Before Watching: Terminator 2 - Judgment Day (1991)

Rating: 8/10 (14 September 2019)

"Terminator 2 - Judgment Day" (1991) is the continuation of Terminator (1984) and takes time about ten years after the prequel's events. If you want to get as much out of it as possible, there are a few things you need to keep in mind before watching:
Where Terminator explored the emotional and human spectra of a confrontation with a murder robot from the future, Terminator 2 instead ramps up the action and take it to a whole different level. It has more - more explosion and guns, more police skirmishes and more Terminators. It is a visual feast of spectacular special effects and some great sceneries that want a big screen to deliver the impact. The score with the famous theme hits home as well. Terminator 2 could easily have been released a few years back and still competed with movies of this decade, and it's crazy to think it is approaching 30 years since its release.
Nevertheless, the focus on the action makes the emotional weight shrink. Terminator 2 doesn't come off as close or cozy as the first, so depending on if one prefers the emotional or spectacular side of the premise, one will also claim either the first or second Terminator movie as their favorite.
A final word also about the violence - it is surprisingly brutal at times. Some scenes can be quite hard to watch, but beyond that, the movie is not more shocking or disturbing that the first. Remember to see the first Terminator movie before this one, as you will benefit greatly in terms of narrative details and appreciation of the characters.
One more thing - in terms of franchise consistency, this is where the Terminator saga ends. Future installments consistency fails to deliver at this height, or doesn't follow the established canon. They can be watched as movies that explores the Terminator concept, but Terminator as a franchise ends here.
My personal grade: an explosive 8/10. If you found this helpful, check my profile for more reviews.