Terminator 2: A Sequel As Good As They Get

Today, we live. But tomorrow, we die violently, and only one of us knows the truth. Sarah Connor is consigned to a mental institute, deemed insane because of what she's learned about both her past and our future. Her son John is growing up without her, oblivious to the fact that Skynet, the malicious artificial intelligence that will eventually wipe out humanity, is after him as well. And when a T-800 - the killing machine from the first movie - is sent back in time, who's to say what will happen when killer robots with shadowy motives and a family burdened with an inconvenient truth collide? Terminator 2 is the rare sequel that lives up to the first film in just about every way while actually improving on it in a few others, and in my experience, it's a movie that just gets better with every watch.

The first thing I like about it is James Cameron's willingness to not just copy the tone of The Terminator. In some ways, I do miss the sleazy, noir-driven atmosphere of the first movie, but in others, it is extremely refreshing to see a movie commit to doing things its own way. In a lot of ways, Cameron's decision to shoot Terminator 2 more like an action movie than a noir is likely one of the reasons it managed to carve out its own legacy apart from the original. But this is probably mostly due to the fact that this movie subverts your expectations and subverts them well, riffing on what you know about the first movie to completely surprise you, creating some truly unexpectedly memorable moments.

Now, even if the tone of Terminator may be very different from its predecessor, its plot does share a lot of similarities to the structure of the first film, though the emotional weight rests in a very different place. Watching Terminator and Terminator 2 is like listening to the same story told by two very different people, and this is an intriguing effect I've rarely, if ever, seen replicated. More importantly, the pacing of this movie is just phenomenal. The story flows absolutely seamlessly, blending two or three different arcs together in a beautiful cinematic braid that twists together without so much as a hitch or hiccup. It's always developing, ever-escalating, slowing down when it must, and maintaining momentum when it should. There are even some noteworthy uses of setup and payoff to be had here, bringing such a sense of consistency to the movie and making each and every character seem valuable and relevant to the story being told.

The contrast between Edward Furlong's John Connor and Arnold Schwarzenegger's Terminator is very good. It was a real treat to get to see an entirely capable fighting machine who knows virtually nothing about human interaction learn about being human from a kid with a knowledge of the streets. It made the Terminator imperfect and gave John a reason to exist, where he otherwise might have just been dead weight that the story would have needed to pull. Sarah Connor is portrayed wonderfully by Linda Hamilton, who brings a much-needed intensity that contrasts nicely with the deadpan efficacy of Schwarzenegger's Terminator. I really came to empathize with the goals of everyone on screen, especially Sarah, and so this brings weight to action sequences that may have been lacking otherwise. One particular high-speed chase is very effective, and I want to commend the skill of the stunt pilots, the writers, and the editors of Terminator 2, all of whom crafted a truly incredible action sequence that puts the lives of some very likable characters on the line.

Though its tone and emotional weight rest in a very different place than its predecessor, Terminator 2 maintains a lot of what made the first film special - namely that extremely good pacing - while taking the franchise to exciting new places. I'm of the opinion that both films are among the greatest action movies ever made, movies that manage to do a little bit of everything without ever becoming uneven. Also, would it be wrong for me to say Terminator 2 is more than a little bit of fun to watch? You won't hear me complaining about being entertained. Movies like this one aren't found easily, the type that can mix impeccable talent with an overwhelming sense of fun, and when we do find movies like this, movies like Terminator 2, they're more than worth celebrating.

Hasta la vista, baby.

Terminator 2: Judgement Day - 10/10

Matthew 6:34