The most loud and common reaction I heard as I was leaving the cinema auditorium from fellow viewers was: "wow this didn't feel so long, in fact it was almost quick". Considering the fact that this movie is by no means quick it's a big testimony to how riveting and captivating the movie was. Plot and visuals combined. And I'm saying at the very beginning of my review - I won't be discussing the visuals - I simply can't add a thing to what's been said already.
The points I want to make regard the plot, which is much better than other reviewers claim. And the characters. I heard a few say that this movie is very much like the first installment, most of the people saying that spoke about it as a fault - it's not. It's simply the outcome of a single story being continued from the first installment. Think of it as another chapter you read in a book, you don't expect every chapter to turn the story upside-down, in fact you'd be complaining if that would be the case. Thing is, Cameron has already done that with his installments of Terminator (I & II), once you see the two you realize it was a single movie separated into two chapters. That's the reason Cameron didn't want anything to do with the 3rd installment of Terminator - it went against the point his story was making: We make our own destiny and we're strong enough to do it. I don't know yet what's his point this time - I'm not sure if we've seen the end of this story. But I'm definitely going to wait and watch the next installments. He did create an amazing complete world in his mind, and I always love it when an artist creates an entire world for his story.
As for the characters created in this movie, unlike the first one no significant character is left undeveloped. Some could use more substance but obviously the movie would end being even longer. Accordingly, the acting was first class. Though I'm still uncertain regarding the fact Sigourney Weaver is playing her 14 years old daughter. I understand the point Cameron is making, and she does it flawlessly but I'm still a bit uneasy about it. The only thing I have against this movie is some things Cameron has left out of his story or spoke too little about. It's not a major issue, and as I already said - the movie was long enough as is, but still a few details are missing for the story to be completely coherent.
The points I want to make regard the plot, which is much better than other reviewers claim. And the characters. I heard a few say that this movie is very much like the first installment, most of the people saying that spoke about it as a fault - it's not. It's simply the outcome of a single story being continued from the first installment. Think of it as another chapter you read in a book, you don't expect every chapter to turn the story upside-down, in fact you'd be complaining if that would be the case. Thing is, Cameron has already done that with his installments of Terminator (I & II), once you see the two you realize it was a single movie separated into two chapters. That's the reason Cameron didn't want anything to do with the 3rd installment of Terminator - it went against the point his story was making: We make our own destiny and we're strong enough to do it. I don't know yet what's his point this time - I'm not sure if we've seen the end of this story. But I'm definitely going to wait and watch the next installments. He did create an amazing complete world in his mind, and I always love it when an artist creates an entire world for his story.
As for the characters created in this movie, unlike the first one no significant character is left undeveloped. Some could use more substance but obviously the movie would end being even longer. Accordingly, the acting was first class. Though I'm still uncertain regarding the fact Sigourney Weaver is playing her 14 years old daughter. I understand the point Cameron is making, and she does it flawlessly but I'm still a bit uneasy about it. The only thing I have against this movie is some things Cameron has left out of his story or spoke too little about. It's not a major issue, and as I already said - the movie was long enough as is, but still a few details are missing for the story to be completely coherent.