John lived a strange itinerant life being raised to be the great military leader his mother said he was "riding in helicopters, learning to blow shit up" until one day she was arrested and he encountered the normal world. Clearly all the talk of Judgement Day was psychosis. He blames her for his messed up life.
That is until a Terminator walks into his life.
CW: injury detail, abuse of power
Perhaps the definitive 90s blockbuster sequel.
This is massively more complex than the first. It is both darker and lighter. Sarah is an abused Delphic victim of the state but when she gains her freedom shows she can be almost as callous as any machine. John is dysfunctional, resenting his mother and lacking a father figure which the film squarely posits the Terminator as.
Mostly the buddy comedy stuff between John and "Uncle Bob" works.
Scenes from the first are clearly riffed on and the insertion of classic lines like "come with me if you want to live" don't make you groan.
The hospital sequence and the raid on Cyberdyne are absolute greats of action cinema, more so than the climactic chase. It's still just a silly grandfather paradox piece of fluff but they flip it by going after Skynet.
Cameron waited until effects could do what he had in mind and it was worth it because it still looks OK now.
9/10 mostly because Edward Furlong is a bit cringe.
I watched an extended version but frankly the deleted scenes/shots were rubbish and you're better off with the cinematic cut.