In 1984's "The Terminator," Arnold Schwarzenegger's titular time-traveling android murder machine very nearly kills Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton), who will give birth to a son destined to lead the resistance movement against Skynet, the A.I. program that will eventually take over the world (and send the Terminator back in time in the first place). That's already a lot to take in, but as fans of the long-running sci-fi franchise know, it doesn't get any less complicated.
In the sequel, 1991's "Terminator 2: Judgment Day," Skynet sends an improved Terminator, the T-1000 (Robert Patrick), to do what the old Model 101 (Schwarzenegger) couldn't: Prevent the resistance movement from forming. This time, the target is Sarah's son John Connor, who she's been preparing for combat since birth. Luckily for him, his future self sends back a reprogrammed Model 101 to protect him.
This time, Schwarzenegger's classic Terminator and the Connors team up against the new and improved model, made of shape-shifting "liquid metal." The good guys win, but only just, and not before Schwarzenegger's Model 101 takes some serious damage. Still, a victory's a victory. "T2" is the high point of the entire series, surpassing even the classic original film in terms of epic action set pieces and deep character development for both the human and cyborg characters.
