Not as bad as t3 by a long shot. Also not as bad as the critics are making out of it.

Still it is no Jim Cameron Terminator film. It is not the masterpeice T-2 is claimed to be. Or the low budget mind blowing thriller the original was. But it does well what it does on its own merits. Also a whole lot better than people thought MCG would be able to pull off. But good actors. Supposedly good writers. Help out quite a bit. Also the Stan Winston studio. R.i.P. Stan.

Then you have the movie trying as hard as possible to remain faithful to the first 2 films and to very properly deny the existence of T3. Also they avoided the pitfall of linking it to the now cancelled tv series.

This film is not a complete story and does not stand well on its own. It needs a bit of slack cut for it and the director because it is just a lead into the other 2 films in the trilogy. The cool future war with the scenes shown at the beginning of t2 is yet to be filmed. This film is at an earlier point technologically. Perhaps the 800 series is the army in the next film. Arnold has said he would like to be in the second or third film once his career as governor is over. I wonder if his age is a problem now though?

Still i would have preferred a Canon T3 directed by James Cameron and starring linda hamilton. But fate denied us that.

I always thought because arnolds arm was ripped off by the t-1000 in a piece of machinery and a part of him that was not melted down. Cyberdyne could still exist and the terminator be readiscovered.