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Saw this last night and was moderately surprised. Sure, the previews looked cool and all, but they don't prepare you for how awesome this movie really is. MUCH better than T3(which I liked, by the way) and maybe as good as the original.
The story this time around is much darker than before. Don't be mistaken, this is NOT a popcorn flick. This an epic war drama and it is by far the best movie so far this year(yes, better than Star Trek).The film basically follows John Connor as he becomes the leader of the resistance and gives humanity hope. Obviously more is going on than this, but I'm gonna stay away from spoilers.
Christian Bale is good, but it's Sam Worthington who steals the show. He is one of the most interesting characters in this series. You'll be rooting for him in the end.
I lied when I said I'd give no spoilers... but I can't hold this in.
SPOILERS BELOW!!!
My favorite part was when John comes face to face with Arnold. I smiled ear to ear and cheered "HE'S BACK!".
So yeah, I really REALLY liked this flick. If you are a Terminator fan, check it out. If you're not a fan... CHECK IT OUT!
This opens in Australia tomorrow (the 21st). I am a huge Terminator series fan and when I read about this ages ago, thought I might go see it (i don't go the movies at all - don't really have the time) I'd seen T2 and T3 at the cinema so thought, yeah why not. But after looking at trailers and stuff, i won't worry about it. The best part of the first three, I felt, was the jarring concept of the Terminators being in everyday America. it made it less sci-fi and more drama. Now, this new one is set in the future, in the war we all know about from the others. so really, it just becomes a futuristic war movie, like a violent Star Wars or any other sci-fi action flick. I know you can't keep having Terminators going back in another movie; that would be overkill. but it just doesn't feel the same. Look, that's just my opinion obviously, so enjoy it. Ps another factor is Bale as John Connor. He was average in an average dark knight so... also the bad press that T3 got annoys me a little; Leonard Maltin, a respected film critic, gives it three stars in his movie review annual, and I think it was tops as well. In my top ten list of fave movies, I have the Terminator series down as one pick, instead of the three seperate movies. Same with LOTR.
My thoughts on the film are best described by Jhonen Vasquez, creator of Invader Zim:
"Just picture the camera pulling up and away from me as I raise my clenched fists in the rain, crying out 'McGeeeeeEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!'"
It felt like a direct-to-dvd Terminator film. The fight with Arnold was cool though.
EDIT: On Facebook, my friend summed up all of my problems with the film better than I probably ever could. Needless to say, I didn't hate it as much as he did, but he brings up some good points.
Quoted from friend's review
***LOTS OF SPOILERS*** How bad is Terminator Salvation? Is it the worst of the Terminator films? Easily. Is it on the fast track towards the pantheon of forgettable summer blockbusters like The Island or Superman Returns? Definitely. Could the film just as easily have been called Robot Wars or Machine Battle and have had the same impact on the Terminator universe? Sadly, yes. Terminator Salvation, a film I've anticipated for almost a year now, is a colossal disappointment from beginning to end. It's technically inept, dramatically empty and right now, I can't think of a worse way to spend $8.50. While some individual scenes in the film are alright if taken by themselves, they ultimately add up to nothing. Terminator Salvation plays like a Uwe Boll film with good production values; nobody does anything for any other reason to advance the plot forward, and they all look as bored as we are doing it; the more you think about what actually happens in the plot of this film, the more glaringly apparent it becomes that it was assembled so haphazardly that trying to contextualize anything in it makes the whole sorry piece of shit collapse on itself like a $200 million house of cards. Why does Skynet, a system so intelligent that it becomes self-aware and is on the brink of destroying mankind, not IMMEDIATELY kill Kyle Reese when they found him, instead of using him as bait? I mean, the film makes it clear that the machines know who he is, so why fuck about? Also, why would Skynet even bother to utilize a machine like Marcus, a machine capable of DISOBEYING it, possibly even destroying it? And while we're on the topic of Skynet, what the fuck? At the end of T3, we're told that Skynet doesn't have a central location, and that it exists in the fabric of the global computer infrastructure and is therefore impossible to destroy. Why would Skynet then (again, a self-aware system), decide later to erect an HQ that, were it to be destroyed by a certain freethinkin' robot that it may or may not have under its command, would severely hamper their mission to eradicate all of mankind? Why, because the plot requires it, that's why! Also, the end of the film casually tells us that "Hey! That's just one of Skynet's bases! There's more for us to destroy, and they're conveniently located in (presumably) similar mind-fuckingly retarded sequels!" While I'm on the topic of the Skynet's stupidity, why does Helena Bonham Carter give a bad Bond villain speech at the end of the movie (a speech that lasts forever and tells the audience nothing it didn't already know from the prologue)? Why does all the acting suck? Christian Bale looks talks and acts as though he's got chronic migraines and two-plus week bout of constipation. Also, he spends most of his time yelling into a walkie-talkie and looking dour; he's supposed to emerge as the Leader of the Resistance by the film's end, The Last, Best Hope of Humanity - but how does it end? With Connor flown away in a helicopter, a wounded little pussy who just had a heart transplant successfully (!?) performed on him in a desert near the site of a nuclear explosion. Yeah. THAT'S gonna last. But Bale's remarkably uninteresting John Connor isn't the only one who sucks. Sam Worthington can't keep a consistent accent to save his soul. Moon Bloodgood takes the stereotypical Ambiguous Female Action Sub-Character role to new highs (lows?) - take that, Angelina Jolie from Wanted! Common sucks, period. Bryce Dallas Howard shows all the emotional depth of a Macy's mannequin, and she also never once mentions anything about why she's carrying a pillow under her blouse; in a film so chock full of unnecessary bullshit, her pregnancy might have been an interesting topic to talk about, but the film completely ignores it. *sigh* I could go on forever. The action sequences come right of the Michael Bay playbook. The editing was atrocious (whoever thought it was a good idea to cut the OMG, Marcus Is Totes A Machine scene together the way it was needs to be fired). There were no lasers (remember the opening scenes from T1/T2, and the totally kick-ass lasers? WHERE THE FUCK WERE THOSE?). The product placement actually made me laugh (mankind is borderline-fucked, but Sony and Sandisk seem to be thriving). Which, in retrospect, I suppose is alright, because the movie made me want to die.
I think, with all do respect, your friend and a lot of others have been too critical, WAY too critical. Look, the story of T4 sucks, plain and simple, but it's just meant to be taken as a fun summer action popcorn flick and that's what I took it as. The more and more you think about the story, the less you'll like it. You have to suspend disbelief, like the part where the terminator (forgot the name) hits Marcus with the stone like 3 times on his head, and Marcus doesn't get injured or show pain (Yes he was one of them but also human) you just have to suspend your belief. Sam Worthington DID a fantastic job, Bale did too, i was trying to figure out what part he did his rant in, he said it was the most intense part of the film. I guess I walked out with mixed feelings, then was a tad bit disappointed, but hey overall I liked it
Isle 10- A series I'm currently writing with my friend Adam and it will go into production soon. Think The Office meets 10 Items or Less.
Yep, and it's a shame because if the story was great, then I might have given it a 10/10. Since the logic of a script/movie is you have to have a good story, since this didn't, you can't help but be a tad bit disappointed. However I was amazed at how much action McG fit in here, but it's like he had no respect to the other Terminator(s)
Isle 10- A series I'm currently writing with my friend Adam and it will go into production soon. Think The Office meets 10 Items or Less.
Whooo boy! Gotta love those long paragraphs. I guess it's about time I get new glasses.
No doubt Terminator has lots and lots of holes character and plot wise. Gives us hope doesn't it?
What I found funny was the little girl in terminator. She never said a word throughout. People might say it's because she was traumatized. Yes, she probably was. Traumatized by the movie. No no! I'm just kidding!
I don't want to shoot down the movie. It had the effects and the action and that's really what they were going for.
The Skynet Goddess (the cancer lady) who knew the ins and outs and upside downs of skynet's devious plans and gave the lovely long exposition (which I would love to someday write and see how long it looks on a page ) where did she come from in the Terminator universe? There is a question why they would trust her because she is after all human.
What I found funny was the little girl in terminator. She never said a word throughout. People might say it's because she was traumatized. Yes, she probably was. Traumatized by the movie. No no! I'm just kidding!
I thought about that: what purpose does she serve? She had no backstory, no dialogue.....nothing. I'm thinking they might have a bigger role for her in the sequel....maybe.
I don't want to shoot down the movie. It had the effects and the action and that's really what they were going for.
I agree about the action and the effects, but the movie took itself WAAAY too seriously to not nitpick. Plus, it's a beloved franchise with predecessors that relied on a whole lot more (particularly T2).
At the beginning "Marcus" is set up to be a terminator and later he is granted access into skynet... why was the terminator shooting at him in the street? These machines have targeting that would say don't shoot at him, he is one of ours.
The logic of that scene bothered me. At that point we did not know but at the same time they could have planted a seed instead of having a plot whole.
Why would skynet have scouts without guns? They find Kyle Reese but can't do anything. It's like being a fighter with no arms or legs but everyone else has arms and legs.
I enjoyed the movie for what it ultimately is but Christian Bale should have been more of a focus.
What I got out of this movie is that we are F@#ked because we aren't really doing anything to beat them except hiding. Why didn't they use the gattling guns against them? The best weapons is the one John uses at the end and he only uses it at the end. That should be the primary weapon as regular guns take forever (Like Starship Troopers) the characters look dumb. You have this great weapon but you use this crappy one that could mean your death... alrighty slugger.
Lotsa spoilers here I'm sure (not that I give a fuck).
I finally got a chance to see it yesterday and, unfortunately, it was a dissaster. After watching the trailer, I was expecting something much grander in scope yet with an underground feel to it. What we got was a standard action flick - albeit with some decent action scenes in it (though they showed all of them in the trailer as usual).
My first problem is the fact that John Connor was almost a supporting character. He was in, what, half of the movie? At best. That was a monumental mistake. It should have been all about John Connor (especially cos' Christian Bale is such an intense actor). And you know that Bale was cringing his toes when he had to deliver the "I'll be back" line. Fuuuuuuuuck. No wonder he went beserk on the set. In fact, I think shoulda went way more beserk.
Fuck the Marcus "girly" terminator sideplot. I mean, could that have been anymore predictable? And what the fuck good does it do to build an infiltrator terminator (btw. I hated all the different names they had for the various terminators in this movie) that can simply take out its chip and fuck up the plans?
My second problem is that the writers definitely had a major hard on for The Matrix when they wrote this film. John Connor is the Messiah - Neo is the One. Barf. Also the whole high command in the sub reeked of how they did it in The Matrix. And please...Michael Fucking Ironside? Now there's a zero-dimensional actor.
By the way, could the T-600 look anymore like the Nemesis creature from the Resident Evil movies? They even have the same fucking gun!
I've never been a fan of the awful actress Helena Bonham Carter, but her "acting" in this one - especially the "big reveal" - was borderline amateurish. Fuck her. Fuck the laughable CGI Arnie. And fuck anyone who calls themselves McG. What the fuck is that about?
But what is most fucked up about this movie is the plothole that's so huge you could drive the fucking Deathstar through it. Skynet wants to kill Kyle Reese - okay, I can buy that one (unless you subscribe to the multiple timeline theory - which you should!), but if John Connor fucks up Skynet, he won't have to send back Kyle Reese to the past and thus, he will never be conceived! What the fuck?
And this is supposed to be the beginning of a new trilogy?
I give this movie 2 of 10 (one for Christian Bale and the other for some decent action)
Down in the hole / Jesus tries to crack a smile / Beneath another shovel load
The reviews for this movie have been horrible, but I liked it a lot. I liked it a lot better than T3 (which I also liked).
I guess since I went into the movie with very low expectations, it was easier for me to enjoy it. Personally, I thought it was on the same level with the new Star Trek, which everyone is obsessing over. Both movies had weak plots, but ST had much stronger acting where as I thought T:S had better characters and action.
Quoted Text
f*** the Marcus "girly" terminator sideplot. I mean, could that have been anymore predictable? And what the f*** good does it do to build an infiltrator terminator (btw. I hated all the different names they had for the various terminators in this movie) that can simply take out its chip and f*** up the plans?
I guess I'm just incredibly slow, but I didn't see that coming.
Haven't seen the movie yet, but I will. I recently learned that the Sarah Connor Chronicles was cancelled. Too bad. The show was getting good with its sci-fi aspects.
(Probably not a good idea to read this if you haven't seen T4)
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 fucking 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.
That...sounds...horrible.
It also sounds like it's going to take the paradoxes of the Terminator series to a whole new level.
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....
Failure is only the opportunity to begin again more intelligently - Dove Chocolate Wrapper
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!!!!
“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.
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!
Down in the hole / Jesus tries to crack a smile / Beneath another shovel load
- 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
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, 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.
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.
In this context, it would refer to the producers of this movie gearing it towards viewers who exhibit an homogeneous 'consumption' of action movies - that is to say, they basically made this for people who like action-filled films. Is that group composed largely of younger people? I don't necessarily think so, plus it's difficult to standardise what a 'young person' is in terms of how they behave, y'know.
I mean, Spielberg did 'Duel' at 25. My point being that attempting to group in terms of age is ultimately folly.
Finally got round to seeing this. After T3 which was so badly made that I could barley watch it, I wasn't expecting much.
It was a lot better than I feared, although no where near what it could have been.
I agree on all points that people have raised about Skynet and the overall story. These kind of things are amazing really. There's whole industries dedicated to telling people how to write films and such, people who run businesses selling scripts, festivals and awards etc but it's pretty obvious that Hollywood doesn't really give a fuck about writing. Seems to be a complete after-thought after the project has been greenlit.
It comes across as almost an irritiating hitch to shooting silly action when you watch a $200M film. Bizarre, but there it is.
Other than that though, it was good. The lack of intelligence present amongst the writers and filmmakers undermines any attempt at taking it seriously, but it was better than 95% of sci-fi action films..which I suppose is quite sad in some ways.
Cameron created such a great story that even pale imitations and hybrids of it still have some interest.
Shame someone like Neil Blomkamp couldn't have directed it, but it was still pretty good, despite everything.
My big problem with this movie (I may have mentioned this elsewhere) is that it stepped away from the focus of the previous movies of one Terminator trying to kill John/Sarah. Now it was an army of people versus an army of robots. It didn't seem as...personal, I guess.
Arnold's cameo was great, though I wished they explained why they chose his 'face.' In the Sarah Conner Chronicles, an episode was dedicated to Cameron's origin and how she got to look the way she does.
My big problem with this movie (I may have mentioned this elsewhere) is that it stepped away from the focus of the previous movies of one Terminator trying to kill John/Sarah. Now it was an army of people versus an army of robots. It didn't seem as...personal, I guess.
Arnold's cameo was great, though I wished they explained why they chose his 'face.' In the Sarah Conner Chronicles, an episode was dedicated to Cameron's origin and how she got to look the way she does.
Phil
Fair enough. Personally I've been waiting to see the battle between human and robots on a grand scale since I saw the flashbacks in the first Terminator.
The only real problem I had with the film was the absurdity of the story.
It seems that they tried to do what you wanted and keep up the "kill John Connor" thing, but to me that was one of the reasons it didn't work...it was no longer relevant as we're in the present, not the past anymore.
Did you Sky Anytime it by any chance, Rick? Only, I finally watched this last week too.
It's not as bad as I assumed it would be, but it's not great, either. It just never really felt that involving. Not epic enough to be epic, but not really at all emotional and personal, either. There's basically no characterisation, and while some of the action's well done it never really felt weighty, if that's the word. For me, though, Christian Bale was probably actually the worst thing in it. It's not a good performance. It's the Batman voice for two hours, and that's it. Sam Worthington was fine (although he did lapse into his natural Australian at one point), and Anton what-sit was okay too.
It's just...meh, really. Not bad, but not a worthy sequel to Cameron's original. It just felt like a cash-in rather than an attempt to do anything new.
Did you Sky Anytime it by any chance, Rick? Only, I finally watched this last week too.
It's not as bad as I assumed it would be, but it's not great, either. It just never really felt that involving. Not epic enough to be epic, but not really at all emotional and personal, either. There's basically no characterisation, and while some of the action's well done it never really felt weighty, if that's the word. For me, though, Christian Bale was probably actually the worst thing in it. It's not a good performance. It's the Batman voice for two hours, and that's it. Sam Worthington was fine (although he did lapse into his natural Australian at one point), and Anton what-sit was okay too.
It's just...meh, really. Not bad, but not a worthy sequel to Cameron's original. It just felt like a cash-in rather than an attempt to do anything new.
It was on Sky premiere last night.
I agree with what you're saying. It's nothing like as good as a Cameron film, but it was still better than most films in the genre (it is after all very much a B-movie/"ghetto" genre).
Not great, but it was a decent attempt by considerably less talented filmmakers. Just looking at what McG has done before, it's a miracle it was even half watchable.
You guys are chipping into the surface of a serious creative issue affecting any successfull enterprise: Limit future projects by precedents the audience enjoyed previously or to broaden those limitations at risk of offending/alienating the fans that brought the project this far?
Here's $100-$200M: make a decision.
"WHUT?!! HUH?! I... uh... ?"
Do you give back your percentage of that pie that would be your paycheck or do you say "LOL! Screwit!" and produce something that will pay for your ridiculous mortgage and hopefully land your next gig?
I think the mano a mano argument has been played out and now the broader scope of humanities plight is appropriate to be addressed UNTIL that's been played out. At that point - Terminator 9 will revert back to mano a mano.
Personally, as a fan of hard scifi, I wanted to be immersed in more tech and less human condition. (Cliche) dystopian futures disgust me, but that's where this story carries us. Again. Perhaps the greatest challenge of horror is to out-gun the audience's capability to recognize/accept/adopt an amazing multitude of situational possibilities. I've seen broken down men and societies resist and perservere. Show me something else. Make me say "G@D@MN! That's messed up! Let's not allow that to happen."
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