well made, believable film, exciting and fun to watch!

Rating: 8/10 (3 June 2009)

I went to see this film today and honestly on seeing the trailer a couple of weeks ago, I was very sceptical, I thought once again another typical high octane, no brainer action film belittling the already tarnished name (thanks to T3) of a beautiful classic cult film classic. BUT, after watching the film I must admit I felt the slap across my sceptical ego! I really enjoyed the film, it was fast, but not so fast that the film just felt like a 2hr blur in your life, it was cheesy but not ABBA cheesy, and the "special guest appearance" was humorous yet serious and a tribute well done. I even enjoyed the CGI! For me this is usually a big issue with films of the 21st century – generally too much CGI, which although looks pretty, doesn't do too much for the film (e.g. the Transformers film). This film is different though, there was just the right amount to remind you that this is a film made with 21st century, HD tech but it didn't override the story! I mean I loved the hydraulic cheek muscles – they move as it talks!
So, why have I given it 8/10? As with most Hollywood films, the medical accuracy seemed WAY OFF. Although an issue for me, I guess most people don't really care. These inaccuracies take place twice during the film, but, although I can almost forgive the first, the second made my skin crawl! The second reason I gave this film 8/10 is because like a lot of films released these days, most of the good bits are put into the trailers! As I sat there watching the film I felt as though I already knew what was going to happen a lot of the time, and the sole reason for that is the fact that I watched 1, yes, 1 trailer for this film. It's a shame they didn't put as much effort into the trailer as they did the film. The last reason (because I just lost the rest of my train of thought) I'm giving this film 8/10, is because of one useless character, that was literally just there to fill a space! This character reminded me of Larsa (any FFXII fans?!?!?) – Totally unnecessary (actually Larsa probably was necessary to the story of FFXII) but just seemed to have the right thing at the right time (just like Larsa's unlimited potions – ideal in battle!) with a cute smile to finish.
Overall, I really enjoyed the film, my qualms bring this film down a little, but I can understand that they can also be easily looked over. Most kids will LOVE this film (as did my lil bro), most people for whom Terminator and Arnie is part and parcel of their childhood, will also appreciate and enjoy this film and the hard work both the cast and crew have put into it. It's an unprecedented improvement on the last, humiliating terminator film.