Aliens vs. Terminator 2 — How to Sequel like James Cameron

What's the best sequel ever made? Let me know your thoughts!

Compare The Hobbit trilogy with Star Wars prequel trilogy next

I thought found the difference of Aliens and Terminator 2: Judgement Day. Aliens is more heroic, optimism and lighter with suspence thriller and still maintain the horror vibe from the first movie while Terminator 2: Judgement Day is more sadder, bleak, darker, and more emotional. While Aliens still had emotional moment i think Terminator 2: Judgement Day is more emotional and hurtful

in JC we trust 💯💯👏🏿👏🏿

Great documentary. Can you send it to modern Hollywood writers and execs? Along with your reading list.

This man and his team turned 2 slasher-inspired masterpieces into action masterpieces.

Now, how to do a 3rd film

Incredible video Michael! 2 of my favourite movies explained perfectly :)

So why did Dark Fate turn out so bad?

After seeing Avatar:The Way of Water
I think James Cameron forgot how to be James Cameron

It wasn’t bad, but it just did the same thing/story again, the only difference from the first movie is that it’s in water this time. All the characters are still in the exact same position as in the previous movie with little to no change. The movie felt like style over substance for most of the runtime.
6/10

The first is a beautiful romance across time, the second a father/mother/son bond. The first is a bumbling waitress being drawn in to something she doesn't understand, the second is her being the only person in the world who understands what's coming.

Great character development between the films. If only the Star Wars sequels had been able to show the same development!

I totally agree with everything you say here, but a big disappointment with James Cameron came for me when I was disappointed in Avatar 2

:)

Lore of Aliens vs. Terminator 2 — How to Sequel like James Cameron momentum 100

I'm going to break people's brains when I say this, but I don't care.

I loved Terminator 2 but absolutely HATED Aliens.

The Terminator, an action thriller with an urgent and exciting plot, deserved that sequel. Alien, a perfect masterpiece of horror and suspense with a mysterious villain, did not.

It's really hard to choose between these 2 masterpieces! besides that these are my favorite movies from Cameron's filmography. but great video!😅

I think Cameron's skill at furthering character development in sequels did not carry over in Avatar 2 with Jake and Nytiery.
Does anyone else have thoughts on this?

James Cameron is my all time favourite movie director for ALIENS and Terminator 2. True Lies was an amazing movie. I only haven’t seen Avatar 2 but that was only through lack of interest.

Back here after Avatar 2, it's insane how James Cameron has maintained the essential ingredients of the first film and used your highlighted recipes to make a better sequel. Well done and you really have cracked the code of James Cameron. I wonder what he will do in Avatar 3,4 and 5 tho he probably will have to push himself more...

Now do Alien 3 and Terminator 3 and how to destroy a sequel.

But I think Alien was better.

Good job!

The 2 GREATEST sci-fi action films of all time, but T2 just barely inches out Aliens for #1

Alien is one of the scariest films I’ve ever seen. The last act is terrifying.

ALIENS is the greatest Sci-Fi Action movie ever made

👽 Alien2 vs Terminator2 vs Predator,by dark hourse comics🌹🌚👍rest in the good news ⚘ okay bye

- Nobody believes the female lead when she tells what happened in the first movie.
- A corporation knows exactly what the danger is but carelessly seek to weaponize and profit from it.
- Because of her experience in the previous film, the female lead does not trust the cyborg.
- However, she ends up accepting it as an ally.
- The female lead's mission is to protect a child.
- That child is eventually one of the few survivors of an incident that has nearly wiped out the population of their planet.
- The kid's established knowledge of a system of ducts comes in handy during a chase.
- A minor antagonist redeems himself and ends up blowing himself up.
- The female lead was introduced to the use of military weaponry by Michael Biehn's character.
- At one point in the movie she has a nightmare in which she is killed by the threat she fights against.
- Bad guy tries to force open the doors of a lift, gets a shotgun to the head.
- The main threat is destroyed in an industrial setting.
- After the threat is defeated, the cyborg character is badly damaged.

I have high hopes for avatar 2

Get away from her you b1tch!!! My my, what excellent powerful female leads these films had. True warrior women. I also find it pretty damn awesome to see Jeanette Goldstein represented in both films. Wolfie isn't here right now....Have you ever been mistaken for man? NO, have you??? EPIC!

And the modern day Hollywood believes they are subverting expectations for the first time. Cameron was doing it in the 80s and 90s.

A lot of people don't like how easily the aliens were to kill in the sequel. Somehow it made them less menacing. I think there was no other way to go. Alien 3 showed that it was just repetitive and not interesting to have a bunch of people trapped with one alien.

You mean "subverting expectations?"

i miss when movies had so much effort and originality, and above else, respect for the audience and their characters with no political or sjw garbage shoved at me.
as some would say, entertain me, not lecture me

Deadpool did the same thing.

Deadpool: this is actually a love story (Terminator)
Deadpool 2: this is actually a family movie (T2)

Very interesting! It almost sounds simple to do when it's broken down this way and yet many fail to simultaneously imitate and innovate when they make a sequel.

Amazing!

Sequel can be a verb? far out.

And yet feminists complain that there need more strong women representation

Love the comparison of these IP

Terminator 2: Judgment Day is my all time favourite movie

The Empire Strikes Back.

James Cameron is the cure to "sequelitis".

I personally prefer Alien over Aliens but Aliens is still a fantastic film and Terminator 2 is just a masterclass of sci fi action

Premise (what) & principle (how)
Love & family
Horror & action
Same desire - different need

I prefer T2 over Aliens

In my opinion both of these movies are better than the original!

how many years since i first watched and re-watched these 2 films on tape, especially terminator 2. time and time and time again, but only now watching your video do i realize that Private Vasquez(the badass female soldier in Aliens) and young John Connor's Foster mother on the phone ARE PLAYED BY THE SAME ACTRESS because of how you cut the video together. It's not a revelation or anything particularly lifechanging, but it makes me wonder just what else i claim to have knowledge on and dont know what i dont know. So, thanks!

Terminator 2 is probably the second best sequel of all time; right after The Empire Strikes Back of course.

I hope J.J and Rian Johnson are taking notes.... SERIOUSLY.

It's amazing what a well thought out plan could produce.