He Be Back
Main Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Edward Furlong, Robert Patrick
Director: James Cameron
Cashing in on the success of the first Terminator, the Man is back for another time-traveling action flick involving humans vs. the machines.
This film focuses on the son of Sarah Connor (Hamilton), the heroine of the first story. She’s not doing so well: in fact, she is in a mental institution because of her visions and violent behavior. Her son John (Furlong) is a young rebel and petty thief who lives with foster parents. We meet them both, briefly, then cut to two other scenes: the arrival of the Terminator (Schwarzenegger) itself, and of a mysterious man (Patrick) who quickly takes out a police officer and steals his clothes.
John is destined to meet with the Terminator, of course, and the mystery man also plays into the story. But the question is, who is trying to help the kid, and who is not? The boy doesn’t care, and tries to get away from both of them when they start shooting at each other. But things aren’t as simple as all that, as the plot slowly (at least for an action film) unfolds. And if you think that the mother will probably escape and join up with them, you are an astute student of action films.
Without giving anything else away, I must say I enjoyed this film. It has a dark center, with death and destruction of all humanity the ultimate end: if things don’t play out correctly. I think the story is a notch above most sci-fi/action hybrids, and the acting is well done, especially the young Furlong as a troubled, but ultimately honorable, kid.
Definitely worth a look, you don’t need to have seen the first to follow the plot, although it is helpful.
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