Director
James Cameron
Leading Actors/Actresses
Arnold Schwarzenegger, Edward Furlong, and Linda Hamilton
Supporting Actors/Actresses
Robert Patrick, Joe Morton, and Earl Boen
Genre
Science Fiction
Language
English
Awards
Terminator 2 was nominated for the following Academy Awards: Best Cinematography and Best Film Editing. It won the Academy Awards for Best Makeup, Best Sound, Best Sound Editing, and Best Visual Effects.
Date of Release
July 3rd, 1991
Producer
James Cameron
Setting and Context
1995, Los Angeles, California
Narrator and Point of View
Terminator 2 is told through the point of view of Furlong's John Connor and is narrated by Hamilton's Sarah Connor.
Tone and Mood
Violent, Futuristic, Unsettling, Unrelenting, and Mysterious
Protagonist and Antagonist
John Connor (Protagonist) vs. the T-1000 (Antagonist)
Major Conflict
The major conflict of the film involves John Connor's struggle to survive (with the help of his mother and the T-800) in the face of seemingly constant attacks by the T-1000.
Climax
The climax of Terminator 2 takes place during the massive chase sequence towards the end of the film in which Sarah and John most elude the T-1000.
Foreshadowing
At the start of the film, audiences do not know if the T-800 will again repeat his role as the antagonist of the film. Some of the opening scenes in T2 foreshadow the T-800's eventual reveal as one of the good guys of the story (particularly when he doesn't kill anyone at the bar like he did in the first film).
Understatement
The seriousness of the machines becoming sentient and taking over the world is understated in the film.
Innovations in Filming or Lighting or Camera Techniques
Terminator 2 pioneered the use of Computer Generated Imagery (CGI) in film, particularly because of the shape-shifting scenes involving the T-1000.
Allusions
Allusions to the following films: The Terminator (1984), Blade Runner (1982), Metropolis (1927), The Wizard of Oz (1939), True Grit (1969), Westworld (1973), and to The Thing (1984).
Paradox
John Connor is a child, yet is mercilessly hunted by a robot hell-bent on his death.
Parallelism
The are some parallels that could be drawn between the story of The Terminator (1984) and T2 (the T-800 stopping at a bar and taking clothes and a ride, for example).
