Schwarzenegger's Best Film, Hands Down

Rating: 10/10 (7 April 2009)

Oh yeah, "Terminator 2: Judgment Day"......The greatest overall action film next to "Die Hard" and the greatest science fiction one next to "Aliens". It is, without a doubt, my favorite movie of all time and I would give this 20 stars if I could and this is a film that everyone recognizes and knows about and this is a film that absolutely gets what it deserves.
In 1991, Arnold Schwarzenegger had finally cemented his reputation as the world's greatest action star after a couple great classics (The Terminator, Predator, Total Recall and the Conan films). This is the movie that defined Schwarzenegger forever as the one and only "Terminator", the cyborg sent from the future to protect the kid (Edward Furlong) who will save the entire world. Even though he's a machine, he learns what humans need to do and what they were put on this Earth for. And like what action films lack, T2 develops its characters flawlessly, and yes, EVEN the Terminator is given development as a character! When the T-100 arrives to the mid 1990's, he is basically awkward and socially clueless and knows nothing about human emotion or interaction. As the film progresses, he learns how humans behave and learns a few one-liners from John (Hasta la Vista, baby) and Spoilers: at the end before the Terminator melts himself in molten steel, his humanity is completely obvious, "I know now why you cry, for it is something I can never do." And just before he completely disappears in the molten steel, he gives the "thumbs-up" gesture, something that John had taught him before.
It is also probably the most heart-breaking ending and even the most insensitive guy will cry to that.
Also, Linda Hamilton makes one of the greatest ever screen performances by a female, and even challenges the performance of Sigourney Weaver in "Aliens". And her character has really developed from the first movie. The main problem with most movie sequels that have been made is that they usually act like the film before it never happened. But Sarah Connor has transformed from a timid waitress into a smart and brutal militaristic woman. And it shows off James Cameron's film-making genius and he truly knows how to make a great action film and a great sequel to follow it, because of this and "Aliens" (which I will write up a review soon) 2 of the greatest sequels ever made. During the course of this film, Sarah Connor has already developed a phobia for Terminator's due to her experiences in the first movie. And during most of the film, she doesn't trust the Terminator at all and even tries to destroy its CPU chip (only in a deleted scene). But at the end, when the Terminator is just about to destroy itself, she shakes hands with him and makes peace with him.....very,very touching moment. Also, Hamilton did a great job at providing the narration, with some greatly written lines, and she utters them with perfect drama and suspense to reveal the story in the beginning and what's next for the future at the end.
Also, Edward Furlong really makes a name for himself in his film debut. He is absolutely perfect as the juvenile offender who is affected by the absence of his mother and biological father. Throughout the film, he becomes attached to the Terminator and teaches him the meaning of human life. And no one else could've done the role better or equally as great. FYI, it's not really that easy for a kid with limited acting experience to pull it off.The line, "She's not my mother, ''Todd''" shows what Furlong can do and says that line with the perfect facial expression and delivery. And Furlong and Hamilton are really the 2 who provide the intense emotion that has capitalized James Cameron's films ever since.
The villainous T-1000 (Robert Patrick) has gotta be the icon for movie villains, 'cause the whole "liquid metal" thing is so cool. And the film was even a landmark for special effects which make the action scenes stand out and make them among the best in the genre.
This is further proof of why every action fan needs to have James Cameron alive to give em a reason to live. I'm already looking forward to "Avatar" and "Battle Angel", and I'm sure those 2 will kick @$$ once they come out.
If it weren't for this film, every other action flick that you see these days wouldn't be the same. When you watch it, just keep in mind that this movie changed a lot of things. It's not just an excellent action epic, but a very emotionally charged story about human survival.