A very rare occasion when the sequel was superior to the original

Rating: 10/10 (24 August 2006)

STAR RATING: ***** Jodie Marsh **** Michelle Marsh *** Kym Marsh ** Rodney Marsh * Hackney Marsh
Following on from the last movie, Sarah Connor (again played by Linda Hamilton) is now locked in a secure mental institution raving about Judgment Day and how six billion lives are going to end on August 29th 1997. Meanwhile her son John (Edward Furlong), the future resistance leader, has grown up without a stable father/mother figure and is now a rebellious young delinquent with no idea of how important he will come to be in his seemingly hopeless future. But Skynet is out to try it's luck again. Having failed to stop John from even being born, it sends a new soldier back in time, the T-1000 (Robert Patrick) an advanced prototype with advanced strength and speed and the ability to morph into anyone it comes into contact with (as well as being able to make it's hands turn into long, sharp objects) to kill John in his youth. However, once again the resistance is able to send a fighter, in the shape of The Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) this time on the good guys side. As well as evading the T-1000, The Terminator must find John, break his mother free and stop inventor Miles Dyson (Joe Morton) from putting 'Skynet' on line and causing an apocalypse.
Seven years after the first (and much cheaper looking) film was released, James Cameron stepped back behind the director's seat and gave the world Terminator 2, a slick and breath-taking film that was the most expensive film ever made at the time of it's release (good job it made back the revenue!) Alongside The Godfather, this is one of the only films I can think of where the sequel out did the original. The last film repeated, T2 combines some nice human drama, characterization and thought-provoking commentary on the nature of humanity and war with some awe-inspiring spectacle, in the shape of awesome action sequences, out of this world special effects which will still knock the socks off you a few years on, brilliant production design and unforgettable characters. It is an all-round, none stop, unforgettable thrill ride of a film. Forget the minor technical glitch of why the resistance have sent back a warrior exactly the same as the one in the last film (only good!) and not a human fighter or the sometimes depressingly dark and drainy feel of the film, this is one movie that is destined to truly stand the test of time. *****