An observation

Rating: 10/10 (4 October 2007)

With nearly 650 reviews at this point, I haven't read them all so I may be repeating something which has been said elsewhere (although I haven't spotted it among the pages I've sampled).
I liked the way Cameron didn't so much repeat the first film as echo it - there were many places where something from the original showed up again, but in a different context, making a different point, driving the plot forward.
I liked the way that the gradual role reversal from the first film (Reese strong and supportive, Sarah weak and helpless at the start, exactly reversed by the end) was echoed in the relationship between Sarah and John.
Which is why I was particularly surprised at the garage scene with the learning chip being cut from the release print - not only does it illuminate several points which follow it and which don't make sense otherwise, it is also the pivotal moment when John assumes the dominant role in his relationship with his mother which, in turn, echoes the moment in the first film when Sarah starts protecting Kyle rather than vice versa.
And another vote in favour of the groundbreaking effects, particularly the way they served the story rather than becoming the reason for it.