Arnold Schwarzenegger is the perfect example of "The American Dream". He came to America in 1968 as an immigrant with basically nothing, only a dream to become the worlds best bodybuilder. 44 years later his resume includes being the world's best bodybuilder 7 times in a row, being one of the biggest superstar actors in the world during the 80ies and 90ies, being one of the most wealthiest people in Hollywood, marrying into the Kennedy family (the one from which one of them became president and was assassinated) and off course the Governator! 2 terms in a row being the 38th Governor of California. To say that he has had an impressive life so far and that he has reached the absolute top in his many careers is an understatement.

Terminator 2: Judgment Day is without a doubt the undefeated masterpiece on Arnold Schwarzenegger his (acting) career. And not only from Schwarzenegger, but also from Linda Hamilton, Robert Patrick and (most likely) James Cameron.

The story is brilliant, simple at first sight, but complicated when you look deeper, and visually stunning. Skynet is still happening and John Connor is still the leader who is fighting a guerrilla movement against the robotic overlords who's only concern after it became "self-aware" is to wipe out every human being. Its a little bit like the Matrix, except humans are not inside an artificial environment used as batteries but instead in the real world as canon fodder. In order to prevent the resistance from gaining the upper hand a robot is send back in time to kill John Connor and the resistance sends back someone too in order to prevent it from happening. This time they send back a reprogrammed T-800 Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) to protect his younger self.

Robert Patrick plays the role of the bad guy perfectly. He is emotionless, ruthless and unrelentless on his path to find and kill John Connor (Edward Furlong). That and his physical abilities (like changing his form into someone else and invulnerable to most weapons) make him without a doubt one of the best villains i have ever seen in a movie.

When it comes to time travel and time paradoxes this movie tries his best to explain it all, and surprisingly comes with a very good answer, yet very much in the style that is Hollywood (meaning that anything is possible, as long as it happens in the movies). From the first movie we already knew that Kyle Reese (the guy that stopped The Terminator from the first movie) is the father of John Connor. Meaning that if Skynet never send someone back into the past to kill Sarah Connor, Kyle Reese would never have been sent back into to the past to prevent the murder in the first place and John Connor would never have been born. But in this sequel James Cameron tries to explain that Skynet is basically its own creator. In the first movie the Terminator was destroyed in a hydraulic press, but a part of the machine survived and was recovered by Cyberdyne. The unusable remains of the Terminator were than used as inspiration and as a catalysator to radically change and speed up the process of computer development to the point where it eventually would become Skynet.

For its time this movie and the story was revolutionary and legendary. A little bit of CGI (computer generated images) doesn't mean a fart in these days since practically every major blockbuster movie is (over)doing it, but in the early 90ties it was still unheard off. You have to realize that computers back than were not mainstream, not fast and DOS was still one of the most used programs at the time. Internet (as it does right now) did not yet exist. Basically computers were still almost only for in the office at work or for geeks and nerds. But Terminator 2 showed for the first time to a large public what computers are really capable off.

Anyone who likes to watch movies and never saw this movie should put this one on the top of their movies to watch list. Even if you are not a fan of James Cameron or Arnold Schwarzenegger, i can guarantee you that your opinion on both of them will be (slightly) changed after seeing this movie. I won't go so far as to say that this is the best action movie of all times, because in my opinion that wouldn't do justice to other sublime movies like the first Matrix movie, or The Lord Of The Rings Trilogy, or the latest Batman Trilogy. But it comes pretty damn close.

I hadn't watched this in years and, to be honest, I was somewhat trepidatious about how it would hold up. As it turns out I should have known better; it's every bit the smart, emotive powerhouse I remembered, and miles better than most modern efforts in the same niche.

One of the things I find most impressive about it is the respect it maintains for the original, where most sequels of this type (including T3 and Terminator Salvation) can't wait to distance and differentiate themselves from their lineage. Even though the first Terminator had aged quite a bit in the seven years between films, T2's sharp, daring script constantly cites events, characters and situations from its timeline like a religious zealot thumping the bible. It also builds directly upon the dark, challenging themes and premonitions of its predecessor, resulting in a towering, substantial world that seems so real I could almost touch it.

Of course, I'd be silly not to mention the still-spectacular action scenes, which flawlessly build in size and scale until they reach a timely crescendo at the end of the third act. CGI was still in its infancy in the early '90s, but James Cameron's knack for its timely, appropriate application is already at veteran levels in T2. As a direct result, those infamous scenes with a transmorphing T-1000 remain striking and impressive, where other effects of the period now seem clunky and unrealistic. Not only is it one of the best sequels ever, it's among the very best of the batch in multiple genres, and Arnold has never been more at-home in a character. This is an old ride that's aged like wine.

"The Terminator" is a great movie but "Terminator 2" expands the story and adds even more action. Every moment that Robert Patrick's T-1000 terminator is on the screen is gold. When the T-1000 is frozen, shattered, and then reformed, it's a Hall-of-Fame Sci-Fi moment.

The music that accompanies the T-1000's appearances on-screen is like an alarm that warning you there's trouble, as if the sight of it running after you at high speed isn't already enough.

I think the biggest kick for me is the T-1000's ability to form "knives and stabbing weapons" (to quote Arnold's T-101), which it uses to kill, pry, torture, etc.

Schwarzenegger is great as the now human-friendly T-101. I love the way his cyborg becomes ultra-aggressive and attacks the T-1000 late in the film. I'm not sure I'm very big on the John Connor character. His behavior is the only thing that dates the film. I think his relationship with the T-101 brings some unwelcome corniness to the ending.

I watched the "Extreme DVD" edition of "Terminator 2" and it adds a number of scenes to the theatrical version that clear up some of the questions I had. For example, in the scene where the T-1000 has Sarah call for John in the steel mill. I always wondered why it didn't just kill Sarah and imitate her voice and appearance. As it turns out this occurs after the T-1000 has been frozen, shattered, and reformed. Several moments in between these events reveals that the liquid terminator is malfunctioning, which could explain why it needed Sarah to call out to John. It isn't just a case of being afraid to kill off main characters after all.

"T2" is another James Cameron classic and if you haven't seen it you're missing out on a great film.

A great achievement in the film industry for its impressive action scenes, practical and digital effects, and heartfelt character development. Loved by many and considered to be one of the best sequels and action films of all time. To that, those people aren't wrong.

T2 is indeed just as good as people build it up to be. Though I now see the first Terminator as the best, this movie comes a close second. Not to say this movie hasn't achieved the height of the original. But, that it failed in the atmosphere and the horror of the unknown that the first accomplished to portray. Plus, it did take from what James Cameron worked on in Aliens for the parental arc.

A sequel should build upon the first and while the second may not be better than its predecessor, it can still be the perfect sequel. It changed the dynamics, continued the story naturally and increased the meaning of the first without copying its design. Yes, this movie does take from The Terminator in respect of set pieces and pacing in some points, as well as the overall plot. But here it is used to convey a stronger understanding with the characters. There is a bad guy, a good guy sent back through time again. But not only did Cameron change the dynamic, but he also changed Sarah Connor's perspective. Which is why it builds upon what we learned in the first. Since we were so grounded in Sarah's point of view last time, we can be set free to experience the change it naturally had on her. Plus for new viewers eyes, you have John's point of view to lean on. Again like I said in my _The Terminator_ review, going into this movie blind directly helps and grounds you for the change-up like how the first was vague and left puzzle pieces for the first half-hour.

Now the reason I don't think this movie is as good as the first, or why it isn't a 10 is that it is using the same plot from the first, it has odd cuts that are jarring to me now that I've seen them. The T-1000 isn't as menacing as the first T-800 was, even if it wasn't the whole threat in this movie. But in its core, this film does have a genuine threat that we see, again, through Sarah's eyes. It's a wonderful way to distract from the fact that the physical villain is a bit weak.

At the heart of this film though, is the several messages that it naturally evolved from the first. The realisation of Sarah that nothing would be the same and cuts ties with her lost world. The confused and traumatic discovery that young John has to process. The teaching of the T-800 to respect the underlying factors to his mission, and to not do something knowing it won't matter in the long run. And the ties all these have in juxtaposition with Miles Dyson's family. It's how you raise your future, how you don't need to listen to fate. No one family is perfect, no one person is responsible.

This is what would set this film apart from all the rest. The fact that fate is a matter of perspective. It was the only one to work with this one ideal and changed the franchise inside-out only after a second film.

**9/10**

Great watch, will watch again, and can recommend.

This is everything the original was turned up one notch. Now Arnold is a caring unfeeling robot, and we missed a whole movie where Sarah Connor went hard into training.

This has twists, escapes, a liquid terminator, better special and practical effects, some big explosions, active discussion of how to change the future, and some really iconic moments.

The movie isn't chatty in the traditional sense, once Arnold gets involved, all the dialogue outside the asylum is very much to mechanically move the plot forward. The terminators don't voluntary "chat", they more vomit exposition dialogue.

While I'll always remember this as a great movie, it isn't without its flaws. Hearing John's pre-pubescent voice cracking almost made me turn it off, and I know I found a couple of (small) problems while I was watching, but I couldn't remember them by the end of the movie, so they're clearly not that important. I may have been a bad foley sound on a weapon, and probably something that the T-800 that didn't seem robo-talk enough.

I honestly don't know who isn't going to like this movie: it even has a low kill count.