I am sure that everyone has a difference of opinion when it comes to films, especially sequels. They are usually pointless, redundant, amateurish, unnecessary and most of all insulting in their attempts to get more money from movie-goers. However, now and again a film comes along that actually takes the narrative even further and sometimes out-matches it's predecessor. When I am talking about sequel I DO NOT mean second installments, which is why THE GODFATHER II does not count because it's based on a series similar to why LORD OF THE RINGS: THE TWO TOWERS would also not count. That being said it's in my humble opinion that one of the greatest sequels ever made is James Cameron's TERMINATOR 2, aka T2. Here is why...

1. The film set the new standard for digital visual effects that actually look great even after 15+ years. Not only are the visual effects impressive for 1991, but are far better than some of the lame sp. effects that we get today. Without a doubt this is the film that would take everything to a new level in special effects that had not been seen since 1977's STAR WARS.

2. Narratively speaking this film is more complex than THE TERMINATOR and manages to be more than just a big action flick/sci-fi thriller...it also manages to be an important work of Science Fiction with key elements, themes, and writing.

3. Role reversal-not too many films can pull this one off, but in this case the film actually takes the villian of the previous film and turns it into the hero of the sequel. Not only is this done, but also done well without any confusion. Of course even more importantly is the fact that you don't even need to see THE TERMINATOR in order to understand T2, but it certainly helps and adds to a new level of complexity.

4. Sound design: Hands down this is still one of the most impressively designed films when it comes to it's sound. This is one of the few films that utilized CDS (Cinema Digital Sound), which was prior to the change-over to the multi-channel systems. The 70mm prints of T2 were encoded with true 5.1 sound and that design was incredibly clever giving amazing life to the score, but also the sound effects. The DTS DVD released by Artisan a few years back finally gave some life to just how amazing that sound was and the new Blu-ray DTS track even goes a bit further showcasing the depth and punch that this film was meant to have. This is a film that when I saw it theatrically shook the life out of me at nearly every chance it had. Not only that, but it was memerable that even after one viewing you immediately remember the sound cues.

5. Arnold manages to not only act, but pulls off the role of both action star and also a dramatic robot...not easy to have emotion as a robot, which is usually his only performance...that wooden role, but here he has a bit more depth, which is evident towards the end of the film.

6. The film ran 2 hr 20 min. theatrically and about 2 hr. and 30 min w/ the dir. cut. Both cuts are impressive and it was nearly impossible to find an action film of this length in 1991. Not only that, but it never gets boring, but the films pace keeps going strong from beginning to end.

7. The film holds one of the best trailers still to this date, which was made by Stan Winston for $150,000 and is not a typical crappy action film trailer, but instead a creative idea instead of early footage thrown together to entice people to see the film.

8. About 200 different types of weapons are seen in this film.

9. First movie to cost $100 million and not suck. (anyone seen BALLISTIC: ECKS VS. SEVER?)

10. Still a huge evergreen title that sells heavy on every format released. The original VHS copies went for big money, the LaserDisc sold incredibly well, the film has been issued to DVD repeatedly and now it's on Blu-ray. A key title no doubt!

Anyone else have some opinions?