One of the best action movies of the 90s!

Rating: 9/10 (14 January 2007)

It happens only very rarely that a sequel is as good as the original film and it happens even more rarely that a sequel will be even better than the original film but Terminator 2: Judgment Day is one of those movies. The movie has more action, emotional involvement and even a better script than the original Terminator movie. Also this movie contains two of the most brilliantly played out character changes ever in movie history. Mainly, however, Terminator 2 is quite simply a lot of fun. This is James Cameron's third masterpiece.
Arnold Schwarzenegger returns as the title character but much has changed since the first film. Schwarzenegger was a superb villain in the first movie but proves in this movie that he is even better as a protagonist. Even though he still has the mannerisms of the original terminator you will soon see that there have been made subtle changes in the character which all work beautifully. The movie also plays on the fact that Arnold is the unofficial king of one-liners and gives him plenty of these to play with. The most memorable one-liner is probably "Hasta la vista, baby" said with the usual Schwarzenegger stiffness. Linda Hamilton returns as well and the changes in her character are far from subtle. She is almost a completely different character. Tough and incredibly strong while retaining the vulnerability that made us identify with her character in the first place. At first glance she will appear almost detached emotionally but on further inspection this proves to be far from true. A genuine tour-de-force by Hamilton. The movie also introduces Edward Furlong as a young John Connor and his performance is very much above average. In a world of annoying child actors he does the impossible and produces a likable character. One of the strengths of this movie is in its villain which is even more memorable than Arnold was in the original movie. Robert Patrick is quite simply one of the best screen villains of all time.
Another strength is found in the effects which garnered the movie one of its Oscars. The effects are breath taking and like the effects from the original movie they hold their own even today. One could even go as far as to say that the effects in this movie are better than in most movies today which is saying something. Almost every scene involving the T-1000 (Robert Patrick) contains some memorable effect. Needless to say Terminator 2 is an effects masterpiece and the movie industry today owes a lot to the innovations which are found in this movie.
James Cameron did the impossible. He produced a movie that lived up to the hype and expectations set by the previous movie. The movie even improves upon the terminator lore and in retrospect the series really should have ended here. The story really didn't warrant further continuation.
In conclusion Terminator 2 is one of the best science fiction and action movies of the nineties and indeed one of the best movies ever and it is deserving of all the praise and a place in the history texts as one of the best movies ever.
9/10