Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) | The Complete Movie Retrospective of the Ambitious Sequel
“There’s no fate, but what we make for ourselves.”
Terminator 2: Judgment Day is the sequel to The Terminator from 1984. In my previous published retrospective I wrote about the James Cameron movie The Terminator. Today I want to talk about the sequel to the first Terminator-movie. I’m going to tell you why Terminator 2: Judgment Day is such a great movie.
Terminator 2: Judgment Day — Movie Synopsis
More than 10 years have passed since the first machine called The Terminator tried to kill Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) and her unborn son, John. The man who will become the future leader of the human resistance against the Machines is now a young boy. However, another Terminator, called the T-1000 (Robert Patrick), is sent back through time by the supercomputer Skynet. This new Terminator is more advanced and more powerful than its predecessor and it’s mission is to kill John Connor (Edward Furlong) when he’s still a child.
The Making of Terminator 2: Judgment Day
The first Terminator-movie was a great critical and financial success. Hence, the decision to create a sequel was made. Terminator 2: Judgment Day was released in 1991. After 7 years of waiting for the sequel arrived in cinemas across the world. Director-screenwriter James Cameron returned to direct and write the follow-up. Some of the big names of the original movie would also returned to star in this sequel. Both Linda Hamilton and Arnold Schwarzenegger would return to star in Terminator 2: Judgment Day. The words — “I’ll be back” — went to a whole new level.
“The important element that’s changed in her (Sarah Connor’s) life since we saw her last, is that she’s had her son; John Connor. And he is now 10 years old. The new Terminator of the movie is not targeted on Sarah Connor anymore. The Child — now himself — is the party.”
A quote of James Cameron.
That’s what director-screenwriter James Cameron had to say about what’s different in this Terminator sequel. According to Cameron a sequel to the Terminator would have been inevitable. That’s also the reason why he wanted to return to direct and write. He wanted to helm the sequel in the right direction. Cameron wanted to be sure that the crew wouldn’t forget what the concept of this franchise is really about.
Besides some cast members and director James Cameron, there were also some other crew members who returned for Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Director of Photography Adam Greenberg and Terminator Effects Creator Stan Winston would also return for the sequel. Winston said that the sequel had to be true to the first film. But according to him it had to be more than the first film. He wanted to give the audience what they got in the first, but he also wanted to give them something new and fresh. Stan Winston believes that’s what they’ve done with Terminator 2: Judgment Day.
The Search for the T-1000
Let’s talk about the addition of a new Terminator. I’m talking (of course) about the T-1000 — played by Robert Patrick. Teaser trailers for the movie Terminator 2: Judgment Day deliberately didn’t say that the T-1000 would be the villain of the story. When James Cameron started working on the movie, he had the idea to send two T-800’s to the past. For the people who have no clue what I’m talking about; the T-800 is the Terminator from the first Terminator-movie.
However — when Cameron started working on the script in 1990, he quickly came to the realization that the evil Terminator should be an updated model. For an instance the director thought that actor Michael Biehn would be a good choice for the evil Terminator in Terminator 2: Judgment Day. Michael Biehn played Kyle Reese in the first Terminator-movie. He was sent to 1984 to protect Sarah Connor from the T-800.
The explanation for this idea would have been that Skynet somehow got hold of Kyle’s DNA — which would have been used to create a new Terminator. James Cameron decided that this would not be a wise idea to follow, because it would make the story to complicated for the audience. The final choice for the T-1000 would be Robert Patrick. This choice would be more in line with the original idea for the T-800.
You see — originally Arnold Schwarzenegger wasn’t cast as the Terminator in the 1984-movie. James Cameron wanted someone who could blend in with large crowds. Someone who would look like a normal citizen, but would act like a praying mantis. When the director got to meet Arnold Schwarzenegger, they talked about the idea of him being the Terminator. James Cameron loved it — and film history was made. For the sequel, Cameron wanted to find someone who would be a good contrast to Arnold.
“If the T-800 series is a kind of human Panzer tank, then the T-1000 series had to be a Porsche”
— James Cameron about the casting of Robert Patrick in Terminator 2: Judgment Day.
The Tale of Sarah Connor
In the first two Terminator-films there is one character that carries both films. A main character that is the true star of the movies. I’m not talking about John Connor or the Terminators. The true star of these first two movies is — of course — Sarah Connor. A character that is brilliantly played by Linda Hamilton. Sarah Connor is the character that is the most developed and thought out.
She has the best character development of all Terminator-movies. Sarah Connor starts out as an every-day woman, but overtime she becomes a cunning warrior. Sarah Connor becomes someone who has a heavy duty to protect her son, because he will lead mankind into the battle against the machines. Hamilton knows exactly how to act out the transition from victim to soldier. She is intimidating on an unprecedented level.
Terminator 2: Judgment Day continues the story of Sarah Connor in interesting new ways. The movie tells the story of how Sarah Connor starts to get hope, while she still believes that Judgment Day will come. Terminator 2: Judgment Day is not only an action and sci-fi film. It also tells a story of how someone could react under great stress and unfair circumstances. James Cameron’s vision for Sarah Connor shows the audience that every action has consequences. For example what would have happened if Sarah killed Miles Bennett Dyson (one of the founders of Skynet)? That decision would have had great consequences for the world.
The Philosophy of having “No Fate”
The philosophy of the (first two) Terminator-films is connected with themes about fate. Are we free to make our own fate? Are we free to create our own future or has the future already been written. The first Terminator-film uses a necessitarian ideology on the world. With this I’m trying to say that all events in this world — in particular events created by human actions — are determined by prior circumstances.
For example ; Sarah Connor is the mother of John Conner. Duh — we got that. John sends Kyle Reese to the past, because Kyle and Sarah Connor need to make love with each other. Otherwise, John will never be born. The act of time travel does not change history, it only causes it to take place. Kyle has to become John’s father, because otherwise John could never send him back in time. Does this mean that there is no free will in the first film? Not exactly.
Both Sarah Connor and Kyle decide to make love with each other, because they have the time to make that decision. Author C. S. Lewis once said that fate and free will could exist at the same time. The Terminator from 1984 is a good example of this. However — Terminator 2: Judgment Day has another view on this philosophy. The film tells us that the future is not set in stone. Fate exists, but this fate can changed or even prevented.
The first film ends with Sarah Connor preparing herself for the inevitable war between mankind and machines. This could definitely be called a pessimistic ending. Terminator 2: Judgment Day ends with an unsure future. A future where the cyborg-apocalypse could still happen or be stopped.
Terminator 2: Judgment Day and the Philosophy of Empathy
“Listen, and understand. That terminator is out there. It can’t be bargained with. It can’t be reasoned with. It doesn’t feel pity, or remorse, or fear. And it absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are dead.”
Kyle Reese (Michael Biehn) in The Terminator.
Kyle Reese tells the audience in this horrific description (from the first Terminator-film) how humans and machines differ from each other. Terminators — among other things — don’t feel emotions or empathy. They don’t feel anything, because they’re machines. Emotions and feelings are an essential part of mankind, but that doesn’t mean that they are always a good thing.
The pain in Sarah’s leg in the first Terminator-film almost causes her to die. Another (great) example is that her emotional trauma almost causes her to kill Miles Bennett Dyson. This shows us how easily mankind gives in to their violent feelings. The T-800 from Terminator 2: Judgment Day put it best: “It’s in your nature to destroy yourselves”.
There is a war coming between mankind and computer system that creates machines. This computer system — called Skynet — was programmed and designed to make armed forces more efficient. When Skynet became self-conscious, they started a nucleair war with mankind. This was almost a successful genocide. Skynet may have free will and they may use (their) logic. But one thing they don’t have is empathy or any other emotion. At least — that’s what we thought until the release of Terminator 2: Judgment Day.
Terminator 2: Judgment Day shows us one Terminator that disposes human-like qualities. This Terminator is the T-800 played by the great Arnold Schwarzenegger. His goal in the film is to protect John Connor from the T-1000. At the end of Terminator 2: Judgment Day the T-800 knows how to use reasoning, logical thinking, free will, and — most importantly — emotions. When the T-1000 is destroyed, the T-800 knows how to make a rational decision.
This decision is that he must sacrifice himself to stop Skynet from gaining knowledge about the existence of the Terminators. This is not only a logical decision, but also an emotional decision. The T-800 now realizes why mankind matters and he decides not to follow an order John Connor gives him. The T-800 may not have the ability to destroy himself, because of protocols in his mechanisms. But Sarah Connor helps him by lowering him down into the molten steel.
It is clear to the viewer that the Terminator experiences emotional pain. One of his last lines from the movie is: “I know now why you cry, but it is something I can never do”. Skynet has programmed the Terminators in a way that prevents them from experiencing empathy and feelings. Skynet wanted to be sure that the Terminators would not become self-aware.
At the start of the film — The T-800 imitates human behavior. The T-800 has detailed files about mankind — but yet he doesn’t know what it means to be human. At the end of the film he does start to realize, what it means to be human. He already has files on why humans cry, but he doesn’t understand until he starts to feel empathy and compassion. This is also what changed him as a machine (or even as a person).
“For if a machine, a Terminator, can learn the value of human life; maybe we can too.”
— Sarah Connor in Terminator 2: Judgment Day.
