Terminator 2: Judgement Day. A Review

TERMINATOR 2: JUDGEMENT DAY

The war between humans and machines continues in Terminator 2: Judgement Day. The sequel to The Terminator more than equals its source material. A richer, deeper film with visual effects that still hold up, Terminator 2: Judgment Day is a great thrill ride. 

Narrated in voiceover by Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton), we learn that the artificial intelligence known as Skynet continues battling the human resistance for control. Skynet sends into the past a new Terminator, the T-1000 (Robert Patrick), which can change shapes and is made out of almost indestructible liquid metal. Having failed to kill John Connor before he was born, Skynet now plans to kill him as a child.

Under the disguise of a police officer, the T-1000 has tracked down John Connor (Edward Furlong). John is making do with his newest foster parents, with Sarah locked up in a mental institution, her stories about the past believed to be deranged ramblings. It looks like the T-1000 will complete his mission. However, the Resistance has its own Terminator. It is a modified T-800 (Arnold Schwarzenegger). John is terrified of both Terminators but eventually learns that the T-800 has been reprogrammed to be John's protector, not murderer.

The T-800 realizes that the T-1000 has already murdered John's foster parents to get to him. John now is determined to rescue his mother, with whom he has a strained relationship, from the mental hospital. He also orders the T-800 to not kill people, which the Terminator is obliged to obey. The rescue works, though coincidentally Sarah had managed to make an escape attempt that very night.

Despite their differences, John and Sarah now go into the desert to acquire weapons and escape into Mexico. She also sees John bonding with the T-800 in a way that he hasn't with anyone. A dream about Judgment Day, when Skynet will unleash a nuclear holocaust, convinces her that Skynet can and should be stopped. She learns that Cyberdyne researcher Miles Dyson (Joe Morton) will have a breakthrough that will start the rise of Skynet. She sneaks off to kill Dyson, with John and the T-800 in hot pursuit. Will she be able to kill someone who technically has done nothing wrong? Will the T-1000 find them? It will be a battle to the bitter end to save humanity, a battle where not everyone survives. 

Terminator 2: Judgment Day is a sequel where I do not think that you need to see the original to follow the plot. James Cameron, who returns to direct the film and who cowrite the screenplay with William Wisher, gives the viewer a bit of a reprise through Sarah's voiceovers. The film was wise to limit these voiceovers and let the story play out. It also was wise in having some of those voiceovers give us Sarah's thoughts. We see Sarah as both despairing and hopeful. Hamilton has a wonderful monologue where the audience sees John interact with the T-800. 

This bit of respite allows us to see that at this moment John is not the great leader of the Resistance. He is a kid, one who wanted a father figure and found one in the most unlikely of beings. Hamilton conveyed Sarah's sanity, intelligence and strength when in the hospital and her escape. We also see the human side when she struggles to kill Miles. 

I think one of Terminator 2's great strengths is that it takes the premise seriously. The film, both in its various action scenes and quieter moments, does not play the situations for straight-out laughs. That is not to say that Terminator 2 does not have a bit of humor. Early in the film, the T-800 walks out of the biker bar where he has acquired what he needs to the song Bad to the Bone. At the film's climax, the T-1000 gently mocks Sarah and John by waving his finger menacingly, almost as if scolding them for trying to defeat him. It is simultaneously amusing and alarming.

An undervalued aspect of Terminator 2 may be the performances. Arnold Schwarzenegger became a star with The Terminator, and here he manages to expand his original role. Granted, he is playing a reprogrammed T-800. However, his deadpan manner when attempting to recreate human responses works. He keeps a balance between robotic and almost more lighthearted. In short, Schwarzenegger brings a touch of humor and even emotion. His use of "Hasta la vista, baby," has become a catchphrase, and the film set that use up brilliantly. I think that few people will not be genuinely moved at the end, when he gives a final thumbs up to the young boy who has grown to love him and a former adversary who has grown to trust him.

That adversary also did remarkably well. Linda Hamilton balanced Sarah Connor's strength with her vulnerability. She is physically strong, able to take down those who fight her. She also, however, manages to show that Sarah genuinely struggles with killing someone who has not harmed her. It is a very strong performance.

More credit should be given to both Cameron and Robert Patrick as the T-1000. It was a wise decision to cast someone who is not physically imposing like Arnold Schwarzenegger is. Patrick is lithe, but that makes the T-1000 more menacing. His physicality is seemingly not threatening, but we see in Patrick's performance a deadly determination. Like his predecessor, this Terminator is relentless, unyielding and highly dangerous. When he has to play human, Patrick does well in his interactions with his other cast members.

Furlong too balanced the youthfulness of John Connor with a jaded, cynical young man. He has wonderful interplay with Schwarzenegger as the father figure he would have wanted. Furlong also has great moments with Hamilton. They were sometimes in conflict, but also with deep love between mother and son.

The highlight of Terminator 2 is in its visual effects, one of the four categories where the film was acknowledged with Academy Awards. Even now, almost thirty-five years later, the visual effects not only still stand up well but are quite impressive. Of particular note is the T-1000, this liquid figure that shapes itself and reflects whatever is in front of it. The visual effects heighten the tension and suspense in the film. The escape from the mental hospital with the T-1000 in hot pursuit is thrilling, the visual effects making things more so.

That is not to say that, in retrospect, some of the visual effects are shockingly bad. The brilliant hospital escape is followed by some of the worst rear-screen projections that I have seen. Some of the model work is also a bit weak.

Those are minor points, however. Terminator 2: Judgement Day is probably my favorite action film of all time. I admit to being slightly prejudiced in its favor. I am not unaware of whatever flaws it has. However, I still love the film. I also love the closing song, Guns N' Roses' You Could Be Mine, though I'm not the band's biggest fan.  Terminator 2: Judgement Day is a thrilling action picture with a heart. It is a worthy sequel which I think outdoes the original film. 

Pity that pretty much all that came after never lived up to the first two films. 

DECISION: A-