This film is a fun thought experiment as to what would rightfully come next. I utterly adore T2 and consider it my favorite film of all time. TDF is unnecessary, but nevertheless it's existence isn't hurting anything and it's much better than you might expect. Linda Hamilton does an amazing job in this, I think she's definitely the strongest player in this. She stepped right back into the role and clearly loves the character.
One of the things I have to ask myself always when we revisit these 80s and 90s films is "what would they have done if they weren't limited by technology ~30 years ago"? And I think that sort of braces me on when things get chaotic.
IGN said "it's the best Terminator since 2" and that's absolutely correct, but also not a high bar to meet.
I think they handled Carl in a great way, and the drapery thing is, as you'd expect, blown way out of proportion by certain audiences. It's also a nice throwback to Arnie himself. Of all things though, they handled his machine behavior and reasoning for the family in a manner respectful to the franchise. Though it does render the deleted chip scene in T2 as noncanon should you include this as the true ending to the trilogy.
There are some nice nods throughout, like the music at the backyard party being the same as the bar in T2 and the playground being a straight throwback to the alt ending to T2.
The CG was honestly really good. Not perfect in all instances, but much, much better than a film like this would expectedly have. The prologue is arguably some of the best deaging on the market.
I had no qualms with the Rev 9, however he didn't leave an impression on me all around. He was a vehicle for conflict, which I'm sure some could argue the same for the T-1000, but the T-1000 had the first time spectacle to assist him.
Music was forgettable save for the main theme. Big, big props to that rendition with the ethnic overtones. It's a lovely interpretation; all that to be said, a lack of synths is missed regardless.
One of the problems these revised series face is that you have a terribly divided audience. On one hand, you'll never get those who are lifelong, intimate fans on board. On the other, no one these days cares about Terminator, Rambo, or the like. I can't go and tell people in my age group that I'm going to see Terminator because they legitimately don't care or have familiarity with it. We who like the series so much are a minority in the market. On the same token, I met my folks at the theater to go see it and they both liked it. So take that for what it's worth.
T2
T1
TDF
And if I have to go on:
S
G
3
Firmly plant me in the I enjoyed it camp.
I just like the TPM/Solo/RO narrative as mentioned in previous SW discussions enough to have it be an optional canon.
