Forget "Titanic", forget "True Lies," forget" Avatar" and its long list of upcoming sequels (please, please forget about" Avatar".) Over the weekend, James Cameron’s best movie "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" was re-released in theaters to coincide with the date of Judgment Day (Doomsday, the Apocalypse, etc.) in his "Terminator "films, August 29th. "T2" delivers everything you could ever want in a James Cameron film: phenomenal directing, practical effects blended in perfectly with computer effects, dialogue, humor, blood, heart, and emotion. That list goes on and on, "T2" is widely considered a perfect movie by all standards. Along with "Aliens "(also directed by Cameron), it’s one of the few sequels people will argue is leagues better than the original. While I prefer the first" Alien" to "Aliens," I can definitely see where they’re coming from. James Cameron is an expert at building in an already existing world and expanding the elements to a more epic scale. I wrote about James Cameron's first film, "The Terminator" here.

"Terminator 2" follows the basic format of the first "Terminator" movie, it’s set in the past and involves two beings who are sent back to change the fate of the war between man vs. machine. Although this time instead of one Terminator and a human, two Terminators are sent back. This movie would’ve done an excellent job at tricking the audience, making them constantly guess who the good guy and who the bad guy is but unfortunately the “twist” was spoiled by all the trailers and promotional material. As we know from the first "Terminator", a Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger) is sent back to eliminate Sarah Connor. This time around, the robots are being sent back to track a young John Connor. The Arnold Schwarzenegger Terminator in this film is actually the good guy and is tasked with protecting John Connor from an upgraded version of a Terminator, the T-1000 played by Robert Patrick.

For the first half hour of the movie, it’s pretty ambiguous which Terminator is there to protect John and which is there to terminate him. It’s not until the amazing mall scene where the Arnold Schwarzenegger robot delivers the famous line “Get down!” that the dynamic is fully realized. As I mentioned earlier, the fact that Schwarzenegger was playing the good guy in this movie was widely known before the movie was released. However, that doesn't make the reveal any less fantastic.

The T-1000 (Robert Patrick) is like something out of a nightmare. If you thought the Schwarzenegger Terminator from the first movie was intimidating, the T-1000 is a thousand times scarier. The T-1000 is made of liquid metal so he’s able to change his appearance, tricking people into believing he’s someone else. He’s able to melt into the floor or through ceiling vents (and the CGI doesn't look that dated even today.) When being hunted by the T-1000, you never know if he’s waiting to attack disguising himself as the floor, the wall, as your mother or even as yourself!

This movie takes what the first "Terminator" accomplished and makes it bigger and better. The human characters are a lot more fleshed out and realized and even the Terminator is given much more character development. The young John Connor forms an amazing bond with the Terminator and teaches it human interaction and emotions, making him less of a machine and more like something in between. There are pros and cons to this change in how the Terminator as a character affects the audience. On one hand, it takes away the horrific menace that is Arnold's Terminator. Giving the Terminator jokes, lighthearted moments, and catchphrases make it feel like a toned down version of this monster he once was. I can forgive this decision considering we still get a ruthless character with Robert Patrick's T-1000. I really appreciated the first "Terminator" because of Arnold's performance, he plays the soulless killing machine so incredibly well and it's almost disorienting to see him change in this film. It all serves a purpose and is paid off well, but seeing him become a hero is a huge tonal shift from the first movie that can be a bit distracting.

John Connor (Edward Furlong) can get a bit annoying in this movie and I don't know whether to excuse the writing or his acting. He’s an obnoxious 10-year old who treats the Terminator robot like a toy for a good portion of the film. I do promise that he starts to grow on you throughout the movie and his bond with the Terminator makes up for every annoying, awkward-sounding line he may deliver. Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) goes through an interesting arc in this film. For the entirety of the first film she was being hunted by a robot who looks like Arnold Schwarzenegger and now she’s being forced to trust a robot who looks exactly the same. It can’t be easy to come to terms with the fact that the face constantly haunting your nightmares is now here to help your son. Linda Hamilton plays the part phenomenally and brings some complexity to the once fragile and scared woman from the first film.

The ending will leave even the most tough-hearted on the verge of tears. The build-up of the Terminator learning human emotions is paid off in such an incredible way, it's almost surprising the lengths an action-packed movie went to deliver an emotional hit like this. The 3rd act of the film is really tense and engaging primarily due to the showdown of the Terminators. The T-1000 is a formidable foe for Schwarzenegger's character, having plenty of fake-out deaths and gaining the upper hand in almost every battle they engage in. The movie doesn’t let up for even a second, every moment is either filled with an amazing action set piece or engaging dialogue. I always have respect for the original movie in a franchise but it’s difficult to put "The Terminator" over "Terminator 2: Judgment Day" for the simple reason that it creates a much more engaging, heartfelt story. It manages to even change genres, the first was an effective horror-action film while this is full-on action with some comedy thrown in the mix. James Cameron is no stranger to switching up genres when making sequels. He took Ridley Scott's horror "Alien" and created "Aliens", a sequel which is a full on "lock-n-load, shoot-em-up" action film. Every unique idea brought up in the first "Terminator" is expanded on. You’d think there’d be nowhere to go but up with this franchise, but unfortunately, the sequels to this movie were incredibly bad and pretty much ruined any hope of the franchise being saved. There are talks of a trilogy being planned by James Cameron once he gets back the rights to the "Terminator" series but I’m worried considering "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines," "Terminator: Salvation" and "Genisys" were monumental failures that tried too hard to copy the magic of "T2" and the original. Also, judging by his obsession with making "Avatars 2-5, "I don't have much hope for Cameron creating sequels in the future. I'd much rather he come up with new ideas. At least we’ll always have those first two "Terminator "movies.

If you’ve never seen "T2" I strongly recommend it. If you’re a fan of action or of James Cameron this is pretty much-required viewing. Tropes, effects, and catchphrases from this movie will be “borrowed” or played homage to for years to come. “Hasta la vista, baby!”, “Come with me if you want to live”, “Get down!” The action genre had always been alive prior to this movie, but "T2 "brought a breath of life and reinvigorated it immensely. Just make sure you have a tissue box for the last couple scenes.