Comments about Nick Stahl as John Connor

Rating: 8/10 (6 January 2004)

I've read some of the comments here about how Nick Stahl just didn't work for people as John Connor. I just rewatched the movie again on DVD and I think I've figured it out. They tuned out the characters.
Think about what kind of life John Connor had to have while growing up - his Mom is in an insane asylum until he's 10/13. So he's part of the foster care system. Then all of a sudden he finds out all the BS that he's heard about himself is true - and it's all with a vengeance. It's not like these activities take place over months - it's a couple of days for everything from T2 and that's it. Then he lives with him Mom in Mexico until she dies.
Now he's alone - ALL alone. What kind of life would YOU make for yourself? 17 - you've watched your Mom die from leukemia (which is not a great thing to see in and of itself) - and you're told that when most of humanity is killed in a nuclear holocaust, that you're the leader of the survivors. Think that YOU might be a little bent out of shape and quite possibly not strong enough to take it? Maybe even crawl into a bottle, or just run away from everything?
That's what John did - as is shown at the start of the movie. By the time he's hooked up with Arnold in the crypt, he's sick of it. From his perspective, this is an intense amount of pressure to put on someone. You HAVE to live, no matter what. That's why at the end of the movie Kate Brewster (who has also had a REALLY rotten 13 hours, when you think about it - she shows up at the vet clinic at 0530 for what she thinks is a routine, albeit annoying emergency call, and by 1820 hours, she's been beat up, kidnapped, shot at, her fiance is dead, her father is dead, and told she's going to be the wife of John Connor and oh, yeah, she's the one who sent Arnie back in time because John is dead in the future - that's one HELL of a day) and John Connor have grown so much in character from the start of the movie.