History YMMV / Terminator2JudgmentDay

* VindicatedByHistory: Subverted with the movie itself since it was already critically acclaimed to begin with. However, the '''alternative ending''' originally intended for the film faced criticism from test-screen audiences due to its perceived tonal mismatch. Subsequent Terminator sequels received, at best, mixed, and at worst, negative reviews, struggling to recapture the success of the first two movies. In light of these circumstances, the alternative ending gained new significance. It provided a proper epilogue, showcasing the character development over time, spanning decades and highlighting their remarkable journeys. This alternative ending also reinforced the franchise's core theme of resistance against machines, resonating with fans and critics alike. Furthermore, it marked a significant turning point, as it effectively signaled the end of the Terminator franchise as we knew it, given the disappointing performance of subsequent films. When the extended cut of Terminator 2 was released with the alternative ending intact, this has ultimately, in hindsight, proven to be the perfect way to end the franchise in the eyes of fans and critics alike.

* WTHCastingAgency: The Mexican dub of the movie had ''Creator/HumbertoVelez'', most famous for doing the classic voice of [[WesternAnimation/TheSimpsons Homer Simpson]], as the voice of the T-800. Needless to say, Vélez's voice [[VocalDissonance is comically out of place for a character played by Schwarzenegger]]. The man himself considers this role something of an OldShame, as he was well aware his voice simply did not fit the character. Tellingly, the initial DVD release used the Castilian Spanish dub instead, whereas most American [=DVDs=] of any film with a Spanish audio option use the Latino (including Mexican) dub.

** Creator/JoeMorton apparently didn't learn his lesson about [[Franchise/DCExtendedUniverse not making cyborgs]]. Bonus points for how both Miles Dyson and Silas Stone [[spoiler:perform a HeroicSacrifice (Stone dies in [[Film/ZackSnydersJusticeLeague "the Snyder Cut"]] but was SparedByTheAdaptation in [[Film/JusticeLeague2017 the 2017 theatrical cut]])]]. WebVideo/HonestTrailers even cracked a joke over it ("Maybe this guy should stop working with robots...").

* EsotericHappyEnding: After a massive shootout with the police the main characters drive to the steelworks factory, they enter it so loudly that every single worker quickly leaves the site. It is quite clear that very soon police reinforcements will arrive at the place, either because of the recent shootout or because of the unauthorized factory entry. The final showdown at the steelmill takes about fifteen minutes of screen time, but it is just a montage to condense the action and other vital parts for the plot. We are not shown how much time really passes before the terminator gets activated by a spare power source, we do not know how much time John spends hiding somewhere on the premises. It is safe to say that they all spend half an hour if not an entire hour at the factory. For that time the police would already have arrived at the place, or at least by the end of that time. There seems to be no feasible way of escaping at this point after all the ruckus made and the time they had to spend at the mill. Does anyone really think that after all of this mess Sarah and John simply walk out of the factory and no one is there to meet them and they just go home? Sarah Connor would have got busted for sure, as for John... Well, he is just a child, so for him there will be few to zero consequences. Just a thought of John sitting in the police station before the cops who just cannot wrap their head around what to write in the report is enough to make one chuckle. Well, if the ending of the film is not an {{Esoteric Happy Ending}}, then it is a {{What Now Ending}}.

*** In addition, while plot elements and story beats from the first film are blatantly recycled here, ''[=T2=]'' does add a substantial element in the subplot of destroying Cyberdyne and preventing Judgement Day. The hangs the familiar off something fresh and new to get audiences excited. ''Terminator 3'' didn't add enough that was new, making it feel like just more of the same, ''Genisys'' added ''too much'', making it feel overcomplicated and difficult to follow. Whether ''Dark Fate'' is different enough to be satisfying, ''too'' different to be satisfying, or just yet more of the same is [[ContestedSequel hotly debated]].

** Likewise, in any of his other roles, expect jokes in the [=YouTube=] comment section about how the T-1000 has quite a list of notable feats. Ex. [[Film/FromDuskTillDawn2TexasBloodMoney the T-1000 fights vampires]], [[Series/TheXFiles the T-1000 became an FBI agent]], [[Film/TheFaculty the T-1000 gets mind-controlled by alien parasites]], and so on.
*** The one exception to this being Series/TheSopranos, whose fans take no small amount of joy in noting how both [[TheDon Tony Soprano]] and his own gambling problems have reduced the T-1000 into a sniveling trainwreck.

* OlderThanTheyThink: Jody Watley's 1987 song "Looking for a New Love" already used the catchphrase "Hasta la vista, baby."
** So did Tone Loc's "Wild Thing" from 1988.

*** Likewise, the first display of the T-1000 healing his bullet holes is very clearly just CGI painted over Robert Patrick. Another example where wow factor hid it in 1991, but decades of evolution of this precise technology (blending actors and CGI) make this early attempt much more obvious in comparison.

** John Conner as the destined savior of mankind was deliberately vague on his presence in the future, showing him as scarred and unemotive as any Terminator. The film series had found itself more interested in the ''potential'' of who John Conner could be rather than what he WILL become (an alternate ending showed John becoming a senator in a peaceful future world, comparable to being a military commander during a RobotWar). Elsewhere in the franchise any time effort made to depict the adult John Conner can't help but demystify him a little bit, with people typically finding kid John to be a more interesting character. This culminates in ''Dark Fate'' [[spoiler: as John is killed by another Terminator even though Skynet WAS destroyed, his destiny was to be the rebel leader against Skynet and without it there wasn't any real place for him]].

* SugarWiki/HeReallyCanAct: [[Film/TheTerminator The first film]] may have been his StarMakingRole, but this was really where Arnold Schwarzenegger started winning people over with the idea that he was more than just a body-builder-turned-action-hero-movie-star, but an ''actual actor''. Carrying the bulk of the film with the same restrained, machinelike, UnintentionalUncannyValley-invoking performance he gave in the first film, delivering several important expository speeches, and gradually adapting and evolving to more effectively mimic humanity, and perhaps even ''gain humanity'' in some small measure by the end. For all the fantastic action setpieces, many of the film's most memorable moments are its emotional ones, many of which hinge on the characters' and/or audience's emotional connection to the cyborg killing machine played by Arnold Schwarzenegger. A connection that simply wouldn't exist believably if Schwarzenegger wasn't a capable actor.

* ItWasHisSled: The idea that the Terminator - at least, the Cyberdyne Systems Model 101 version portrayed by Creator/ArnoldSchwarzenegger - was the hero of the movie was meant to be a ''surprise'' on its first release, as the advertising still played him up as the bad guy (outside of one [[TrailersAlwaysSpoil ill-conceived trailer]]). Now, any Terminator played by Schwarzenegger is assumed to be the good guy, and it's commonly known that this is where it started.

** The T-800 giving a thumbs-up as he [[spoiler:sacrifices himself in the pool of molten steel.]]

* EvenBetterSequel: The film is commonly held to be one of the best movie sequels of all time, and many fans prefer it to the original. Its tonal shift from horror to action made it much more appealing to a wider audience. Also, the story is seen as tighter, there's better CharacterDevelopment, the effects are better, and there's even some relatively sharp (if simple) philosophical consideration on the nature of intelligence, fatherhood and responsibility.

** The exposition on Sky Net attacking Russia as part of instigating the apocalypse made an impression during the "Cold War Thaw" period in '90s with the decline and eventual dissolution of the Soviet Union, but would be jarring after tension with Russia after its annexation of Crimea in 2014 and invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

* UnintentionalPeriodPiece: Unfortunately for the filmmakers, fashion and music changed radically in a very short time in the early nineties. The grunge and gangsta rap scene replaced the colorful fashions and upbeat music of the early '90s (think hairbands, Music/MCHammer, and Music/VanillaIce) almost overnight. Through most of the film this isn't evident, but Music/GunsNRoses had a hard fall by the mid-nineties and the two guys who attempt to help John (and nearly get killed for it) are wearing painfully early-nineties fashions.

* ThatOneLevel: Escape from Cyberdyne. You have to keep the van with Sarah and John on it safe as the T-1000 is attacking on a police helicopter. The van covers the entire bottom right quarter of the screen, and the helicopter keeps trying to ''ram'' into it, appearing on screen either from the left or the top. You need nearly superhuman reflexes or perfect guessing to be able to shoot at it and make it back off. The helicopter bumping into the van even once immediately destroys it and causes you to fail and restart the level.

* EsotericHappyEnding: After a massive shootout with the police the main characters drive to the steelworks factory, they enter it so loudly that every single worker quickly leaves the site. It is quite clear that very soon police reinforcements will arrive at the place, either because of the recent shootout or because of the unauthorized factory entry. The final showdown at the steelmill takes about fifteen minutes of screen time, but it is just a montage to condense the action and other vital parts for the plot. We are not shown how much time really passes before the terminator gets activated by a spare power source, we do not know how much time John spends hiding somewhere on the premises. It is safe to say that they all spend half an hour if not an entire hour at the factory. For that time the police would already have arrived at the place, or at least by the end of that time. There seems to be no feasible way of escaping at this point after all the ruckus made and the time they had to spend at the mill. Does anyone really think that after all of this mess Sarah and John simply walk out of the factory and no one is there to meet them and they just go home? Sarah Connor would have got busted for sure, as for John... Well, he is just a child, so for him there will be few to zero consequences. Just a thought of John sitting in the police station before the cops who just cannot wrap their head around what to write in the report is enough to make one chuckle. In all honesty, if the ending of the film is not an {{Esoteric Happy Ending}}, then it is surely an esoteric {{Gainax Ending}}, but so far there is no such an esoteric trope, and perhaps it is not worth creating, so let it be an esoteric happy ending then.

* EsotericHappyEnding: After a massive shootout with the police the main characters drive to the steelworks factory, they enter it so loudly that every single worker quickly leaves the site. It is quite clear that very soon police reinforcements will arrive at the place, either because of the recent shootout or because of the unauthorized factory entry. The final showdown at the steelmill takes about fifteen minutes of screen time, but it is just a montage to condense the action and other vital parts for the plot. We are not shown how much time really passes before the terminator gets activated by a spare power source, we do not know how much time John spends hiding somewhere on the premises. It is safe to say that they all spend half an hour if not an entire hour at the factory. For that time the police would already have arrived at the place, or at least by the end of that time. There seems to be no feasible way of escaping at this point after all the ruckus made and the time they had to spend at the mill. Sarah Connor would have got busted for sure, as for John... Well, he is just a child, so for him there will be few to zero consequences. Just a thought of John sitting in the police station before the cops who just cannot wrap their head about what to write in the report is enough to make one chuckle. In all honesty, if the ending of the film is not an {{Esoteric Happy Ending}}, then it is surely an esoteric {{Gainax Ending}}, but so far there is no such an esoteric trope, and perhaps it is not worth creating, so let it be an esoteric happy ending then.

* EsotericHappyEnding: After a massive shootout with the police the main characters drive to the steelworks factory, they enter it so loudly that every single worker quickly leaves the site. It is quite clear that very soon police reinforcements will arrive at the place, either because of the recent shootout or because of the unauthorized factory entry. The final showdown at the steelmill takes about fifteen minutes of screen time, but it is just a montage to condense the action and other vital parts for the plot. We are not shown how much time really passes before the terminator gets activated by a spare power source, we do not know how much time John spends hiding somewhere on the premises. It is safe to say that they all spend half an hour if not an entire hour at the factory. For that time the police would already have arrived at the place, or at least by the end of that time. There seems to be no feasible way of escaping at this point after all the ruckus made and the time they had to spend at the mill. Sarah Connor would have got busted for sure, as for John... Well, he is just a child, so for him there will be few to zero consequences. Just a thought of John sitting in the police station before the cops who just cannot wrap their head about what to write in the report is enough to make one chuckle. In all honesty, if the ending of the film is not an {{Esoteric Happy Ending}}, then it is surely an esoteric {{Gainax Ending}}, but there is no such a trope, and perhaps it is not worth creating, so let it be an esoteric happy ending then.

* EsotericHappyEnding: After a massive shootout with the police the main characters drive to the steelworks factory, they enter it so loudly that every single worker quickly leaves the site. It is quite clear that very soon police reinforcements will arrive at the place, either because of the recent shootout or because of the unauthorized factory entry. The final showdown at the steelmill takes about fifteen minutes of screen time, but it is just a montage to condense the action and other vital parts for the plot. We are not shown how much time really passes before the terminator gets activated by a spare power source, we do not know how much time John spends hiding somewhere on the premises. It is safe to say that they all spend half an hour if not an entire hour at the factory. For that time the police would already have arrived at the place, or at least by the end of that time. There seems to be no feasible way of escaping at this point after all the ruckus made and the time they had to spend at the mill. Sarah Connor would have got busted for sure, as for John... Well, he is just a child, so for him there will be few to zero consequences. Just a thought of John sitting in the police station before the cops who just cannot wrap their head about what to write in the report is enough to make one chuckle. In all honesty, if the ending of the film is not an {{EsotericHappyEnding}}, then it is surely an esoteric {{GainaxEnding}}, but there is no such a trope, and perhaps it is not worth creating, so let it be an esoteric happy ending then.

* EsotericHappyEnding: After a massive shootout with the police the main characters drive to the steelworks factory, they enter it so loudly that every single worker quickly leaves the site. It is quite clear that very soon police reinforcements will arrive at the place, either because of the recent shootout or because of the unauthorized factory entry. The final showdown at the steelmill takes about fifteen minutes of screen time, but it is just a montage to condense the action and other vital parts for the plot. We are not shown how much time really passes before the terminator gets activated by a spare power source, we do not know how much time John spends hiding somewhere on the premises. It is safe to say that they all spend half an hour if not an entire hour at the factory. For that time the police would already have arrived at the place, or at least by the end of that time. There seems to be no feasible way of escaping at this point after all the ruckus made and the time they had to spend at the mill. Sarah Connor would have got busted for sure, as for John... Well, he is just a child, so for him there will be few to zero consequences. Just a thought of John sitting in the police station before the cops who just cannot wrap their head about what to write in the report is enough to make one chuckle. In all honesty, if the ending of the film is not an esoteric happy ending, then it is surely an esoteric {{GainaxEnding}}, but there is no such a trope, and perhaps it is not worth creating, so let it be an esoteric happy ending then.

* EsotericHappyEnding: After a massive shootout with the police the main characters drive to the steelworks factory, they enter it so loudly that every single worker quickly leaves the site. It is quite clear that very soon police reinforcements will arrive at the place, either because of the recent shootout or because of the unauthorized factory entry. The final showdown at the steelmill takes about fifteen minutes of screen time, but it is just a montage to condense the action and other vital parts for the plot. We are not shown how much time really passes before the terminator gets activated by a spare power source, we do not know how much time John spends hiding somewhere on the premises. It is safe to say that they all spend half an hour if not an entire hour at the factory. For that time the police would already have arrived at the place, or at least by the end of that time. There seems to be no feasible way of escaping at this point after all the ruckus made and the time they had to spend at the mill. Sarah Connor would have got busted for sure, as for John... Well, he is just a child, so for him there will be few to zero consequences. Just a thought of John sitting in the police station before the cops who just cannot wrap their head about what to write in the report is enough to make one chuckle. In all honesty, if the ending of the film is not an esoteric happy ending, then it is surely an esoteric gainax ending, but there is no such a trope, and perhaps it is not worth creating, so let it be an esoteric happy ending then.

* EsotericHappyEnding: After a massive shootout with the police the main characters drive to the steelworks factory, they enter it so loudly that every single worker quickly leaves the site. It is quite clear that very soon police reinforcements will arrive at the place, either because of the recent shootout or because of the unauthorized factory entry. The final showdown at the steelmill takes about fifteen minutes of screen time, but it is just a montage to condense the action and other vital parts for the plot. We are not shown how much time really passes before the terminator gets activated by a spare power source, we do not know how much time John spends hiding somewhere on the premises. It is safe to say that they all spend half an hour if not an entire hour at the factory. For that time the police would already have arrived at the place, or at least by the end of that time. There seems to be no feasible way of escaping at this point after all the ruckus made and the time they had to spend at the mill. Sarah Connor would have got busted for sure, as for John... Well, he is just a child, so for him there will be few to zero consequences. In all honesty, if the ending of the film is not an esoteric happy ending, then it is surely an esoteric gainax ending, but there is no such a trope, and perhaps it is not worth creating, so let it be an esoteric happy ending then.

* EsotericHappyEnding: After a massive shootout with the police the main characters drive to the steelworks factory, they enter it so loudly that every single worker quickly leaves the site. It is quite clear that very soon police reinforcements will arrive at the place, either because of the recent shootout or because of the unauthorized factory entry. The final showdown at the steelmill takes about fifteen minutes of screen time, but it is just a montage to condense the action and other vital parts for the plot. We are not shown how much time really passes before the terminator gets activated by a spare power source, we do not know how much time John spends hiding somewhere on the premises. It is safe to say that they all spend half an hour if not an entire hour at the factory. For that time the police would already have arrived at the place, or at least by the end of that time. Sarah Connor would have got busted for sure, as for John...

** When the T-800 first shoots at the T-1000 for the first time at the mall, the first bullet hole is already in the T-1000 before it recoils from the shot.
** When the T-1000 pries open the elevator doors, the T-800 shotgun-blasts the former in the head. However, [[http://www.imfdb.org/images/thumb/f/f1/T2JDWin1887-11.jpg/601px-T2JDWin1887-11.jpg the moment right before the T-1000 gets shot looks really off]] due to it being a practical effect that's about to split in half.
** Minor example, but a good eye can spot when Leslie Hamilton-Gearren is being used as a double. In contrast to the military-esque training routine Linda Hamilton was on, Leslie only had to "hit the gym for a few hours a week". So the difference in body types is noticeable. It's also quite obvious during the Drain scene that there are stunt doubles on the motorbike.
** While driving away on the damaged cop car after the first encounter with the T-1000, the [[DrivingADesk rear-projected environment outside the vehicle]] is rather obvious.
** Schwarzenegger's metal facial prosthetics are pretty obvious, especially the unmoving robot eye.
** When the wrecker crashes into the overpass at the climax of the canal chase, the dummy behind the wheel is ''incredibly'' obvious.
** While the T-1000 effects still look pretty good, it's really not hard to tell when it's CGI and when it's Robert Patrick wearing silver blast holes on his body as the CGI looks appropriately shiny compared to the significantly duller look of the prosthetics. (Granted, this is in the new century with HD available; in theaters, it was a bit cleaner, assisted by the "wow factor" of the time.)
** Likewise, the first display of the T-1000 healing his bullet holes is very clearly just CGI painted over Robert Patrick. Another example where wow factor hid it in 1991, but decades of evolution of this precise technology (blending actors and CGI) make this early attempt much more obvious in comparison.
** In yet another example of CGI being too ambitious for on-set work - The T-800's jump into the ravine on his motorcycle is very clearly wirework despite the wires and rigging being digitally removed. A large part of this has to do with the trajectory of the bike and how it lands on the ground with nothing more than a soft thud. The slow motion used in this shot doesn't help.
** When the T-1000 impales the truck driver, there's a telltale vertical rip visible on the actor's shirt from where the blade flipped outward from a sort of back plate.

** John Conner as the destined savior of mankind was deliberately vague on his presence in the future, showing him as scarred and unemotive as any Terminator. The film series had found itself more interested in the ''potential'' of who John Conner could be rather than what he WILL become (a AlternateEnding showed John becoming a senator in a peaceful future world, comparable to being a military commander during a RobotWar). Elsewhere in the franchise any time effort made to depict the adult John Conner can't help but demystify him a little bit, with people typically finding kid John to be a more interesting character. This culminates in ''Dark Fate'' [[spoiler: as John is killed by another Terminator even though Skynet WAS destroyed, his destiny was to be the rebel leader against Skynet and without it there wasn't any real place for him]].

** This film took the basic TerminatorTwosome premise of the original but accelerated the action elements to the apex with then-mind-blowing special effects with the T-1000. The resulting blockbuster success resulted in every subsequent part of the franchise trying to either up the ante or otherwise remind audiences of everything that made this film such a success, which had diminishing returns.

* SugarWiki/HeReallyCanAct: [[Film/TheTerminator The first film]] may have been his StarMakingRole, but this was really where Arnold Schwarzengger started winning people over with the idea that he was more than just a body-builder-turned-action-hero-movie-star, but an ''actual actor''. Carrying the bulk of the film with the same restrained, machinelike, UnintentionalUncannyValley-invoking performance he gave in the first film, delivering several important expository speeches, and gradually adapting and evolving to more effectively mimic humanity, and perhaps even ''gain humanity'' in some small measure by the end. For all the fantastic action setpieces, many of the film's most memorable moments are its emotional ones, many of which hinge on the characters' and/or audience's emotional connection to the cyborg killing machine played by Arnold Schwarzenegger. A connection that simply wouldn't exist believably if Schwarzengger wasn't a capable actor.