Adults Are Useless: John mostly has to look out for himself since his father Kyle died back in the first movie, his mother is locked up in a mental institution for bombing a computer factory and his foster parents are just negligent fucks.This film is a sci fi action film that uses some horror tropes to ramp up the suspense.
Actionized Sequel: The first movie was essentially a horror movie with action scenes.Action Girl: Sarah Connor learned a lot between films.Sarah herself displays some signs of emotional abuse to John. except the reprogrammed T-800 sent to protect John. Abusive Parents: In a bit of narration, Sarah Connor reflects on the fact that every would-be father figure she had chosen for John was abusive or in some way unfavorable.Coupled with the music, the effect is powerful. The opening credits are of the same playground, as the whole thing burns in nuclear fire. Abandoned Playground: The film starts with a playground in use, and then shows the same playground in the nuclear wasteland.In response, John Connor sends back a T-800 Terminator that's been reprogrammed to protect his past self. The war with the machines caused by the nuclear apocalypse of Judgment Day ends with humanity as the victors, but before the humans can destroy SkyNet, it sends an advanced Terminator - a nigh-invulnerable shapeshifting T-1000 model - back in time as a last-ditch attempt to change the past so the machines will win the war, this time by killing John Connor himself before he grows into the human resistance leader. Similarly to Aliens, which Cameron directed during the interim between the first two Terminators, Judgement Day notably forgoes the horror angle of its predecessor, instead providing a more action-oriented story (with a much bigger budget) that would set a precedent for later films in the franchise. James Cameron returned to the director's chair, and both Arnold Schwarzenegger and Linda Hamilton returned for their roles as the T-800 Model Terminator and Sarah Connor. Terminator 2: Judgment Day is the 1991 sequel to 1984's The Terminator and the second film in the Terminator franchise.