Terminator 2: Judgment Day is a 1991 American science-fiction action film directed by James Cameron, who co-wrote the script with William Wisher. Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Robert Patrick, and Edward Furlong, it is the sequel to The Terminator (1984) and is the second installment in the Terminator franchise. In its plot, the malevolent artificial intelligence Skynet sends a Terminator—a highly advanced killing machine—back in time to 1995 to kill the future leader of the human resistance John Connor when he is a child. The resistance sends back a less-advanced, reprogrammed Terminator to protect Connor and ensure the future of humanity.
The Terminator was considered a significant success, enhancing Schwarzenegger's and Cameron's careers, but work on a sequel stalled because of animosity between the pair and Hemdale Film Corporation, which partially owned the film's rights. In 1990 Schwarzenegger and Cameron persuaded Carolco Pictures to purchase the rights from The Terminator producer Gale Anne Hurd and Hemdale, which was financially struggling, for US$15 million. A release date was set for the following year, leaving Cameron and Wisher seven weeks to write the script. The pair frequently conferred with the special-effects studio Industrial Light & Magic (ILM) to determine if their ideas for the extensive special effects were possible. Principal photography began in October 1990 and lasted until March 1991, and took place in and around Los Angeles on an estimated $94–102 million budget, making it the most-expensive film ever made at the time. The advanced visual effects, which include the first use of a computer-generated main character in a blockbuster film, resulted in a schedule overrun, and theatrical prints were not delivered to theaters until the night before its July 3, 1991 release.
Cast[]
- Arnold Schwarzenegger as the Terminator: a reprogrammed Model 101 Series 800 "T-800" Terminator that is composed of living tissue over a metal endoskeleton
- Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor: a self-trained soldier who is dedicated to preventing the rise of Skynet
- Edward Furlong as John Connor: Sarah's son who is destined to lead the human resistance in opposition to Skynet
- Robert Patrick as T-1000: an advanced, shape-shifting, prototype Terminator that is composed of liquid metal
- Earl Boen as Dr. Silberman: Sarah's doctor at Pescadero State Hospital
- Joe Morton as Miles Bennett Dyson: Director of special projects at Cyberdyne Systems Corporation