I walked into this film with no expectations. I even managed to avoid the hype, if there was any. I came out satisfied; it was an enjoyable action flick.
My biggest concern was that Arnold would let me down. He didn't. I was impressed with his performance.
I have three core complaints:
One, I didn't care much for Danes and Stahl. Neither seemed convincing. Stahl, despite his character's history, seemed too relaxed throughout the entire movie, and Danes too easily accepted the tragic events surrounding her. There was never a moment of, "Oh my god, this can't be happening." There was no panic.
Two, the female Terminator, or Terminatrix, might have seemed like the obvious thing to do, but the character didn't really appeal to me. She wasn't menacing enough, and as a result, not very terrifying.
Lastly, my biggest issue with this film was its total and utter lack of tension (this is related to the first two issues I have). The appeal of the first two films was the sense of urgency created by the tension. The theme in this trilogy seems to be the chase; the protagonists running from the Terminator. The first two films had us biting our nails, hoping our heroes would manage to escape the evil machine's grasp.
What happened to the tension? Was it Cameron's absence? Maybe. It was definitely missing from Danes and Stahl's performances, and definitely missing from the presence of the female Terminator.
It was a good action flick. I enjoyed it, but it didn't hook me like T2 did.