Best Movie of the Summer!

Rating: 10/10 (22 May 2009)

First of all I must say that everyone who has written a negative review about this movie are completely off base! They are apparently seeking something from the movies that they will never ever receive. This was an amazing film and...I know everyone is entitled to their own opinion but...if they want to be wrong that's fine, I just wish they would keep it to themselves!
This movie had it all! Action, suspense, explosions, chase sequences...everything that has made the last three Terminator movies so good. Sure, Arnold wasn't in it as a major role this time but this works out okay because this movie is supposed to take place in a time when his model terminator is in the beginning stages of construction.
SPOILERS AHEAD: And actually you do get to see "him" (in a way) towards the end when a skin covered T-800 prototype attacks John. The actor they got to play it looks VERY close (I'm talking identical twin here) to Arnold. All they had to do was a bit of CG to this actor's face and poof, you had Arnold in T4! It was great seeing it too. It (the T-800) looked almost exactly like it did in the 1984 movie when it first stood up after coming through time. I totally thought it was Arnold's face computer added to the actors body, that's how well they did. The T-800 prototypes without skin also stayed true to their design from the original film which I found very impressive.
There were little treats all throughout the film as well that paid homage to the first three films. They had Sarah's voice in the tapes she made for John (and we see the picture Reese carries with him later on), Kyle saying the "come with me if you want to live" line, John taking over the "I'll be back" line, and (my friend is the one who caught this) the music that John plays from the boom box as he reconfigures the motorcycle terminator is the same Guns n Roses song that was playing in T2 when we first met the young John Connor.
There were new things too. Bale was by far the best John Connor because, let's face it, Bale is good in pretty much anything he's in. I give lots of props to Anton Yelchin as you could tell he had studied Michael Biehn's acting from T1. He had his vocal and facial inflections down pat.
I only reserve level 10 rankings for movies that really deserve them. I haven't rated a movie this high since Star Wars Episode 3. What determines whether I give a 10 rating depends on how I feel as the credits are rolling. Was I just blown away? Was I rendered speechless? Were my expectations exceeded? If I can answer yes to these questions (As I was able to for SW3 and now for Terminator Salvation) then the movie gets a 10. Don't listen to all these haters...if you are a fan of the Terminator franchise you will love this movie! I will certainly be waiting eagerly for the next two installments!