One of the greatest action movies of all time

Rating: 10/10 (30 May 2003)

I remember when I was little and this came out, I wanted to see it so bad but I was never allowed to. Finally, when it was on PPV, my Dad let me see the last twenty-five minutes or so and I loved it. It wouldnt be until I went to my freinds birthday party that year that I would fully experience 'Judgement Day'. While T2 is a sequel with a new story arch, James Cameron in some ways was doing a remake. Now with the budget he originally needed he could tell the story he truly wanted to tell but couldnt. (Such as the T-1000 character, who he came up with during the first film)You'll notice similar set pieces and lines, similar action scenes to the ninth degree. John Carpenter did something similar to this with Escape from L.A., a sequel to Escape from New York that was in some ways a remake because the budget he was able to get. All similarities aside, T2 is a force to be reckoned with. Though T1 maybe scarier, with its edgy world and dark themes, as well as a much scarier Arnold, T2 has some scary moments too, as well as some of the most complex and extremely entertaining action scenes ever scene. Even by todays standars, the special effects in T2 rock. Maybe becasue they only used CGI when puppetry and animatronic and make-up effects wouldnt work, and they only used those effects when regular people or sets couldnt work. Something the new Star Wars movies could take a hint from, only use CGI if you HAVE to. T2 isnt just an action movie though. From the opening chse scenes that begins in a mall and ends in a flood chanel, to the closing shootouts and chases that start at a Cyberdyne office and end in a steel mill, T2 mixes in a touching and emotional story of surival and characters. In a way, T2 is storyline based, character driven, with huge shootouts, chases and special effects along the way to make it a blast. The T-1000 is very scary and creepy, Arnold is more over the top than he was in T1, but he still kicks butt. The opening scene that shows the future war still stands tall as one of the coolest battle scenes in all of cinema, and when John and the Machine talk about how humans arent going to make it, that it is in our nature to kill each other, creeps me out how very true it is. T2 shouldnt be missed by anyone, though it lacks some in the originality factor, it makes up for it in slam bang visuals, widely entertaining shootouts and chases, one liners, good acting, and a great story. When you think about it, The Matrix copied alot of the things the Terminator franchise created, accept added on action elements that could never be completed in real life, but made up a reason why it could. Either way, Matrix is cool, but T2 (and T1) are flat out amazing. **** out of ***** 9/10