IMDb top 250: #34
Rating 9/10
Director: James Cameron
Writers: James Cameron & William Wisher Jr.
Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Robert Patrick, Joe Morton & Edward Furlong
"Hasta la vista, baby"
Set 10 years after the events in the first Terminator, another T-101 cyborg is sent back in time, but this time not to complete the previous failed mission to kill Sarah Connor but to protect her son John Connor from another more advanced and powerful Terminator, the T-1000. Sarah, John and the T-101 seek out Miles Dyson (no relation) who works for Cyberdyne to try and change the future by stopping him from creating new a microprocessor that will form the basis for Skynet. Reuniting Schwarzenegger and Hamilton from the first movie, T2 features the two working together and this adds a whole new spin on the story and was a brilliant decision.
Where the first movie was parts action and horror, T2 is just all out action; amazingly filmed action that you can see has influenced so many movies that have followed it. Again Cameron along with William Wisher Jr. has produced an amazing script, filled with even more memorable dialogue and genuine, real laugh out loud moments. There was a time many years ago when I was obsessed with this movie and I could recite every word.
The film features some of the most amazing action set pieces ever and for the time some really unbelievable CGI. The dirt bike chase scene with the huge truck leaping from the road above down into a concrete flood channel is still spectacular, the kind of stunt where you watch and firstly think "wow", and then secondly "how did they do that?" T2 is much more violent than the first movie, however the fact the 'good' Terminator agrees not to kill people it doesn't feel as extreme. The special effects are amazing and they did a great job on the T-1000's shapeshifting and dissolving into liquid.
Arnold is still amazing in the role that made him famous, the character has a complete shift in personality but Arnold still makes him menacing, funny and on this time out even a little sweet. I love the relationship between the Terminator and Edward Furlongs' John Connor. Furlong gives a really mature and great performance, although I forgot how screechy and squeaky his voice is at times. He too has some great lines..... "did you call moi, a dipshit?" for example!
Linda Hamilton is like a completely new character in this movie, gone is the awful perm and constant screaming, replaced by a ripped bad ass chick, to rival Ellen Ripley, who knows how to handle herself. Not only does she look the part but her performance is much improved from T1. I still get goosebumps during the scene when she encounters Schwarzeneggers' Terminator again for the first time. Robert Patrick is a really cool villain and I love how they've reversed the roles, with the big bulky guy being the protector and the skinny scrawny guy being the villain and the more dangerous of the two.
Terminator 2: Judgment Day is a brilliant sci-fi action film; much better than the first. It's an
absolute must see classic!
