Still Unstoppable, Still Relentless

Rating: 10/10 (7 August 2005)

The first Terminator pic was a modest success at the box office in 1984; by 1990, thanks to video, millions of people were anxious for a sequel. James Cameron granted their wish and again exceeded expectations. This sequel is 10 years later, based upon the age of the central character (played by newcomer Ed Furlong). Cameron had a budget of over a dozen times the original picture and used it all to great effect. Notably, this was an early use of computer FX which are prevalent today; back then, they were simply amazing to behold (this was before even Jurassic Park '93, and each instance of their use was startling - we weren't used to it). Most of them revolved around the T-1000 super-villain (Patrick), a revolutionary approach to depicting a fantastic menace. Arnold was back as another durable cyborg, but seemed quaint & outmoded as the picture progressed.
The film was another impressive progression of action and suspense, interlocked with the theme of nuclear holocaust. More than just building on the threat of nuclear annihilation from the 1st pic, the picture throws the concept at the audience with some striking images. It slows at about the halfway point when the heroes evade the pursuing super-killer for a time, but then you see that nuclear bomb going off, still about the best such depiction ever seen. Just when you think you can relax for a few minutes, a city blows up. By this time, the definitive version of this film is the 'extended' cut Cameron presented a couple of years later. The extra scenes accentuate the plot and don't slow the story down at all.
Like the best sequels, it presents characters which progress and advance. This is especially true of Linda Hamilton's character; she's really lived those past 10 years and is a much older & stronger mother figure here, coarsened by ceaseless struggle. She really does turn out to be the mother of the future, as mentioned in the original pic, obsessed with saving us all from a nuclear winter. Arnold, of course, has to play a more human-like cyborg, very different from the mono-syllabic droid he interpreted earlier. The film pulls another fast one in the beginning, still keeping the audience guessing as to which is the heroic protector, Arnold or the T-1000 (the T-1000 actually seems more human than Arnold in the first 20 minutes). When the hero turns out to be Arnold, the viewer claps in appreciation for a fine role reversal. We had to wait another dozen years for the next one, but it could never be as good as this.