A decade after Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) destroyed the original Terminator, a second T-800 (Arnold Schwarzenegger) arrives from the post-apocalyptic year 2029. But this time his mission is to stop an even deadlier Terminator, the T-1000 (Robert Patrick), made entirely of shape-shifting liquid metal and determined to kill young John Connor (Edward Furlong), the future leader of the human resistance. Sarah, John, and the Terminator counter by going after the scientist responsible for developing Skynet, the computer system fated to destroy humanity, leading to an explosive and spectacular clash with the fate of humanity in the balance. The sequel sees Cameron pull the same trick he did with Aliens, switching genre, upping the ante and producing something entirely different (the bad guy's now the good guy!) while still feeling like part of the same franchise.T2 features thrilling action sequences and eye-popping visual effects, but what takes this sci-fi/ action landmark to the next level is the depth of the human (and cyborg) characters. One of the most popular films of the 1990s, James Cameron's action masterpiece is both a thoughtful look at violence in human nature and an exciting, nonstop thrill ride

James Cameron faced a new challenge - making the T-800 a believable guardian and endowing the character with enough personality to get the audience emotionally invested in the T-800. Arnold pulled it off beautifully, and with the help of Winston's effects and Cameron's eye, the T-800 was real once more, now with real depth and perhaps even a little heart.

SPECIAL: THE DEPTH AND COMPLEXITY OF T2