10 Outstanding Adopted Movie Families

5. Terminator 2: Judgment Day

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The Terminator movies are filled with dysfunctional family units, but T2 delivers it at its best. The father figure (described as such by Sarah Connor) is the titular machine whose same model was the antagonist in the first movie. Sarah, the mother, is a distant, hard-as-nails outsider trying to do what she has to. John Connor, the kid, is learning how to be the savior of them all. They frequently try to pass as a functioning (there€™s a pun) family, from the desert to the front desk of Cyberdyne Systems.

This ragtag modern family brings out what so many other movies about war miss€”the real human emotions behind the fighting. Some of the best parts of the movie are the scenes on the road, figuring out what makes different people do what they do, what we value, what is life, and what makes a human human. Family units are explored over and over again with different dynamics, from the Voights to the Salcedas to the Dysons. And because of this, everything comes together perfectly in the movie€™s very excellent last shot. It€™s also what helps make the movie a heck of a lot of fun.
Contributor
Contributor

Ian Boucher is many things when he is not writing for WhatCulture.com -- explorer, friend of nature, and librarian. He enjoys stories of many kinds and is fascinated with what different mediums can bring to them. He has developed particular affections for movies and comic books, especially the ones that need more attention, taking them absolutely seriously with a sense of humor. He constantly strives to build his understanding of the relationships between world cultures, messages, and audiences.