Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

Directed by: James Cameron

Starring: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Robert Patrick, and Edward Furlong

I had a tough time grappling with whether to put Terminator 2: Judgment Day on this list or its predecessor The Terminator (see the Indie Bucket List for more on this film).  Everyone loves Schwarzenegger as the villain in the first film, but the second installment is the right choice for this list.  Terminator 2: Judgment Day is the blueprint for the modern blockbuster.  Like many of the revolutionary films from director James Cameron, this one came well before its time.  It pushed the envelope technologically and gave us a glimpse of the future of summer blockbusters.

In T2, Skynet sends a new Terminator, the T-1000 model (Robert Patrick), to hunt down and kill a young John Connor (Edward Furlong).  The John Connor of the future, however, sends his own support, a T-101 model Terminator (Arnold Schwarzenegger).   A T-101 model Terminator was also sent to kill a pregnant Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton) in the first installment.  Linda Hamilton returns as Sarah Connor in this film and is definitely a kick-ass mom.  This is an action-packed film full of big guns, elaborate chase sequences, and killer machines—everything a good blockbuster needs to deliver the goods.  You definitely need to see this film at some point down the road.