Excellent and faithful entry into the Terminator saga...

Rating: 9/10 (25 May 2009)

If the first two Terminator flicks are 10's, and being generous, we'll say Part 3 was a 5, this is definitely back to the well-written, well-paced footing of the first two films. I have to admit, I was dubious about this film, but I was proved wrong from start to finish.
The story is solid, not striking one as being somewhat unnecessary like the third film. After surviving humanity's nuclear holocaust at the hands of a self-aware military defense computer network, Skynet, It's now 2018, John Connor is part of the human resistance and he discovers that Skynet has targetted a young Kyle Reese, his future father, for termination and is desperately seeking him out just as the resistance has discovered an incredible breakthrough in their offensive effort against Skynet.
However, as always, Skynet has a new cyborg up their sleeves and this one is remarkably inventive. It's all part of a plan to ensnare the man who remains Skynet's greatest threat; John Connor. It's also an interesting reversal of the premise of the first two films. A death row inmate, Marcus, donates his body to science and awakens in the future, unaware that he is now a pawn in Skynet's calculated plan to draw out the young Kyle Reese, who along with his young, mute friend Star, essentially take on the sympathetic target roles of Linda Hamilton in the original, and Edward Furlong from Part 2, and are the real heart and moral fiber of the film, and it as an older, war-weary John Connor, and an unwitting cyborg looking for redemption, who must save Reese in order to save Connor and the future of humanity.
All in all, a great film. Marcus and Connor share the protagonist role, and since the Marcus character is new, but has an interesting background, he brings an interesting and refreshing narrative to the saga, and Sam Worthington does a great job with the character. In my opinion, Anton Yelchin actually steals the show, because the kid not only looks A lot like Michael Beihn, but he acts just like him too, and I have to admit, the original has always been (and remains) my favorite. Some really standout moments are nods to the previous films, specifically the Schwarzenegger T-800 model CGI'd in was an AWESOME touch. He even has the combover hair from the original. If only Connor could have offered up a hearty "Nice night for a walk, eh?"... Also, listen for the Guns 'N Roses track 'You Could Be Mine', from Terminator 2. Several memorable quotes referenced as well, this is essentially the continuing, and clever theme of the past influencing the future that dominated the second film.
My only VERY MINOR critique would be the score, which compared to the first two films is kind of bland. The trademark Brad Feidel drum beat plays briefly at the beginning and end, but that's all. Usually I complain if a film overuses CGI, which this one does perhaps a bit, but the CGI itself is solid, for the most part. Still, this one's a winner. Fans should definitely check it out.