The Most Beloved Sequel Of All Time Streaming On Netflix
When making a sequel to a hit movie, there are two ways to go. The first method expands upon the source material while taking it in new, unexpected directions—think Empire Strikes Back, Gremlins 2, etc. The other way is to remake the first movie but bigger, louder, and with more explosions. The best example of the second method is Terminator 2 (1991), an all-time blockbuster action extravaganza streaming on Netflix.
T2 Improved On The Original
It might sound reductive to call Terminator 2: Judgment Day nothing but a rehash of 1984’s The Terminator—a movie that, sadly, is not streaming on Netflix—but I challenge anyone to describe the movie in a more accurate and succinct way. Admitting that T2 is just a beefier version of its predecessor in no way diminishes its brilliance.
There’s a reason that Judgment Day is considered by many to be the best sequel ever made. It rocks! Plus, it just might have the best Babyface turn ever put on film. In case you’re not a wrestling fan, that means a bad guy switching to a good guy.
Although, in this case, a 400-pound, shotgun-toting cyborg murder machine might be stretching the definition of good gut a little bit.
Time-Travelling Killer Machines
In case you’ve been in a coma for the last 33 years, Terminator 2—which, now that you’re awake, you should totally check out on Netflix—follows 10-year-old John Connor (Eddie Furlong) as he dodges an evil liquid robot (Robert Patrick) sent from the future to kill him. Aiding John is another robot (Arnold Schwarzenegger) sent from the future to protect him.
In the first film, the Terminators sent a hulking T-800 back in time to assassinate Sarah Conner (Linda Hamilton), whose unborn child, John, is destined to lead a human resistance in the future. The T-800 failed, which is why, this time, Skynet sent the super-advanced T-1000.
One Big Chase
The bulk of Terminator 2—currently the only Terminator on Netflix—is one big chase sequence. The unrelenting T-1000 oozes its liquid metal body after John Connor and the good Terminator as they break John’s mom out of the hospital and flee towards Mexico. Eventually, it catches up to them, and the two Terminators have a knock-down-drag-out slobber knocker at a steel mill.
Landmark CGI
With T2, director James Cameron ushered in a new era of digital special effects, a plague that haunts Hollywood to this day. The difference between Terminator 2, however, and your average CGI schlock on Netflix is that Cameron used computers sparingly and only for the things he absolutely couldn’t do practically.
As a result, the liquid metal effects in Terminator 2 still look good compared to the ugly CGI overkill of a modern action movie like Netflix’s Rebel Moon. I’m probably taking my life into my own hands, mentioning something as beloved as T2 in the same sentence as the vehemently hated Rebel Moon, but oh well, I like to live dangerously. I ain’t afraid of no cinephiles!
The Only Terminator On Netflix Is Only One You Need
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I suppose I should mention just how successful the movie was when it was released, just in case those newly awakened coma patients are still reading. Terminator 2 was a pop-culture juggernaut right out of the gate and continues to be popular even now in its Netflix era. At the time it was released, T2 was the third highest-grossing movie of all time.
Slightly more impressive, the movie got not one but two Sega Genesis games, Terminator 2: Judgement Day and T2: The Arcade Game. Two games for one movie on the same system was unheard of in the 16-bit era and still is today. That’s how big of a deal Terminator 2: Judgement Day was!
So what are you waiting for? Say “Hasta La Vista, baby!” to your boredom, and go watch Terminator 2 on Netflix.
