain since the alien of Predator that Arnold could not "beat-up."
The second strength is the story. There is depth and intrigue. Ironically, Sarah Connor forgets to value human life, whereas the good Terminator learns to respect it. The good Terminator also has keen insight into human nature. At one point, he states "now I know why you cry."
A quick kudos has to go towards the special effects of Terminator 2. Aside from the fact they do not distract from the story, they are the best new stuff since the first Star Wars. Most notably was how the T-1000 changed or morphed from one disguise to another.
The final strength is the stellar direction done by James Cameron. While the first Terminator bordered on B movie plot, characters and effects, this one ranks high on cerebral science-fiction like that of Blade Runner. Cameron deftly mixes stunts, action, special effects, story, and depth into one tasty recipe.