Weak Premise, Great Movie

Rating: 8/10 (14 July 1999)

Terminator 2 depends upon a premise contradictory to the original. Since, according to THE TERMINATOR, only living things can travel through time, how could the completely liquid metal T1000 travel through time? The theatrically released version also has one other very weak point. How does John Connor (Edward Furlong) recognize the T1000 copy of Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) from his mother? The Special Edition clarifies this, showing the T1000 malfunctioning. This crucial scene should never have been deleted from the theatrical release. Also, the only fakey sequences in the film are two shots using Stan Winston's Oscar-winning special effects. Other than the T1000 malfunction sequence, the additional material in the Special Edition gives the film a sluggish middle. Still, this an extremely powerful film, with fine acting from everyone, especially Robert Patrick, who is chilling as the T1000.