Terminator 2: Judgment Day is the definite blueprint of how to make a sequel. Themes from the original are still there, with enough callbacks for the fan, but still original enough to deliver something different.

Whereas the doom-laden 1984 classic ended up on a gloomy note, the 1991 sequel leaves the door open, reusing the drive to Cyberdine footage again, with a hopeful Sarah Connor narrating how an unknown future is what gives her peace. It’s much better than the cheesy original ending of being in the same park that was obliterated in her dream by looking at a grown, unscarred John Connor playing with his child.

James Cameron certainly knew how to do a sequel parallel or even better than the original. Both Judgment Day and Aliens are bonafide classics with perfect rhythm, classic lines, and memorable scores.

Brad Fiedel’s work, using synths and sequencers, gives an animal ferocity to the machines, but still giving enough feeling for our human protagonists. Heck, even the T-800 gets a touching goodbye march that left many of us with a tear on our eyes. Or maybe more tears than we are willing to admit.

My parents bought me the soundtrack for Christmas of 1991, and I think it’s easily the soundtrack I’ve listened to the most in my entire life. You no longer need the images, you get the emotions with the music. Trust me, Sarah’s nightmare, Cameron’s Inferno, all of them perfect.

Desert Suite is the prelude to Sarah’s nightmare. As the sun sets over Enrique’s prepper camp, Sarah looks at the Terminator and John bond over motors and hand slaps. It’s a sweet moment that segues into the end of the second act, where Sarah’s recurring horror of nuclear annihilation pushes her to go after Dyson and his family. It’s all action from there onwards, and you never notice how well paced that third act is until you watch it. The shootout. The helicopter chase. The tanker chase. Then the cat and mouse game at the steel mill.

Perfect fucking movie, if you ask me. No wonder I watched 53 times in one year. Yeah, I was a lonely kid.

-Sam J. Valdés López