I wonder if we can get a Terminator to go back in time a kill McG's parents?

Got to see UP yesterday with my boy, and saw T4 today with my father...Interesting comparison, as UP was a masterpiece of character development, while T4 was barely a blip on the radar...Marcus could have been a really interesting guy in what was otherwise a pretty standard shoot -em up, big screen video game tie in...It was fun, but ultimately forgettable in the big scheme of things.

Spoilers.
When the mute girl hands John Connor the switch button box, I wanted so desperately for it to not work...Maybe have him bang it on the floor a few times...Must have been Energizer batteries...Amazing how they never seem to run out of ammo...the fighter-pilot girl...Too bad she was just a cardboard stereotype-could have really liked her...Similiar plot lines to Battlestar Galactica, only not nearly as good....When the Terminator senses the vulnerability in Marcus (the heart) he slams his metallic fist into his chest...Marcus comes up terminiated, that is until John Connor gives him a jumpstart (seriously)...How then, can his heart (that has been crushed and then jumpstarted) possibly be in any condition to save John Connor? How is it, exactly, that John Connor can be fully impaled by a sharp metal object, and still manage to limp with his buddys to the helicopter?
The whole time the general was saying if we do this, the war is over...They did it (blowing up Skynet), however, the war is still on because of the global reach of skynet...Guess they forgot they wrote that part...

Clear winner is the Transformers 2...T4 Didn't set a very high bar, and, adding Megan Fox to the mix among the giant robots should prove to be some good summer time fun....

Quoted from Blakkwolfe Spoilers. When the mute girl hands John Connor the switch button box, I wanted so desperately for it to not work...Maybe have him bang it on the floor a few times...Must have been Energizer batteries...Amazing how they never seem to run out of ammo...the fighter-pilot girl...Too bad she was just a cardboard stereotype-could have really liked her...Similiar plot lines to Battlestar Galactica, only not nearly as good....When the Terminator senses the vulnerability in Marcus (the heart) he slams his metallic fist into his chest...Marcus comes up terminiated, that is until John Connor gives him a jumpstart (seriously)...How then, can his heart (that has been crushed and then jumpstarted) possibly be in any condition to save John Connor? How is it, exactly, that John Connor can be fully impaled by a sharp metal object, and still manage to limp with his buddys to the helicopter? The whole time the general was saying if we do this, the war is over...They did it (blowing up Skynet), however, the war is still on because of the global reach of skynet...Guess they forgot they wrote that part...

Yeah, you hit the nail on the head several times.

I was at a dinner party tonight and I was speaking with someone who enjoyed T4, who kept telling me I just needed to watch it as a dumb popcorn film. I told him I could completely empathize with that, and that I've enjoyed many films on that level.  However, T4 both failed as a continuation of the franchise AND dumb entertainment, as there were just too many glaring errors to ignore.

Finally got around to seeing this today.  I went in blind, not having read anything at all, including this post.  I was seriously hoping for the best.

No go.  Within minutes, I was seriously unimpressed…and things went way downhill from there.

Have to agree with Sniper and Blakkwolfe in their critiques.  This was a clusterfuck of many, much better movies.  War of the Worlds (remake), Matrix, Independence Day, Road Warrior, any other high tech action movie you can think of.

Story was almost non-existent.  Acting and characterization were awful.  Look of the film was depressing, washed out, uninspiring.  Action scenes seemed to just be thrown in every 8 minutes for good measure.  Talk about plot holes and logic leaps?  C’mon, unreal.

As someone else said (Sniper?), Christian Bale was not the star of this movie.  Other than the intro scene and finale, did he have 5 minutes of screen time?  Also like others, I had this feeling early on that Marcus was indeed a machine.  I wasn’t surprised at all by the revelation, or twist revelation.

I thought most of the FX were pretty good, but I bet when it comes to DVD and Cable, it will be very obvious what’s green screened, CGI, etc.  First viewing is usually good for FX on big budget flicks, but not nearly the same watching at home, even on a big screen.

So…even though I definitely didn’t like this at all, I can’t say that I hated it either.  I’ve seen so much worse…but I really expected so much more from this.  I thought T3 was pretty lame, but thinking back, I have to say this was easily worse, just based on the bleakness and zero story.

The reported budget is $200 Million!  $200 Million!  WTF?  C’mon guys, with $200 Million, wouldn’t you think that they could at least come up with a decent script?  An interesting script?   There just wasn’t anything remotely engaging or interesting here, and it’s really a damn shame.

As movies go, I’d it a 4 or 5.  As $200 Million movies go, I’d give it 2.  So many better ways to spend $200 Million!!!!

Quoted Text Quoted from  interview with McG about T5 “I strongly suspect the next movie is going to take place in a [pre-Judgment Day] 2011. John Connor is going to travel back in time and he’s going to have to galvanize the militaries of the world for an impending Skynet invasion. They’ve figured out time travel to the degree where they can send more than [just] one naked entity. So you’re going to have hunter killers and transports and harvesters and everything arriving in our time and Connor fighting back with conventional military warfare, which I think is going to be F**king awesome. I also think it’s there he’s going to meet the scientist that’s going to look a lot like present-day Robert Patrick, talking about stem-cell research and how we can all live as idealized, younger versions of ourselves.

Robert Patrick will play in T5, along with Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connors (she has a cameo in T4). McG already works on it.

Michel

Quoted from Dreamscale C’mon guys, with $200 Million, wouldn’t you think that they could at least come up with a decent script?  An interesting script?

I remember reading that Christian Bale was given a copy of the script (when being asked to do it), and he gave it back saying that he wouldn't be in it until it could be read without special effects and still be a compelling story with interesting dialogue.  Makes you wonder what the first script was like.

Good point!  I literally can't imagine what it must have looked like.  I really can't even imagien what the final draft looked like.  Amazing, huh?  Just amazing...

For $200 Million I could easily make a two-hour movie with nothing but nuclear explosions going off - which would be way cooler than this movie.

The more I think about this movie the more I hate it, especially all the time travel paradoxes *cough*plotholes*cough*. If we imagine that the Terminator universe runs on a singular timeline (which is pretty much stated in T1) and that travelling forward in time is not possible, then answer me this:

- Why does Skynet (in T4) make Kyle Reese a primary target? How does Skynet even know that Kyle Reese eventually becomes John Connor's father? It couldn't possibly know that since it hasn't sent the T1-Terminator back yet...

And for pretty much the same reasons as above:

- Why is John Connor a target at all. At this point in T4, John Connor is basically a nobody - a voice on a radio - so how does Skynet know he eventually becomes the leader of the resistance?

See, all this making-someone-a-target-for-future-gains makes sense when travelling back in time, not in the "present". The two bozos who wrote the script should really, among other, take a Time Travel 101 course.

And then there's Skynet's big plan for John Connor. Catch Kyle Reese so that John Connor will come and resue him...? Okay, fair enough - but then what? Do they have an army of armed terminators waiting for JC when he arrives? No, they have one! A naked Arnie with no weapons! What the fuck? And when Arnie finally grabs JC, does rip his head off? Does he punch him in the heart (as he does with Marcus)? No...he throws him through the room. Very efficient!

Quoted from sniper - Why is John Connor a target at all. At this point in T4, John Connor is basically a nobody - a voice on a radio - so how does Skynet know he eventually becomes the leader of the resistance?

They have seen James Cameron's movie. As simple as that  

Quoted from michel They have seen James Cameron's movie. As simple as that

Doh! Forgot about that one  

Gog, Rob. You're making me feel incredibly stupid for liking this film. I'm just gonna go sulk in a corner and drink Dr. Pepper.

~Zack~

Don't worry, Zack - you're not the only one.

There are a multitude of problems with this one, and Sniper listed some good points, but I still like it.

The vast majority of "issues" with the movie are crudely covered by the "this wasn't the future my mother told me about", so from that perspective, I have no problem. The main problem - for me - was Kyle Reese being detained,  and Marcus leading JC to the 'base', which was ridiculous when you consider the terrible defence to complete the job - that was unforgivable.

However, the film does have redeeming qualities - visually it was beautiful, the action sequences were well handled and it ultimately entertained me. The multi-layered masterpiece that was 'The Terminator' was not in evidence here, but so what - yes, it's part of a series, yet it's really only in spirit. A completely different team put this together, and logically, it must be viewed under its own steam.

Did it have a lick on one of my all-time favourite movies (Terminator)? No, a resounding no, but then, we mustn't forget that Cameron is in a league of his own. This isn't an attempt to absolve TS of its considerable ills, but it is being rational, and seeing it's hardly the worst movie of the year.

I think a lot of the bad press it's receiving is down to anger at it not meeting the standards of Cameron, and that will dissipate over time.

Andrew

Andrew, I disagree with you wholeheartedly about TS being visually beautiful.  I thought just the opposte,  Everyting was washed out, bleak, and ugly. Now, I realize that it's a bleak world being portrayed, but I didn't see anythign that was remotely beautiful here.

Zak, how old are you?  I don't mean that in a negfative way at all, either, but this movie was defintely aimed at a younger demographic for sure.  Not at all made fro fans of the original, or sequel.

There can be no beauty in bleakness?

I think the target group for this movie was based more on behavioural segmentation, as opposed to direct age.

Andrew

Quoted from Zack Gog, Rob. You're making me feel incredibly stupid for liking this film.

Oh Zack, why the hell would you care what other people think of a movie, if you liked it who gives a flying fuck what anyone else thinks, the important thing is that YOU liked it, don't mean squat what others think.  I  got teased a lot for liking point break which some consider the stupidest movie ever, but i dun care i loved it and it don't matter what others think.  like what you like, never ever care what others say about those films.  Saying that i thought T4 was okay, i didn't enjoy it as much as star trek or drag me to hell, both those two are more my kinda films.