The newly released Terminator: Dark Fate continues the legacy left by Terminator 2: Judgement Day while also taking the franchise in a radically new direction. In doing so, the sixth instalment has some big shoes to fill, as Terminator 2 is widely considered to be one of the best film sequels ever made. How did the film earn this reputation?
IT WAS REPETITION, WITH A TWIST
Crafting a compelling sequel to the first Terminator film meant that James Cameron and his team had to build on what came before but also do so in a way that did not merely copy the first film. Terminator was a fairly straightforward story, a closed time travel loop where events were, in a way, destined to happen: Sarah Connor is stalked by the T-800, a seemingly unstoppable cyborg that pursues her relentlessly. With the help of Kyle Reese, Sarah survives the attack and destroys her time travelling assassin.
In Terminator 2, Sarah and her teenage son John are once again pursued by another mechanical monstrosity. Just like the previous installment, the film is filled with nerve-wracking tension and numerous car chases. But Terminator 2 puts clever twists on concepts, themes and characters introduced in the first film, toying with them just enough to make them more interesting.
For example, the first film introduced the war between the mechanized forces of Skynet and the remnants of humanity. The Terminators represent the extinction of mankind: they are cold, ruthless killing machines with no empathy. In Terminator 2, it is a T-800 that protects John. As Sarah notes to herself, in some ways the emotionless killing machine is a better father figure than many humans could be. It will never fail him, and it will follow its mission to protect him without faltering.
When it comes to Sarah, her obsessive drive to stop Cyberdyne before Skynet can be created means that she starts to become the thing she hates most: a Terminator. These clever role-reversals reinforce the emotional journey of the characters, elevating the film to more than a mere sequel.
IT PROVED THE IMPORTANCE OF THE CONNERS
The entire Terminator franchise focuses on how vitally important the Connors are. John Connor is supposedly the saviour of humanity, so much so that multiple Terminators are sent back in time to eradicate him and his mother. But we don't really get to see much of why John and Sarah are important in the future timeline, as the films are mostly set in the present day. However, there are some key characteristics that Terminator 2 shows of John and his mom that demonstrate why they are important to the future of the human race.
Firstly, the film shows the resourcefulness and survivor skills of the Connors. Sarah shows how tough she has become when she escapes from the mental hospital, able to hold her own against multiple assailants. John, for his part, also has inherited some of his mother's knack for survival as he evades pursuers at the mall.
But it is perhaps John’s moral code shown in this sequel film that shows why he will be a good leader. Even as a boy, John believes in preserving life, and when he talks his mother down from killing Dyson, he shows how humans must be different from the Terminators.
IT AMPED UP THE FEAR
The first Terminator introduced one of cinema’s most iconic and terrifying monsters. Beneath its fleshy exterior, a robotic skeleton of pure nightmare waits to be unearthed. But, in another shocking twist, the T-1000 introduced in Terminator 2 is perhaps even scarier. Arnold’s Terminator was pretty hard to miss and that was the point; you couldn’t stop him even though you saw him coming. The liquid metal terminator was just as deadly, but his shapeshifting ability meant that he could appear to be anyone. Nowhere was safe, and letting your guard down for even a second could mean death. The T-1000's presence made Arnold's model look downright tame by comparison.
IT GAVE US SCWARZENEGGER'S BEST LINES
There is little doubt that the Terminator series is tied together by Arnold Schwarzenegger's performances. His stilted portrayal in the first film imparted an inhuman air of menace that fit well with the idea that he was a robot underneath. It was the sequel, however, that gave many of the memorable lines that became associated with the character. Arnold demanding the "clothes, boots, and motorcyle," at the beginning of the movie, a twist on a similar demand made in the first film, is just one of many lines that fans quote to this day. His delivery of "Hasta la vista, baby" has also become iconic. But his farewell to John, "I know now why you cry" made audiences themselves cry over a killer robot dying.
Hopefully, filmmakers can continue the legacy left behind in this latest, epic movie starring everyone's favorite time- travelling cyborg. Whatever the case may be, however, we already have the perfect sequel in Terminator 2: Judgement Day.