23 Cybernetically Enhanced Facts About Terminator 2 That'll Rewire Your Circuits

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John Summers • Contributor
Sep 16, 2023 10:00 PM EDT

Terminator 2 was, and still is, the greatest movie sequel ever made (yes, including The Empire Strikes Back and the Two Towers). It takes everything that was great about the first movie and dials it up to 11 while also expanding the lore AND delving deeper into the characters. Just think about Sarah Connor's character in this movie, compared to the first one. She went from being, essentially, a damsel in distress to a full-on badass, While also suffering the mental repercussions from the events of the first movie. Even the friggin' Terminator gets a character arc in this movie!

Now let's talk about the visual effects in the sequel, which not only surpassed the effects in the first one, they actually changed the entire industry. The program they developed to make the T-1000 morph into different characters actually went on to become the first version of Photoshop. If you have never seen Terminator 2 - Drop everything you're doing and go see it now!

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  • 01
    Gesture - During a break before the elevator scene, Linda Hamilton removed her ear plugs and forgot to put them back in. The loudness of the shotgun (supposedly as loud a cannon blast) caused Hamilton to go completely deaf in one ear.
    via MrSkar
  • 02
    Muscle - At one point, before filming the Biker Bar scene, a woman wandered onto set thinking it was a real bar. She asked Schwarzenegger (who was wearing only purple board shorts) what was going on. Schwarzenegger replied that it was "male-stripper night"
    via MrSkar
  • 03
    Sky - EN THE EXLIPARRA 1GXX809 Because of the order the film was shot in, Schwarzenegger was unsure of how human the T-800 was supposed to act in each scene.
    via MrSkar
  • 04
    Sleeve - The soundwork for the film was so extensive that all of the noises made during Sarah's restraint escape were added in during post production. Gloria Borders, the sounder supervisor, said that approximately 70% of the dialogue was done with Automated Dialogue Replacement after filming.
    via MrSkar
  • 05
    Jaw - Denzel Washington was originally chosen for, but turned down the role of Miles Dyson, stating that “All [Miles] does is look scared and sweat. - I had to pass."
    via MrSkar
  • 06
    Human - Terminator 2 used what was bascially the first version of Photoshop to render the liquid effects of the T-1000. At the time of filming, it was one of the most advanced and expensive films in terms of special effects.
    via MrSkar
  • 07
    Sunglasses - Arnold Schwarzenegger only spoke about 700 words throughout the movie, meaning he was paid over $21,000 per word.
    via MrSkar
  • 08
    Muscle - Linda Hamilton learned to, and actually did, pick the lock on her cell with a paper clip
    via MrSkar
  • 09
    Free reed aerophone - The minigun prop used in Terminator 2 was the same prop that was used in Predator.
    via MrSkar
  • 10
    Aircraft - NB30RE The freeway chase scene was done almost entirely with practical effects, meaning the helicopter really flew only a few feet above the ground and under an underpass. James Cameron himself was forced to operate the camera as the original operator (and a few other crew members) refused to take part in the scene. Cameron later admitted that the stunt was so dangerous that he likely would never have another one like it in his future films
    via MrSkar
  • 11
    Flash photography - James Cameron's brother, a marine, was the one to point out that the T-800 using the grenade launcher to blow a door open wouldn't work. According to him, the grenade used would've bounced off the door and landed near the T-800 before detonating. Cameron admited that he did not know that at the time of filming.
    via MrSkar
  • 12
    Flash photography - When the T-1000 arrives in the past, the special effects artists did a poor job with their digital censorship, resulting in James Cameron jokingly asking for his money back for the "digital willy removal"
    via MrSkar
  • 13
    Music - 2 The SWAT team leader in this scene is Dean Norris, best known for playing Agent Hank Schrader in Breaking Bad.
    via MrSkar
  • 14
    Sleeve - The line "I need a vacation" was ad-libbed by Schwarzenegger and is often criticized by fans for being out of character.
    via MrSkar
  • 15
    Flash photography - Robert Patrick (the T-1000) went through an intense workout routine before filming so that he could run without appearing winded.
    via MrSkar
  • 16
    Building - Hall The US Federal Nuclear Testing Labs unofficially declared the nuclear explosion scene as "the most accurate depiction of a nuclear blast ever created for a fictional motion picture."
    via MrSkar
  • 17
    Sleeve - 777 For the pictures of the 1984 Police Station Shootout used in T2, the scene was partially recreated to get CCTV style shots instead of using screencaps of the original movie.
    via MrSkar
  • 18
    World - The effects used in the steel mill were so convincing that the old workers for the plant thought it had been reopened after being closed for ten years. In actuality, the material used for the molten steel was relatively cold and the actors had to be sprayed with water to make it look like they were sweating.
    via MrSkar
  • 19
    Sunglasses - 2 REP TERMINAR 분 JUDGMER ONAY VIL TUN Terminator 2 is considered to be the best Terminator film having won 4 Oscars and a 93% score on Rotten Tomatoes
    via MrSkar
  • 20
    Asphalt - 8672 PESCADERO STATE HOSPITAL STATE OF CALIFORNIA Local residents protested outside of the mental hospital used in the film before realizing that the medical center there had simply been altered for filming.
    via MrSkar
  • 21
    Sunglasses - Linda Hamilton's workout routine for T2 was part of the reason why she didn't want to return for Terminator 3.
    via MrSkar
  • 22
    Cloud - At one point during filming, Arnold Schwarzenegger nearly broke three fingers when he attempted the one handed reload with a normal Model 1887, instead of the prop one specifically designed for the trick. The prop 1887 used a larger lever loop and had a metal plate against the grip to help make the motion smoother.
    via MrSkar
  • 23
    Flash photography - At the end of the film, the terminator disguising itself as Sarah Connor wasn't done with any sort of camera tricks or CGI; the terminator was played by Linda Hamilton while the (out of camera focus) real Sarah was played by Leslie Hamilton Gearren, Linda Hamilton's identical twin sister. Leslie also portrayed a normal Sarah in Sarah's dream about the city being destroyed
    via MrSkar

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