By no means what I expected, both in terms of film and character. The level of everything between this and the first film is immense, like comparing Pac Man with Tomb Raider. The effects are amazing and the choice of moving things to a water based environment was a good one as visually it strikes gold. James Cameron also makes the brave choice of leaving the two lead characters from the first film in the background for large portions of the film. The younger generation introduced become the heart an soul of the film (something that the first film never had) to the extent that when the final act rolls around they are why we care about the outcome.
Director wise there's a lot going on, James Camerons choice of shot is spot on throughout the movie. By the time we get to the final act he's in his traditional element after excelling outside of his preconceived box for most of the film. We get a few jumps and shocks throughout the film and despite the wide openness of the film we get scenes of claustrophobia. There's a few nods to Camerons previous films - most notably a few shots that bring back memories of Titanic, the exo-skeletons that first appeared in Aliens are ever present as is the traditional industrial use of yellow around the human parts of the film.
Actor wise I really enjoyed the younger characters plus I think Sigourney Weaver should be in contention for Best Supporting Actress awards.
9.5/10 from me, only niggles are a few plot points that could have been tidied up. The big problem I had from the first film is that it should have been a video game and left no imprint on pop culture. This feels like a film yet the thing I think will make an imprint on pop culture was also something that was in the first "I see you."
