When I first watched this movie back in high school, it was because my dad bought it at Blockbuster when the store was running a “Three for $10” type of deal. In case you need a refresher, Blockbuster was a brick and mortar outfit that required a membership for people to rent VHS tapes and Nintendo games for three days at a time. They also had movies for purchase when the films weren’t popular enough anymore to keep a ton of copies in inventory.

Anyway, my dad came back with Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Total Recall, and a bunch of other randoms. I didn’t see the first Terminator movie until I was dating my husband and he was explaining why Sarah Connor is so freaked out when she first sees Arnold Schwarzenegger at the looney bin.

Point is, I didn’t feel the need to watch the original, because the sequel stood so well on its own. Here are the other reasons why I think T2 (look how well it abbreviates!) is (one of) the best movie of all time.

1. It Crosses Genres

The movie has an R rating for violence, but it’s low key. In one sense or another, it could be considered action, drama, comedy, sci-fi, or even thriller. Something for everybody!

I personally had a crush on Eddie Furlong for many years. Why not add Romance to the mix, since I probably still giggle like a pre-teen when he acts all suave in the face of authority.

2. The Story Is a Paradox

Kyle Reese, the man sent back in time to protect the mother-to-be of John Connor, the Leader of the human resistance, is the one to impregnate her with her son, John. How would John have been born if Future John didn’t send Kyle back in time? *mind blown*

3. It Hasn’t Aged

This movie came out in 1991. It’s surprisingly watchable by today’s technology and CGI standards. You can’t really say that about the first one, which was released only 7 years prior. In fact, there are a lot of crappy action movies from the nineteen-whatevers that would make you cringe if you watched today. Not the case here.

4. It’s About Cyborgs

I repeat: cyborgs. Not only is the word undeniably badass, but the concept is also. A quick Wikipedia search explains a cyborg quite well as an organism that has “restored function or enhanced abilities due to the integration of some artificial component or technology that relies on some sort of feedback.”

Pretty neat that the Terminator’s CPU is a neural-net processor, a learning computer, and that he gets the crap kicked out of him but keeps ongoing. You also can’t argue that Robert Patrick plays an extremely convincing T-1000. That scene where he shakes his finger – creepy AF.

5. The Quotes

I won’t go overboard since you can IMDB this sh*t (I’ll make it easy for you: Clicky), but here are a few gems:

-Terminator: I know now why you cry, but it is something that I can never do.

-John Connor: Is it dead?

   Terminator: Terminated.

-John Connor: Jesus, you were gonna kill that guy.

   Terminator: Of course; I’m a Terminator.

-Terminator: Come with me if you want to live.

-Sarah Connor: The unknown future rolls toward us. I face it, for the first time, with a sense of hope. Because if a machine, a Terminator, can learn the value of human life, maybe we can too.

So, if you are out of things to do this weekend, or for some reason flipping through those DVD collections you never reference anymore, pop in T2 and relive the glory. You’re welcome.