Don’t listen to what the critics are saying on this one, folks.  This film is just as perfect as Jurassic World. 

Emilia Clarke shines as badass Sarah Connor, and she’s the best portrayal of the character since Linda Hamilton.  If you enjoy Game of Thrones, you’ll love seeing her in this role.  And most importantly, Arnold is back.  The thing that makes these films great is having Arnold Schwarzenegger there as the T-800, or Pops, as Sarah calls him.  The studio learned that with the release of Terminator Salvation, which I refuse to even watch.  No one delivers one liners quite like Schwarzenegger.

The story has changed dramatically; if you’ve seen any previews you know this.  But there are still some surprises to be found.  The film begins in the war with John Connor leading the resistance, as we all know, and trying to stop Skynet from sending a T-800 back to 1984.  They fail and someone has to go save her, cue Kyle Reese.  Reese is played so well by Jai Courtney in this film, you almost forget about the original actor.  He plays the character differently and it adds a nice touch to the budding relationship. 

Anyway, I digress, so Kyle goes back to find that nothing is as he was told it would be.  Sarah explains things after saving Reese’s life but Reese tries to kill Pops.  Pops, of course, can take care of himself.  But, in an ode to T2, he explains, “I didn’t kill him.”  From there, I won’t tell you anything else about the plot.  This review is spoiler-free.

Some have said the plot was too much and found it confusing.  I disagree; it was easy to follow, but you do need to pay attention.  And if you’re paying $10+ to see it, why wouldn’t you be?  The highlight of this film is the relationship between Sarah and Pops.  It’s heart-wrenching to watch.  This Terminator gave me something none of the films before could and I’m so grateful for that. 

Like I said, don’t pay attention to what you read and go see it.  I would rate it 4 and 1/2 out of 5 stars.