Fellman's Movie Reviews

Terminator 2: Judgement Day is a 1991 sci-fi/action film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Robert Patrick, and Edward Furlong. It is the sequel to The Terminator that was made in 1984 that became a surprise hit for Schwarzenegger and director James Cameron. This movie continues the story, finding another, more advanced terminator, the T-1000, being sent back in time to kill Sarah Connor’s son, John Connor when he is a teenager. A model of the original Terminator, the T-800, is reprogrammed in the future and sent back by John Connor to protect himself. Crazy, right? Time traveling can’t be easy. 

Like the first Terminator, this movie is also highly praised in the movie community. It is a groundbreaking film for special effects, with the liquid metal body of Robert Patrick. And the character development of the T-800 and Sarah Connor make the movie especially endearing. The T-800 is learning to be more human while Sarah Connor is learning to disconnect and be more of a killer. The juxtaposition of the characters is an interesting concept for the plot of an action movie.  

Personally, I thought the first movie was better. I liked this movie too, don’t get me wrong. I thought it had a lot of good action sequences, and I was impressed by Robert Patrick’s performance. It’s just that, there’s something that bugs me about taking an unstoppable killing machine and turning it into a 12-year-old boy’s best friend. Even for cognitive dissonance, this is taking it a step too far.  

The entire time while watching this movie, I can’t help but compare it to the first one. And there’s just some things that are better. Obviously, the special effects are better in the second movie. It was almost a decade later, and they were using, guess who… Industrial Lights and Magic… The default for special effects in Hollywood. So, it’s really not a big surprise there. As opposed to the first movie, which was essentially an independent film with a couple million-dollar budget.  

I think though, when they get to the second movie, that they’re kind of, I don’t want to say “pandering”, but more, playing towards the bigger audience. It’s almost a buddy picture. It’s really toned down from the first movie, and even though it’s still an action movie, there’s no denying that it’s aimed at teenagers more than the adults that the first movie was aimed at. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. It’s still a good movie. I’m just saying, there’s a difference. 

So, yeah. Go and see Terminator 2: Judgement Day. Like the first movie, it was selected for preservation into the National Film Registry because of its cultural significance. As it should be. The special effects are a steppingstone to what we have today. If not for this movie, we wouldn’t be where we are with CGI and animation so real it’s almost mind-boggling. And as always, keep on watching, with a smile on your face…