So we come to it at last. The final movie in our celebration of arguably the worlds best known action star. A man whose body count is in astronomical figures. One who will happily punch man, woman, child, alien or camel. The master of explosions and cheesy quips now reaches his finest hour. The moment you've all been waiting for: Arnold Schwarzenegger's magnum opus Terminator 2: Judgement Day.
Released in 1991, 7 years after the original, and directed once again by James Cameron, Terminator 2 stars Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong, Robert Patrick and Earl Boen. The central idea is similar to the first film, but this time we have 2 Terminators sent back in time to duke it out. It's a fitting conclusion to 'Schwarzenegger Month', as well as one of my favourite movie of all time; let's see why.
The movie takes place 11 years after the events portrayed in the original. John Conner (Furlong), now a 10 year old boy, lives a rebellious lifestyle in Los Angeles. His mother Sarah (Hamilton) has been committed for her fervent beliefs that the machines will rise up against humans, and that 'Judgement Day', a day in which almost all of mankind will be exterminated, is imminent. She attempts to convince her Psychiatrist Dr. Silberman (Boen, reprising his role from the first movie), that she no longer believes in this future, and is ready to transfer to a minimum security facility so she can be visited by John. Silberman believes that Sarah is simply telling him what he wants to hear, and will attempt to escape should she be moved.
John lives with foster parents, and has all but disowned his mother, of whom he is embarrassed, not buying any of her 'Leader of the Future Resistance' stories. But that all changes when Skynet sends, what else, a Terminator, back in time to kill him. This particular Terminator, a T-1000 (Patrick), is an advanced prototype with liquid metal skin, and the ability to imitate people, voices, and even create 'knives, and stabbing weapons'. Fortunately, the human resistance is able to send a Terminator of it's own, albeit a bog-standard one. A model T-800 (Schwarzenegger), reprogrammed to protect John, finds him at roughly the same time as the T-1000, and the battle for John Connor's life and his destiny as humanities last hope begins.
Just like in the first movie, also a masterpiece, the evil Terminator stalks it's quarry relentlessly. Now Arnold, John and his mother (who they broke out of the asylum), have the challenge of not only fighting off an unstoppable predator, but of also preventing the day in which mankind will be almost entirely decimated by weapons and equipment that they had designed to protect themselves, a theme explored more recently in I, Robot (2004).
What results is one of the most intelligent, well paced, earnestly acted and brilliantly directed flicks of all time. Say what you want about James Cameron, he knows how to do an action movie, and this is by far his finest achievement, as well as Arnold's. This film has some of the best action scenes in history. Car chases, shoot-outs, 1-on-1 battles, this film has them all, and each one is better than the last.
As well as the adrenaline-charged actions, the film is also backed up by a solid and well-developed storyline. It's great to see the concept of global destruction being examined, and the impact it has on the people who allegedly have the power to stop it is fascinating as well as compelling.
I also love the emotional turmoil John goes through. In his first feature film, Furlong is stellar in the role of a reluctant Messiah, realizing that not only has everything that his mother told him been true, but also having to come to terms with his role as mankind's soon-to-be saviour.
As with any film you adore, it's possible to talk about it for hours, but I'm just going to wrap it up here. One of my favourite movies, easily top 5, Terminator 2 is clever, thrilling, has great characters, groundbreaking special effects, and a legitimately emotional ending. A landmark in Sci-Fi Cinema, and culture in general.
Hope you enjoyed Schwarzenegger Month, another special month coming your way in August.
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