It took a while, but I finally got around to watching TERMINATOR 2: JUDGEMENT DAY with my wife. It's been many, many years since I saw the film (last time I saw it was over 15 years ago at the age of 13 or 14). As a young teenager, I remember really liking the film but not being in the manic frenzy that many of my friends were in for it (for example, I just saw it once in theaters compared to a buddy that saw it roughly 10 times... in theatre!). I also remember it brought a bit of attention back on Guns 'N' Roses since they did the theme song.

So, how was it at my more critical age of 31 years? Good. My wife really liked it... but many bits of it were a bit too hokey for me. Having the first TERMINATOR film film fresh in my memory, the more kid-friendly version of T2's Arnold's T-800 leaves a bitter taste after the utter bad-assery he embodied in the first film. It tended to drag a bit with some extremely long action sequences, but it was still a fun film to watch that holds up over the years.

One thing that really stuck out for me was how long the film would go without dialogue. Many of the action scenes were minutes of pure action with just the sound of guns, vehicles and destruction. It was during these moments I came to realize how universal the film was since story and character are largely being conveyed without any need of understanding the English language. In place of a spoken language, characters spoke through movement, how they looked, and weapons/vehicles of choice. Arnold's T-800 was a beast of force. His weapons of choice were things like grenade launchers, vehicles like Harley Davidson motorcycles. The T-1000, by comparison was way more efficient... often killing with liquid blades and riding around in a police car. One of the most impressive things in the film is the perfect complement the T-800 and T-1000 are to each other. As the T-800, Arnold Schwarzenegger is over-powering beast... something like a gorilla. Instead of choosing a rival with a similar presence, Cameron and his team went in a completely different direction with the T-1000, creating a monster that is far more elegant and quick... something way more feline in physicality. The T-1000 is beautiful, lithe, and almost-feminine compared to the testosterone-fueled physicality of Arnold's character. It's a fascinating and very entertaining choice. It's odd that, in many ways, the T-1000 feels even more feminine than Sarah Connor (who has become so obsessive with the ominous future since the first film that she's dedicated her life to training for the War). But it's also one of my biggest problems with the film because Sarah comes across like a dysfunctional alcoholic more than someone who has dedicated their life for battle.

All in all, it was fun to revisit T2. It's not as 'cool' as it was when I watched it at 13 (which seems to be the age they were aiming for when making the film) but pleasant nonetheless.