Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Dir: James Cameron
1991
*****
Terminator 2: Judgment Day is without a doubt (in my humble opinion) the greatest action film ever made. The original film The Terminator had a relatively simple premise; Cyborg chases couple, couple run to save mankind. This is only slightly spoiled by the inclusion of impossible science but it didn't matter, it was a thrill ride of action and one-liners. It would be an understatement to say that Terminator 2: Judgment Day took the original idea and bettered it. The sequel didn't just quash the idea that no sequel is as good as the original, it blew it out of the water in terms of idea, intelligent sci-fi and special effects. It also signified the big switch from 80's cheesy action films to intelligent 90's sci-fi. Arnold Schwarzenegger's popularity had grown hugely since 1984 and so James Cameron very cleverly turned his character's role around and gave us another cult bad guy, the T-1000. He even gave the T-1000 (played brilliantly by Robert Patrick) his own scary theme tune, like all good villains should (and do) have. The special effects were gob-smacking in 1991 and are still impressive today. The development of the characters was quite original too, making this a very different film from the first even though the premise is pretty much the same. It is also one of the most quotable films of modern cinema, providing Schwarzenegger with some of his best known catch-phrases. It's not a perfect film, it still retains some cheesiness of the first but nothing that can't be overlooked, perfection is in imperfections and all that. Action films weren't meant to be this intelligent, as well designed or well produced. The mindlessness was extracted from an already popular genre and completely revolutionized. It's a huge film and a huge film in the development of cinema, not entirely for the good but it was certainly the shakeup that Hollywood needed.