"Terminator 2" has enough icons to build a church

Rating: Null/10 (8 February 2011)

When Cameron the sequel for "Alien", he titled it "Aliens". Terminator could have followed suit and be titled Terminators: Judgement Day, for the sequel is fueled by the impending showdown between The Terminator (Schwarznegger) and the improved T-1000 (Patrick). In the end, the final battle is something of a disappointment, mostly because there's less fighting and more gimmickry involved, but none the less, Terminator 2 is one of the most substantive action films ever made.
Much attributes to the sequel being a success. First of all, Cameron takes his time with the characters - although we already know Sarah Connor (Hamilton) from the first film, her troubles at the insane asylum push her over the edge into a killing machine of her own. When Sarah finally takes matters of fate into her own hands, she leaves enough carnage behind to be the human terminator.
Smart plot and character twists are used from the beginning. When Schwarznegger's Terminator first appears, he assumes the identity of a leather-clothed motorcyclist. When T-1000 first appears, he becomes a cop. One of them is sent to protect John Connor. But it's the cop who turns out to be evil.
And speaking of an evil cop, Robert Patrick in his early thirties might be a ruthless killing machine, but no amount of bullets stops him from being handsome. It's almost cruel that the man of everybody's dreams is made out of metal, seeking to kill humanity's last hope. But really, aren't they all?
And luckily for the audience, the metal is among one of those things which gave room for some great special effects, still looking amazing after twenty years. Such moments as the T-1000 camouflaging itself as floor-tiles (!) and raising up still look as inventive anything done with today's visual effects. And no doubt, not a single human being can forget the detonation of a nuclear bomb, turning Linda Hamilton into a burning carcass.
Terminator 2: Judgement Day is a complex action film, which fully embraces its characters and their story arcs, while continuously showing off its visual capabilities of its director.