After the opening credits, we watch a repetition of the iconic opening of the original The Terminator: a secluded street near an industrial urban centre, a bolt of lightning, a buzzing thrum, and a hulking figure appears, naked, kneeling beside the semi which is now missing a chunk of its metal (a visual promise that the special effects in this sequel will be on a whole other level than what we got last time). It all starts with something that is the same but different-another Hollywood directive for sequel filmmaking. Thus, Terminator 2: Judgment Day is the ur-sequel, the cinematic text that shows what is possible not only in sequel cinematic storytelling, but in the blockbuster movie as a whole. T2 is not only an escalation of The Terminator, however it’s an escalation of the entire mode of popular movie making. Cameron’s first Terminator was a relatively modest film that does a whole lot with a limited budget. But Terminator 2: Judgment Day is a sequel on a whole other level. As Anton points out in his Aliens review, three of his first five films are sequels and he has time and again defined, and redefined, what it means to make a great sequel. Terminator 2: Judgment Day is arguably the biggest and baddest sequel ever made.

In Hollywood, sequels need to be bigger, badder, and bolder.

Terminator 2 full movie 1991