Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

Terminator 2: Judgment Day is a 1991 sci-fi blockbuster by James Cameron, which has already acquired the status of a cult action movie. Combining the features of all possible movie genres in a most unbelievable and bold way, the sequel, as the majority of critics and fans believe, has completely excelled The Terminator.

It’s obvious that Cameron is showing an enviably positive dynamics shooting one cult movie after another. When in 1984 this little known director shot an absolutely brand new sci-fi movie having instantly turned Arnold Schwarzenegger into a first class star, the whole world of cinema was amazed. This only work could allow Cameron repose on his laurels as a cult Hollywood director but he was not a man to stop at what has been accomplished. So he successfully went on with Aliens (1986), The Abyss (1989), the sequel of The Terminator (1991), Titanic (1997) and by now he reached the summit of his glory with the incredible Avatar that heads the list of the highest-grossing movies in history and is probably one of the best movies ever shot. However Cameron is not going to stop challenging and surpassing himself, and we can only guess of what unbelievable scale his new masterpiece will be.

Terminator 2 was the most anticipated project of ΄90s, and hardly was anyone disappointed by this large-scale and spectacular action movie. Cameron went far beyond the frames of the first Terminator having considerably broadened the plot and deepened the personality of the main hero. If in the first part T-800 is a soulless cyborg assassin, in the sequel he is practically humanized. This fact is proved mainly by his relationship with John Connor: by the end he is not only the boy’s defender, but also a close friend. The final scene where the Terminator decides to sacrifice himself and dives into a vat of molten steel also shows his evolution. If in the first movie he destroys himself to fulfill his program, in the sequel he seems to make a conscious moral choice.

Schwarzenegger’s personage is not the only one who makes a long way from the first Terminator to the second. Sarah Connor performed by Linda Hamilton changes from a naïve and tender girl into a strong, brave and cold-blooded woman. In her reborn personality there is much more of a universal soldier than of a woman, but this doesn’t make her less attractive.

In Terminator 2: Judgment Day the action takes place in Los Angeles 11 years after the events covered by The Terminator. Sarah Connor has a 10-year-old son John who is to be the world’s savior in the forthcoming Apocalypse. The boy is unaware of his great future mission; however he shows his strong and rebellious character even at this age. The main villain in this movie is the new generation cyborg T-1000 (Robert Patrick), whose characteristics and skills exceed even those of the Terminator’s. He has been sent from the future to kill John Connor. He hunts the boy while T-800 and Sarah Connor do their utmost to save John. Practically the whole film represents a more than two hour chase, so captivating and exciting that it’s impossible to take the eyes from the screen even for a moment.

The final scene where the Terminator destroys himself accompanied by the great musical theme can hardly leave anyone indifferent. This masterpiece traditionally ranks very high in the top list of science fiction movies, while the visual effects used by Cameron in 1991 do not at all yield to such recent movies as The Green Hornet and I Am Number Four which are at the top of the best action movies of 2011 list.