riotinmyskull

Cardiff Giant11

I think I'm going to try and hit a matinee and check it out. Love T1 and T2, thought T3 was pretty good (definitely liked the slight twist at the end), and duh TSCC (especially the last few episodes, the finale was fantastic). I'm a sucker for the Terminator universe so I'm willing to give it a go even if it's not as good as people are hoping.

Supermallet

I'm seeing it tonight. My expectations are in the toilet, and I'm worried that's not low enough.

Superboy

I liked it. It felt like a movie made for people who want to enjoy an action movie without having to figure out a complicated time travel plot, wait 2 hours for action scenes that last more than 30 seconds, put up with stupid kid actors who can't act to save their lives, and wait for the plot to pick up the pace, hopefully before you realize that the plot is so paper thin that the entire moviehas to be padded with scenes where everyone is just standing around, staring off into the distance with a grim look on their face.

Wake the fuck up and realize that the first two movies were not the amazing sci-fi extravaganza that everyone makes them out to be. They're stupid dumb popcorn movies with paper-thin plots, dull characters that have ZERO development (predictably going from one stupid stereotype to another is NOT growth), tons of bad acting, and plodding pacing. Don't forget the cornball humor and the HUGE GLARING PLOT HOLES.

And if you want to make the argument that this movie was worse simply because it had the same elements, but it wasn't as well executed, maybe you should go back and watch the past movies and count the number of minutes were NOTHING HAPPENS.

mcnabb

This was the Star Wars Prequels Defense, "The first movies were crappy, these are crappy, so I enjoyed it, and I want more!

Why the hell can't people say a movie can suck, simply....because it sucks! I heard this crap all the time on Star Wars boards, "Well, Star Wars in 1977 was corny, had lame acting, catered to kids, so there is nothing different in The Phantom Menace." I used to reply, "Uhhhh..yes there is a BIG difference." Havent seen T4 yet, but I will say there is BIG difference between T1 and T3.

General Zod

Well I haven't seen this movie yet but after reading this I can tell you that Bale and I are done professionally.

Superboy

That's not the defense i'm using.

I'm saying, there are things about these movies that I like. but you can't criticize this movie, and ignore the same flaws in the other movies.

Solid Snake

I liked it. I give a B-. It's no Cameron Terminator...but what will ever be one? It was amazingly better than T3. I hated the little tender moments Some editing was a bit abrupt or too much of a cutaway...so I dunno. I liked the "cameo" by you know who. I didn't feel like I need to know who Connor was all that much. I already knew what he is from the films. In this film..he just is. I love the . Kinda felt that Carter's part in this was somewhat weak...there was no reason to have her casted really. Worthington was good as Wright. Is it me or does Skynet just scare the crap out of you? I was like...damn, I'd not like to be there at all. Somewhat confused by how some areas were made in the manner they would be if it was a human. This is easily McG's best film...which is nice. The action was pretty damn good. I'd like to see where we go with this franchise now.... Can't wait for the DVD/Blu-ray of the film. Really wondering what was cut out besides the topless scene that McG commented on at Comic-Con. Wonder if it was something good or was it actually not needed/bad? This is McG so I dunno...he kinda reminds me of Bay when it comes to story. But in the case of Bay he goes for films with thin plot and in THIS case McG worked on a franchise that has a plot background...so that footage would be nice to see if it was important or not.

MBoyd

3 stars from me. Great action scenes. Great sound as well. Love the sounds the harvester makes. Arnold cameo is great. Didn't even sound like Linda Hamilton to me on the tapes. Anyway, the rest of the movie is pretty lame. Definitely underwritten as has been mentioned EVERYWHERE at this point. The T-600s looked pretty weird. Like guys shuffling around in fat suits. And Marcus' Terminator face popping through looked like bad silver make-up sometimes. Wasted opportunity. Film was packed though.

maingon

Just got back and I really liked it, dont know why it getting the reviews its getting. I thought it was a fantastic action movie, Its different the the past Terminator movies but the action scenes were pretty fantastic.

I loved the whole action scene involving the giant terminator and the terminator cycles. I liked the first terminator, When Marcus first meets Kyle. It just felt heavy and powerful. Very cool looking too.

I liked seeing LA like that, 7 Eleven etc. I liked the look of the movie, McG has came a LONG way from Charlies Angels Full throttle, that was a ugly movie, badly edited and shot. Here he stages the action scenes extremely well, they are well shot not overly edited either. I think it was one of the best action movies I seen in a while. theres some really exciting action.


Though the story wasnt great it worked for this movie, I liked seeing the humans getting round up in those ships. I also didnt think the PG13 rating hurt this movie at all, I didnt notice any parts where it could of hurt the movie being PG13.


I am glad they didnt do another "terminator" movie where its set in the present and a another terminator is sent back to kill Conner. and maybe thats why critics are being hard on this movie, maybe thats what they wanted. but I thought this movie really delivered in the action. I never lost interested in the movie

B+

bluetoast

One little thing I liked was when John hacked into the door with his handheld device. Reminded me of when he hacked into the ATM as a kid, with Budnick from Salute Your Shorts.

.unholy

I saw it earlier today. I was relieved to find out that it was not nearly the anal rape some of the reviewers have made it out to be. Sure, it does not quite measure up to the first two movies, but it is fairly satisfying in its own right.

Just to be sure, here's where I'm coming from: The original film is, in my mind, one of the finest action sci-fi films ever made. T2 is solid, a prototypical early 90s action movie. I could live without the corny attempts at comic relief, and was a tad disappointed that Cameron decided to trade in much of the tension and terror of the original for bigger and louder action sentences. Still, it's Aliens to the original Alien: similar core idea, just a different approach. T3 was OK; it took me some time to warm up to it. The more I watch it, though, the more I enjoy it. The ballsy ending definitely makes up for many of its shortcomings. T:TSCC is an affront to the franchise and humanity in general. (I still watched it, of course...)

Now, for T:S. There is really no way to compare it to the previous installments. It's just a different kind of film. If you're a fan of the Terminator universe, you will likely enjoy it. If not, well... I can still think of much worse ways to pass two hours. The visual effects are spectacular, the story is fairly interesting (do keep in mind that at the end of the day T1 through 3 pretty much boil down to "ZOMG we have to escape from a killer robot"), the acting is solid (with one exception), and there is plenty of subtle, not-so-subtle, as well as in-your-face references to previous movies. Regrettably, it seems that between planting all the references, planning the gorgeous visual design, and fleshing out of the post-Judgment Day universe, the makers just flat out forgot to make a fundamentally good movie.

My major complaint is that there is not nearly enough downtime. Yes, I said it. There's too much action. In a Terminator movie. Actually, scratch that. It's not that there is too much action; it's that there is not enough in between the action sequences. I mean, a good dessert is a wonderful counterpoint to a meal, but if all you have to eat are desserts... I suspect that most of those reported 20-30 minutes of deleted scenes were, you know, "useless" dialogue and some such... (Oh, and yes, there are at least two points in the movie where you can definitely tell that something's missing.) Too much shit blowing up, not enough tension and actual drama. McG is definitely NOT one for subtlety. Worse yet, it seems like at times the need to provide more explosions eclipsed basic narrative logic. For instance, take the scene where Marcus and Blair Williams escape the resistance base. Should people who are themselves hunted by the machines be launching rockets and dropping napalm in the middle of the night? And that not even ten minutes after we are told how the Hunter/Killer use infrared to track humans? Honestly. The entire sequence could have been played quietly, with flashlights, and sneaking, and a lot of tension, but no, instead we opt for more shit exploding. How can you go wrong?

I thought the obsessve need to pile on more and more action eventually became counterproductive. So our heroes are ambushed by the Harvester and need to escape (seriously, though: how do you get surprised by a hulking, 60-foot tall machine whose every step sounds lie a garbage truck violating a steam engine?). Fine. BUT WAIT! The Harvester unleashes the Moto-Terminators, who chase our heroes down. BUT WAIT! Just when we think the resourceful buggers got a lucky break, here comes the Hunter/Killer. BUT WAIT! Our heroes actually manage to take it down. BUT WAIT! Here comes the Harvester again. BUT WAIT! Resistance fighter planes to the rescue! Call me crazy, but a well written action sequence really should not include more than two BUT WAIT! moments. Most of the time, McG just does not know where to stop. The end result is like being smothered with cotton candy.

So that's complaint number one. Number two is that the film seems sorely lacking in the affective department. I mean, we KNOW why the characters are doing what they are doing, but we don't really FEEL it. Example: having watched the previous three movies, we know perfectly well why it is crucial for John Connor to save Kyle Reese. Yet, there is nothing in the film that makes this necessity come across in any significant way. It's like being asked to provide your own emotional responses, while being given no indication why you should. The film takes this bizarre shortcut, assuming you know or can extrapolate enough about the key players to make sense of their actions, and thus feels justified in avoiding serious characterization (no doubt to make room for more action). It is kinda sterile/lifeless this way: it gives the viewer no reason to make any king of emotional investment in the characters. They do what they do because it says so in the script. I guess it's hard to complain about Connor: he's still looking for his own voice, seeking guidance in his mother's tapes. Plus, he's a driven guy, and driven characters tend to end up being one-dimensional. Marcus Wright, however, is woefully underdeveloped. Since he spends most of the movie brooding and pouting, we don't build enough of an attachment to the character for his climactic decision to carry any serious weight. This, in my mind, is a much more serious problem than the medical logistics of the final scenes.

Speaking of: I realize I may be in the minority here, but I do believe that the originally planned ending (the one leaked online a few months ago) would be much more fitting. I think it matches the tone of the film better.

All in all, T:S is a testament to the fact that "a non-stop rollercoaster ride" does not necessarily mean a good thing. In fact, my first thought when the credits rolled was "I would like to see a director's cut of this. Another director's cut." The kind of film McG wanted to make and the kind of film he's comfortable making are just two different things, it seems.

Some additional, semi-random thoughts. (1) Danny Elfman's has created some great, memorable scores. This is not one of them. It's functional, but exceedingly bland. (2) Common cannot act for shit. Plus, there is really no reason for him to be in this film. (Or any film, but that's a different story.) (3) Why is Bryce Dallas Howard's character even there, except for some sense of continuity?

Still, even though it may be dramatically underwhelming and filled with stupid plot holes, I did enjoy the crap out of it. I will watch it again. I will own it when it comes out. (Yeah, I'm this much of a Terminator geek.) It's not a bad movie. It won't dissolve your brain. It won't kill your pet. It just could have been so much better.

MBoyd

I could get behind this. I was thinking the same at the end. Sounded stupid when I heard about it originally, but it would work for this film. I liked the film less than you did I think, but the ending just needed something shocking.

kstublen

I am amazed that people are trashing this movie. Is it better than the first two movies? No, but anyone expecting them to be was setting their hopes too high. Is it better than the third movie? Absolutely (and I actually enjoyed the third movie because it actually advanced the John Connor Story).

The post-Judgment Day world that McG created was fantastic. It was so depressing, yet beautiful in a way. Nice to see a whole movie in the future.

I am going to disagree with others about the plot. I thought it was awesome that the Resistance thought they had found a way to destroy Skynet, but that it ended up just being Skynet finding a way to destroy them. And having Marcus lure John there was great as well; shows that Skynet can do more than just send Terminators to the past.

Loved seeing the Hunter Killers as well. The Harvester was cool...I wasn't reminded of Transformers at all; I don't see the complaints of having the Harvester (I think Kyle mentioned in The Terminator that Skynet was harvesting humans) or the Motorcycle-Terminators or the Hydra-Terminators. Why wouldn't Skynet create machines to track down humans in the water or on the road? That kind of hatred for the movie baffles me, because I think it is just common sense that Skynet is going to have more than Hunter Killers and Terminators.

Loved the call backs to the other movies. We got to hear Linda Hamilton as Sarah Connor, which was fantastic, see the origins of the T-800 and the T-1 (from Terminator 3). I cheered when John Connor got his scar and loved "come with me if you want to live" and "I'll be back." I thought they came off naturally and didn't seem forced. And it is great to see that John learned from his time as a kid (he knew that molten ore and liquid nitrogen might have been able to destroy the T-800).

I had no problem with Blair Williams letting Marcus Wright out after the brief time they spent together. That is humanity and that is intuition. She wasn't acting like a machine or a cold and calculated being. She was feeling and she could see in his eyes that he was a man. John Connor knew it too, that's why he let him go. You could feel the pain in his eyes when he realized that Skynet had done this to a man. This movie, for me, was about giving us a glimpse into the future and let us know just what happens. It was done well. It was also about humanity. It is about no matter how hard and cold John becomes, he remembers that above all, this is about the survival of humankind. If John had followed orders and bombed Skynet, they would be doing the machines job for them. John refused to give up and knew he had to save those prisoners (even before he knew Kyle was there).

The action was intense and left me wondering what was going to happen next. From Kyle and Marcus trying to escape to Blair and Marcus on the run to John and Marcus fighting the T-800. The "Arnold" Model was a welcome surprise and you could see the shock on Connor's face.

I also don't understand all of the complaints about lack of character development. I have seen three movies that have either Kyle Reese or John Connor in them. I have seen the first two movies more times than I care to remember. T2 is one of the first movies I saw as a kid and I used to watch them on TV all the time growing up. So spare me wanting John and Kyle developed more. Complain about Marcus or Blair being underdeveloped, not two of the main characters of the franchise. And I also don't mind that the first half of the movie featured mostly Marcus and Kyle. No matter how important Connor is, Kyle is just as, if not more, important. Kyle told Sarah that John rescued him; and here we actually get to see it.

It was nice to see that not all humans are members of the Resistance. There are some that are just struggling to survive and believe that they can just hide out for the rest of their lives. And even the Resistance is somewhat fragmented.

The movie title is important as well. Salvation. This was Marcus Wright's salvation. He was a man and a machine. He could have just as easily given in to Skynet, but he didn't. He fought back and died. He was dead, and John Connor realized that while he might have some machine in him, he was, at his heart, a man...John Connor brought him back and almost paid dearly for it. Marcus knew that John Connor was the one who could save the future; he sacrificed himself and found salvation in that sacrifice.

The weakest part of the movie was Carter's character. That being said, the scene with Marcus interacting with Skynet was eerie and very well done.

I could go on and on, but I think the film was a success. I went into this movie with high expectations and they were satisfied. I just hope all the negative press doesn't prevent us from getting two more movies; I just hope McG doesn't mess them up, has Nolan and Bale come back, and shows us John sending back Kyle (in movie #5) and the T-800 (in movie #6). And of course, the defeat of Skynet at the hands of the Resistance and maybe even John's ultimate death.

I dunno, I just don't understand all of the hatred for the movie. I thought it was great and didn't suffer from the PG-13 rating or the shorter runtime.

DeanoBKN

What can I say other then I liked it? There really was no reason for this to be rated R unless they wanted to throw in a ton of F bombs. I loved the "Arnold" cameo and got chills when we found out how Conner got his scar. I like little touches like that. However, the ending was pretty laughable. Did I understand correctly that John had open heart surgery...outdoors?

jessecrx

I really enjoyed the movie. I like how the movie touches on the subject of what it means to be human...to be alive. What makes us different from machines, and how easily we can act like machines in desperate times. The movie has about 2-3 plot twists too. I just thought it was cool to see how skynet moved through the models. T-600, T-800 and of course the newer ones to come. I told my brother that they could easily pump out 1-2 more movies because of where the story ended. What I liked most about the movie is how one variable(the human heart)effected the whole playing field.

Both sides trying to wrap their minds around something they couldn't grasp. The endurance, love and perseverance...all the complexities of the human heart. My brother and I couldn't put our finger on it, but then we talked about it further we just agreed on the fact that the first organ that starts to form when we are conceived is the heart. After that everything kinda clicked(storywise)in our minds. It was ultimately the the thin veil between being human or being machine.

I thought it was one of the strongest of the Terminator movies.

Matthew Chmiel

Considering all the other endings got scrapped at the last minute, yes.

stingermck

Just got back from a midnight show, and I liked it. Tons of good action, which I wanted, and entirely set in the future. Great to see Arnold, and other little nods to the francise like Johns scar.

One of my friends I was with just couldn't accept the heart transplant. I was like you can accept self aware, self replicating robots, but a heart transplant, in the future is far fetched?

I'm very interested in where they go from here.

Supermallet

I did not like this movie. It had a ton of problems, the biggest of them being that I didn't give a shit about the characters. Yes, I had watched John Connor grow up, but this didn't feel like him at all. He made a few speeches and then shot some robots. I felt no passion, no drive, nothing. And the relationship between him and his wife didn't even exist. Hell, this wasn't even a movie about John Connor. It was about Marcus Wright, a character I didn't care about at all. T2 already gave us the "If a machine can learn to love humans, maybe there's hope for humanity" line and theme, I didn't need to see a whole movie based around it that ignored all the other characters I've come to care about. There's also a whole bunch of logical problems that kept bugging me all the way throughout, although I'm too tired to really pull them up now.

The action also did not impress me. Unlike Cameron and Mostow, who craft action sequences with suspense and genuine thrills, McG just bludgeons the audience into oblivion. The sound design, while impressive, was so overbearing that at times I just wanted to leave. If the goal was to make us feel the unpleasantness of living in post-Skynet times, they succeeded. This is a movie devoid of artfulness. McG's craft has certainly improved since Charlie's Angels, but it's to no good end.

DJariya

I saw this today and honestly I liked it, but I didn't love it.

The strength of this movie was really the special effects and the action scenes, but even then the 1st act of the movie was just really too loud for me.

Other than that, the characters really just didn't do it for me.

I think everyone including Bale came across as really cold and robotic in their performances. I think McG really failed to get the best emotional and dramatic performances out his actors, but that can also be blamed on the script for not giving me as a viewer a reason to give a shit about 35-year old John Connor and his soldiers. Part of the reason that I care about this film franchise is the emotions and inner struggles these characters have gone through to prevent Judgment Day. I think I can see why Cameron didn't give his blessing to McG for this film.

Even though the TV series had it's ups and downs, I think Josh Friedman and his writers really captured the magic of the previous films that this movie failed to do, especially focusing on the relationship of John and his mother and the struggles they have gone through.

Even though T3 has been criticized by alot of you, I honestly was alot more entertained by that film.

I also thought that Bryce Dallas Howard and Bale had absolutely zero onscreen chemistry.

I think Kate Brewster was a wasted character. The writers just didn't do anything with her to make me care about her. She felt like a placeholder for the camera. Hell, I would have to loved to have seen her killed off in a really tragic way....that would have brought more drama to the movie.

I honestly really didn't give a crap about the Marcus Wright character, but I thought Sam Worthington really gave the most emotional and honest performance. And I actually thought he had some decent chemistry with Moon Bloodgood.

I did like that they managed to keep some continuity with the previous films:
John's scar which was seen in T2 and T3
CG Arnold's hairstyle which was consistent with his 1984 look.

Overall, I would give this a B- but more close to a C+

Superboy

Loved it, but it's not a classic. The movie is just too inconsistent.

You can tell that McG is really, really trying hard with this movie. He's practically strained to the limit. You can tell because so many shots were obviously made by the second unit.

I don't know why so many reviewers bitched about how this entry in the series didn't live up to its potential, or that it lacked tension, or that it's low on character development.



There's only one thing about this movie that I really didn't like: the whole thing felt like it was the middle of a better movie.

...that and the huge plot holes. But the good character drama balanced with excellent action made up for it.

bjh_18

Everyone keeps talking about how undeveloped and underused Christian Bale's John Conner is. That really shouldn't come as a surprise. Originally, John Conner was a very small part in the film, and Bale was offered the Marcus Wright role. But Bale insisted that he had to be John Conner, therefore they had to go back and try to artificially expand the character beyond what was originally intended.

That said, as a Terminator movie, I wasn't terribly impressed, but as simply a summer action movie, it definitely gives you your money's worth.

DonnachaOne

Unfortunately, identifying the reason for the problem does nothing to actually solve it.

bjh_18

No, it doesn't. I'm just saying that it really shouldn't come as a surprise given the major last minute changes that Bale required.

mdc3000

I'm glad that some people are enjoying this, I really am... I just don't know how a summer blockbuster can start with such a boring opening 25 minutes where nothing of real import happens - they easily could have started the movie with Marcus meeting Reese (ditch black newt to make this work better) and gone from there...