A sequel that surpasses the original in every possible way.

Rating: 10/10 (11 April 2018)

Now, when it comes to me and Terminator 2: Judgment Day, I never saw it as a kid due to my age and it's subject matter never practically interesting me, but as I grew older, the movie certainly peaked my interest so last year, I decided it was time for me to watch it and once the end credits rolled, I was in utter shock at what I had watched and I absolutely loved it, from it's action and character moments to it's themes and acting, T2 is truly a gem of a sequel.
The film starts with a bleak scene set in the future following a nuclear holocaust known as Judgment Day with some narration explaining how Skynet sent a Terminator back in time to the 90s to kill John Conner before he can become the savoir of the human race, but a reprogrammed Terminator is also sent back to protect John The two land in the present and obtain clothing and weapons and begin looking for Conner. After locating John at a video game arcade, both the Terminators find him and the T-800 engages the T-1000 and a chase commences. John and the T-800 escape and proceed to rescue John's mother, Sarah, from a mental hospital. Now, the trio just stop the T-1000 from carrying out his mission, destroy Cyberdyne and stop Judgment Day from happening.
In the annals of sequels, there are only a few that have been able to take what made the first one so memorable and amplifies it to such a degree that it's able to be every bit great if not better than it's predecessor, Terminator 2 is one such film. Much like what Nicolas Meyers did with Wrath of Khan or what Denis Villeneuve did with Blade Runner 2049, James Cameron gives to us a true marvel of a movie that easily seems to outdo the first film where much like what he did with Aliens, Cameron simply takes the story from the first Terminator and makes it much more grander, multifaceted and thorough that it makes it damn near impossible for the following films in the series to even be what T2 has been able to do and they have mostly pale in comparison to what this movie has done.
From start to finish, the movie is a masterstroke of film arrangement, with a series of scenes and sequences that seem to roll of one another like a domino set where every scene and every moment is put into motion and the story is always moving like a well-maintained car while Cameron beautifully handles everything without trying to cram too much stuff into the movie and slowing it down. While watching the movie, it becomes clear that James, being the genius filmmaker he is, was given a larger budget for the film and it really does show by contrasting the depressing opening scene in T2 with the first film's opening. James does the job effortlessly by showing the viewer a grim and desolate depiction of the future with such a intense level of skill that the whole scene has been craved into the mindset of a generation of movie-goers and it never fails to send a chill running down your spine. While the first Terminator was a straight-out sci-fi horror movie with a love story added in, T2 focuses on the importance and the difficulties of being a family as shown with Sarah being in a metal hospital and is unable to be there for her son and John searching for a father figure and finding one in the Terminator along with John teaching the T-800 how to be more human which remains the heart of the movie, in fact I wouldn't be surprised that The Iron Giant and Big Hero 6 drew inspiration from T2 in that respect. With that aspect of the movie in mind, a theme that flows though both Terminator movies is humans vs. technology as shown in the scene where Sarah Conner attempts to kill Miles Dyson as she doesn't bring into question ethics or morals showing how she is becoming more like a terminator but before she kills him, she comes to her senses and she sees what she's becoming. There's a moral tapestry that flows throughout the movie practically when John tells the T-800 that he just can't go around murdering people or when he's explaining why humans cry and curiously, it is John's teachings and the rebooting of his CPU that makes the Terminator more human and in the end, he realizes part of his humanity when he sees John crying and it makes his sacrifice all the more impactful and heartbreaking. A truly great hero in a movie is one who gives his life for a greater cause, something larger than his own life and while the T-800 could have lived, he decided to sacrifice himself for the future of human kind making him a true hero. Cameron chose to use this powerful moralistic issue in the film because he didn't want the Terminator murdering everybody and everything in his way, but rather weave this message into the story which many who watch the movie seem to overlook and it proves to be a very mystical feature of the movie and it makes the message of the movie all the more powerful.
Of course, it wouldn't an action movie without action and Terminator 2: Judgment Day certainly delivers that in spades. Right from the moment the T-800 enters the bar and straight up hurls a man onto a hot stove, it's clear that the action isn't toned down like Die Hard 4 nor is it over-the top like Army of Darkness, rather it's the kind of action that always keeps you glued to the edge of your seat as you never know what will happen next and the movie has so many memorable action scenes from the wonderfully shot shoot-out in the hallway between the two terminators and the ensuing truck chase to the exhilarating and emotional climatic battle in a steel mill that few other action movies can even compete with it in terms of fast-paced action. While not all directors might be on James Cameron's level when it comes to filmmaking, that's a given, but any filmmaker who are looking at making action movies should take a careful look at the various other positives found in the filmmaking of Terminator 2: first off, not every action scene needs to be filmed with shaky cam or done in slow-motion in order to tell the viewer that the scene is impressive or critical as it can distracting for the viewer and takes them out of the moment. The cinematography in the film feels fresh and in depth where the viewer is able to see everything perfectly right down to the tiniest, most insignificant details, kudos to Adam Greenberg for that. The action scenes are cut to perfection with no jump cuts or messy editing to seems to be a trend in most action movies now a days. The visual effects are absolutely fantastic and still look just as revolutionary as they were back in '91 given how T2 was one of the big budget movies to use CGI, it just looks flawless as opposed to a lot of later big budget movies that have tired to used it but have mostly failed. The shots of the T-1000 changing are northing short of dazzling, masterful, and brilliant, particularly the moment of the T-1000 coming out of the ground or when the T-800 blasts the T-1000 to bits are the stand out moments in terms of visual effects mastery at work. Simply put, if Terminator 2 had never been made, we wouldn't have had the effects in Jurassic Park, The Matrix or Lord of The Rings. As for the musical score, it's truly a masterpiece of film composing as Brad Fiedel is able to outdo the score from the first movie The score for T2 is astonishing, conflicting and grim all at the same time with a ceaseless bass line that keeps the movie going with a relentless and pulsating drive that never seems to stop, even during the quiet moments plus the music at the opening of the movie is truly awesome in every single possible way as it gets kicks the film off on a musically high note. Not surprisingly, the film also a substantial amount of humor added in which does make the movie a bit more lighthearted than the first movie practically the scene where the T-800 is in a bar and takes a pair of sunglasses while Bad to the Bone is playing in the background, it's classic James Cameron humor at it's best.
As for the cast of T2, they are all amazing in their roles and under Cameron's guiding hand, they give it their all. Linda Hamilton once again completely rocks it as Sarah Conner, going from a scared and naÃ¯ve heroine to a battled-hardened bad-ass with zero effect, but also willing to protect her son and even a bit crazy as seen when she attacks Miles Dyson and almost kills him but realizes the error of her ways which makes for some superb character development, something rarely seen these days in major action movies, but also maintains a surprising amount of defenselessness that makes Sarah such a captivating character and it's truly a shame that Hamilton hasn't been in other big character roles after T2, but at the very least, her performance as Sarah Conner demonstrates a strong woman hero who grows as a character and has an impact on the story at hand. Edward Furlong is down-right fantastic as John Conner playing a rebellious teen with ease but he's also capable of showing great emotional range as shown in the final scene as well as a fair amount of vulnerability, lovability, and intelligence while displaying sighs of the leader he will someday become. Easily one of the best child actor performances I've ever seen in a big budget movie which is rare. Robert Patrick as the T-1000 is the embodiment of what a truly great villain can be, he's restrained, stealthy, icy and determined with a cold dead look of anger on his face which always instills a sense of dread whenever he's on screen but his personality is also simple and effective in his motivations and seems natural when talking to people rather than a full-on robot which makes him all the more threateni, intimidating and such a great villain, but out of all the actors in the movie, none are as awesome as Arnold Schwarzenegger as the T-800 and was born to play this role and while some may say that he isn't the best actor out there, the role seems tailor made for him, but with Cameron's directing, Schwarzenegger is able to give a truly wonderful performance by coming across