Great action but the story doesn't hold up to much scrutiny.

Rating: 8/10 (14 November 2009)

The Terminator is a personal favourite, it has a perfect blend of action, sci-fi, horror and noir all on a medium budget. After the rise to megastar status of Arnold Schwarzenegger and creator James Cameron becoming the most popular action director of the day a sequel was inevitable.
T2 is essentially a retread of the original, this time with a stronger, smarter and faster machine, the T-1000 (Robert Patrick) being sent back to kill 10 year old John Connor (Edward Furlong) and another, a T-800 (Arnie) which has been captured by the future resistance and reprogrammed, being sent back to protect him. Sarah Connor is now in an institute due to trying to blow up the Cyberdyne (the company who will unwittingly cause the end of mankind) factory and in general acting crazy and spouting off about robots from the future.
T2 really shines in the action department. The effects of the liquid metal T-1000 were revolutionary and they look better than similar effects used in Terminator 3 over a decade later. Most scenes are permanently engraved in the public consciousness, iconic in every sense of the word. The bike/truck chase, Cyberdyne break in, they all showcase the perfect blend of CGI and practical effects.
Linda Hamilton gives a brilliant performance as Sarah, tortured by the knowledge of an unavoidable future. Cameron has a knack for writing female characters haunted by the memories of the past, as seen in Aliens, and I think Hamilton was deserving of an Oscar nomination, just as Signorney Weaver had gotten 5 years before.
The music is again composed by Brad Fiedel and, like with the original film, it rises above being a generic action film score and also manages to create new themes and motifs not heard in T1. It's a great score in its' own right and the main theme is one of cinema's greatest.
So, the action is mind blowing, the lead performance is touching and the atmosphere and music are top notch. What's not to like? I'll tell you what my problem with T2 is...
In the first film Skynet inadvertently causes John Connor to be conceived, as the man sent back to protect Sarah Connor, Kyle Reese, becomes John's Father. When asked why the machines have bothered with this plan rather than kill John in their time, Kyle answers "Their defence grid was smashed. We'd won, taking out Connor then would make no difference. Skynet had to wipe out his entire existence." Essentially, in a last ditch attempt to secure their survival Skynet sent back a machine to kill the man who had destroyed them, Connor, before he was ever born. They did not attempt this earlier because Connor was not a messiah, he was just a soldier, albeit a "great soldier". Kyle goes on to say, reference the "Time displacement equipment" that "The Terminator had already gone through. Connor sent me intercept and they blew the whole place." "How are you supposed to get back?" he is asked. "I can't, nobody goes home, nobody else comes through. It's just him and me." Reese is saying is that there is no way anything else can be sent through time as the time machine has been destroyed. Skynet were desperately grasping at thin air when they sent The Terminator back in the vain hope that it would salvage them. If they had time to plan they would have sent back 100 terminators and made sure the job was done right. Reese leapt in the machine just in time to be transported too.
Reese states that only living human tissue can pass through the machine, The Terminator is a metal endoskeleton but the flesh around it allows it through. This explains why Skynet sent Arnie and not one of those Hunter Killers we see in the 'future flashbacks'. This is conveniently forgotten in T2 as the T-1000 has no living tissue but still makes it through. However, why would it ever be getting sent through in the first place? THE WAR WAS OVER! The humans had won. After Skynet sent back Arnie in T1 the time machine was destroyed. They would not be sending back another machine to kill John Connor because they had been defeated. If Skynet was gonna send something back again, why not send 1000 Hunter Killers to make sure the job is done properly? Once you start asking questions you realise that T2 falls apart quickly and is really nothing more than an unnecessary, nonsensical sequel.
Another problem I have is with is Arnie himself. Since T1 he had become a huge star, hence the T-800 being reprogrammed by the resistance to give Arnie more screen time by partnering him up with the good guys. On many occasions during the film he is used for grating comedic effect ("I need a vacation"). The relationship between him and Connor as he becomes a father figure to the boy is well played out but for every great moment there is a groan moment. T3 and its' director Johnathan Mostow get trashed for turning the character into a joke but the groundwork was laid out here by Cameron. In the first film The Terminator dons sunglasses to cover a damaged eye socket. In T2, he puts them on for no reason other than to look cool, poses and then rides off on a motorcycle while Bad To The Bone blares on the soundtrack. It is silly, unnecessary and sets the tone for a machine that isn't to be taken seriously.
T2 is a highly entertaining action film but as a sequel to a sci-fi classic it is a letdown due to its' complete lack of respect for the rules laid down in the original. I recommend it and I do enjoy it but it is not the untouchable classic it is touted as and certainly doesn't hold a candle to its predecessor.