Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991)

If there is one robot movie out there that everyone should see, or one Arnold Schwarzenegger movie out there that everyone should see, this would be it. In Terminator 2: Judgement Day, the cyborg that was once sent from the future to kill Sarah Connor, John Connor's mom, must now protect John from a more advanced robot from the Earth's future. If you were alive when this movie came out, you will remember that at the time, it was a phenomenon; Terminator 2 was the first blockbuster that I can remember. The cast of T2 is actually kind of crappy. Edward Furlong is pretty mediocre as the snotty, disbelieving John Connor. Linda Hamilton does some of the most excessive overacting as Sarah Connor that I can recall. Schwarzenegger, though, is awesome. Maybe it has to do with the fact that playing an emotionless robot falls right into his wheel house; maybe it is because he was reprising a role in which he had previously been moderately successful; maybe its because the only qualification for this role was being jacked and foreign. For whatever reason, the Governor does a terrific job as the Terminator. The plot of this film is classic science fiction, robots versus humans. It does involve an excessive amount of time travel, which always turns out to be paradoxical and unrealistic, but if you are willing to overlook that, this movie is a great experience. Terminator 2 explores the different aspects of humanity as John bonds with the Terminator, and it excellently captures a fear that any good sci-fi fan has of robots becoming self aware and destroying us. It is also interesting to note how much better T2 is than the original. The Terminator was made as more of a horror film than a science fiction flick, which is really interesting when you consider the sequel has become one of the most classic films of the genre of all time. I do not think my wife would really enjoy this movie, but she has seen T3 and seemed to enjoy that. I watch this film at least a few times a year, and every time I see it, I enjoy it. I give Terminator 2: Judgement Day 4 stars.