The Terminator and Terminator 2: Judgment Day (T2)
were among the earliest R-rated films I ever saw, and introduced me to a fusion
of action and horror and sci-fi the likes of which I had never witnessed
before. Little did I know at the time, but it would become a massive influence
on the kinds of movies I would grow to love, as well as influence my own
writing.
As
much as I absolutely love the original Terminator,
I always tend more toward T2 if a
choice between one or the other is presented, for a few reasons. Nothing
against The Terminator, but it looks
and feels like a deeply 80’s movie, and that’s a huge part of its charm. T2, on the other hand, is timeless. The
visual effects hold up incredibly well, and I’m not just talking about the
innovative cgi effects that brought the iconic T-1000 (Robert Patrick) to the
screen. In fact, for a movie so well remembered for breaking ground with
computer effects, it boasts equally impressive practical effects. But what are
effects in a movie without a good story at its base? Well, T2 has that going for it, as well.
T2 is often cited as one of the best
sequels of all-time. I had seen it many times before I was made aware of, in
retrospect, something glaringly obvious: T2
is also kind of a remake of the original Terminator.
I think the reason I didn’t notice for so long was because of how different the
characters are. When you break it down, Terminator
is about a warrior from the future (Michael Biehn as Kyle Reese), protecting
someone in the past (Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor) who is important but
vulnerable, from an assassin (Arnold Schwarzenegger as The T-800 Terminator)
that’s also from the future.

Some
fans feel that one of T2’s weakness
is its lack of originality, but to me, it’s a non-issue. It is perhaps the
greatest sequel I’ve ever seen. The story, though similar in its simplest form,
has higher stakes than before, and the characters have greater depth.
Sarah
Connor is no longer a damsel in distress, she’s a hardened badass—perhaps the
toughest female action star since James Cameron made Sigourney Weaver into a
comparable warrior in Aliens—and
though Sarah shares the main lead with John, she’s even more sympathetic than
before, because the audience knows what she went through before, but no one
else believes her, and she’s pent up in an insane asylum.
As
for future Resistance leader J.C, some think he’s annoying and are critical of
Edward Furlong’s performance, but I think he’s great. He doesn’t give a shit
about his step parents or his crazy mom or obeying any rules…at least, that’s
what he wants everyone to think, but as the movie progresses, we see he really
does care about his mom, and feels bad he didn’t believe her when she told him
he was the key to saving humanity in an unwritten future.

In
essence, T2 is just a big chase film.
The Terminator was a simple,
surprisingly airtight plot that allowed for some really excellent action
sequences. That may be another reason to like it more than T2, because when you dig into the plot of T2, some things start to not add up, but it, too, has a pretty
well-thought-out plot. The difference here is it’s primarily action, whereas The Terminator tended a lot more toward
straight-up horror. That’s not to say there isn’t horrific stuff in T2 (the reveal that the T-1000 has
stabbed John’s stepdad through the head freaked me right out as a kid), but the
action scenes are more numerous and more jaw-dropping.


“The
unknown future rolls toward us. I face it for the first time with a sense of
hope, because if a machine, a Terminator, can learn the value of human
life…maybe we can, too…”
-Sarah
Connor
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