Terminator 2: Judgment Day

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.

So, it is time to review the last good Terminator movie. When T3 came out, I swear that people forgot it was even released... but at least it felt like it belonged in the Terminator franchise. When Salvation dropped, it felt like it fit as well, but it was an MCG film, so it also felt like Terminator meets Mickey Mouse. And when Terminator Typo was released, it kind of did it's best to completely alienate all the fans that the franchise had developed over the years. But this one, well, this one actually was great. The Robert Patrick T-1000 liquid metal thing looked amazing, Patrick acted ominous and frightening, and seemed like a legit threat despite the size difference between he and Arnold. And in the process the T-1000 managed to produce some truly creepy visuals. And this John Connor, Edward Furlong, was absolutely amazing. You really got the sense from him that he could be the man that leads the rebellion in the future. And, Sarah Connor was buff, and upped her game as the heroine that could do, well, actually do the action she was required to preform. And not only that she was creepy and obsessed as well. She looked and acted like the kind of survivalist that would train the future savior of the world. It all came together as a brilliant move with old Arnold playing the good guy this time, and, though it was an obvious bank on his star power, they pulled it off so no one would care. Right down to the first meeting where John didn't know if he could be trusted or not. It was a fantastic story with fantastic visuals, and it all made of a stellar and entertaining watch.

Behold what we like to call the Greatest Action Movie Ever Made, and for good reason. For me this sits without a doubt as one of the best movies (and movie sequels) I've ever seen. The action scenes, action set pieces, practical (and visual) effects are truly incredible for their time and still hold up today. Solid 10/10, highly recommend the full 2h 33m extended cut.