'Terminator 2: Judgment Day' (1991): Cuddly but cool

Terminator 2: Judgment Day

This is undeniably one of the best action movies ever made.

It has one of my favorite villains (Robert Patrick as the T-1000), incredible effects and chases and Schwarzenegger at his badass peak.

And yet, quite a bit of it is godawful.

Edward Furlong's squeaky, prepubescent voice. Linda Hamilton's occasional wild over-acting and speechifying and the endless stream of dated, stupid one-liners ("chill out dickwad") almost derail what is arguably one of the great sequels.

But the relentless action and smart nods to the 1984 original keep Terminator 2: Judgment Day clearly in the classic column. I just wish it weren't so schizo.

On the one hand it has the same no holds barred intensity of the first film and with its bigger budget director James Cameron was able to give us more riveting visuals of the end of the world, the dominance of the terminators and the advances of the T-1000.

Robert Patrick

But on the other hand was the fact that in the 7 years that had passed between the first film and this one Schwarzenegger had become a beloved hero to kids (thanks to movies like Twins (1988) and Kindergarten Cop (1990)) and audiences at the time seemingly would not accept him as a bad guy.

So a concession was made to make him John Connor's (played by Furlong) protector instead of his would-be assassin. That wouldn't bother me if it weren't for the fact that they try to make it seem as if the Terminator can and will develop feelings and by the end of the film he's almost an E.T. like figure.

Still, this is a minor quibble. Robert Patrick is terrifying and unforgettable (best movie run ever). Schwarzenegger shows why he was such an iconic 90s movie star (I love how he coldly tells Furlong his stepparents are dead) and I do enjoy the fact that Linda Hamilton kicks some butt of her own in this, she's a real action heroine; instead of a damsel in distress.

Furthermore, this film did what a great sequel should do -- it revisited what we liked about the first film and expanded on it themes, giving us more of an appreciation for what was at stake if the evil Skynet conglomerate truly realized its vision.

Ultimately, this is a more conventional Hollywood film -- but they don't make 'em like they used to.

It was the biggest hit of its year (1991) and it featured a mature female lead instead of some hottie of the moment, it has haunting images of burning corpses on playgrounds and its villain is featured throughout in a police uniform. Plus there's a neat visual guns n' roses gag.

What more could you want?