Terminator Salvation: Review Central

[Nina7]

I really like Ebert. Even when I disagree with him, I like his writing and enjoy reading his reviews. After all, he is the first film critic to ever win a Pulitzer prize for his writing. I don't know if he'll like it. He may rip it to shreds, but I'll still enjoy reading it.

 

[I SEE SPIDEY]

I'm not arguing against his writing skills, I just don't agree with his reviews alot of the time so naturally I wouldn't care for them.

 

[Carnotaur3]

Same here. Ebert may be an old curmudgeon sometimes, but he's a lot more articulate when he's raving than most other critics.

Agreed. The guy knows how to make you understand where he's coming from.

 

[Octoberist]

i'm worried about the reviews so far.

 

[I SEE SPIDEY]

I'm just surprised that even the early reviews aren't saying "wow this is great!" Even Wolverine had good early reviews at this point.

 

[Anita18]

. If you don't want to believe the facts, that is your perogative. Jonah Nolan by the way confirmed himself he worked on the script.

Since you seem to really love WGA's word, by WGA rules Nolan COULD NOT be credited for the script, even though he worked on it.

I'll take Bale's word over anyone else in this. Let me say it one more time, Bale REFUSED to do the movie after reading the Brancato and Ferris original draft. Bale AGREED to do the movie after reading the rewritten script that Nolan and the others had worked on. This is not just McG talking here, but Bale confirmed this as well.

WGA rules are dubious, but officially, a script doctor can only get credit if they contribute more than 50% of the final draft. Officially, neither Nolan nor Haggis achieved this.

How much they actually contributed will always be up in the air. Hey, if it turns out it sucked, at least Nolan and Haggis won't have their names on it.

 

[I SEE SPIDEY]

WGA rules are dubious, but officially, a script doctor can only get credit if they contribute more than 50% of the final draft. Officially, neither Nolan nor Haggis achieved this.

How much they actually contributed will always be up in the air. Hey, if it turns out it sucked, at least Nolan and Haggis won't have their names on it.

I only care that Nolan doesn't tarnish his name, Haggis is already a hack in my book so whats one more s**tbomb on his res?

 

[Anita18]

I only care that Nolan doesn't tarnish his name, Haggis is already a hack in my book so whats one more s**tbomb on his res?

Nolan emerges unscathed woohoo!

But what do they know? Akiva Goldsman won the Oscar for A Beautiful Mind but also wrote Batman and Robin and The Da Vinci Code.

And I kind of agree with Ebert's Star Trek review.

 

[craigdbfan]

I'm actually right maybe you should do a little bit more research on the subject. Brancato and Ferris are credited for writing the script and I'm aware that Haggis,Nolan,Zuckier, and Ryan all worked on rewrites...

In guidance with WGA rules Brancato and Ferris still get credited as the writers for the script. All these "facts" your referring to are just statements from McG who has done nothing but tried boasting the Nolan "re-write" to add publicity to this movie while going to the lengths of picking a fight with Bay on who has bigger robots in their respective films and he took it to new levels by challenging him to a penis measuring contest which he had to foolishly take back because Bay didn't respond to his silly proposition (no joke; Article).

I'll take WGA word over McG any day.

Well there you go. So it's fair to say that Nolan and the others were the ones that added



. If you don't want to believe the facts, that is your perogative. Jonah Nolan by the way confirmed himself he worked on the script.

Since you seem to really love WGA's word, by WGA rules Nolan COULD NOT be credited for the script, even though he worked on it.

I'll take Bale's word over anyone else in this. Let me say it one more time, Bale REFUSED to do the movie after reading the Brancato and Ferris original draft. Bale AGREED to do the movie after reading the rewritten script that Nolan and the others had worked on. This is not just McG talking here, but Bale confirmed this as well.

Is its your "prerogative" to misconstrue my comments and not read them carefully?

Where in any of my messages do I ever deny that Nolan didn't work on the script?

I'm merely pointing out that Brancato and Ferris still contributed more to the script because they were credited as the only two writers. If the rewrites were intensive and plenty, Nolan (or any of the other writers who worked on rewrites that you seem to forget) would have been credited along with Brancato and Ferris.

Not saying that Nolan's contribution wasn't important into either helping/detracting from the original script, just trying to express that the rewrites aren't as extensive as your making them out to be.

 

[I SEE SPIDEY]

Nolan emerges unscathed woohoo!

But what do they know? Akiva Goldsman won the Oscar for A Beautiful Mind but also wrote Batman and Robin and The Da Vinci Code.

And I kind of agree with Ebert's Star Trek review.

I don't read Ebert's reviews and I don't plain on starting. lol I damn sure don't think the movie is as great as some people are saying but I liked it well enough. (Again I gave it an 8/10) I hope the second screenplay is a little less slapsticky and little smarter.

You know people just have different tastes in movies sometimes and I totally respect that. I just don't have the same taste as Ebert or most on these boards because I don't think that the most serious flick is always the best. Nothing wrong with thinking that but I just don't.

Movies have to touch me in a certain way for me to love them. It's not enought to just have good acting and philosophical arguements in a film. I have to like atleast one character on a base level and the actor has to make me believe that character pretty completely. I have to like that world, have to want to stay in it. I love grim movies but I also love movies that make me smile, make me want to go outside and catch butterflies. Life is already s**tty enough without every movie being grim and ultra serious.

Among other things I love the movies that I love because they are well done and make me smile or they are well done and make me want to slit my wrists...I'm rambling a bit...sorry.

 

[DarKJediKnight]

A so-so review... still a good review nonetheless.

REVIEW: Bale, Worthington Barely Salvage Newest TERMINATOR
By Simon Blaire

In Terminator Salvation, humanity is knocking at the door of extinction. Machines have taken over the planet and only John Connor can save us.

Any of this ring a bell?

It should, because it’s the basic premise for the entire Terminator saga. And in this just-begun summer, which is already basking in the shiny blue, warp factor one optimism of Star Trek, the bleak outlook of mankind’s future as depicted in Terminator Salvation seems strangely outdated.

Having humanity trying to outfight machines for control of the planet seems so...1991.

The fourth Terminator movie is a grim, single-minded actioner with some impressive set pieces and powerful performances from its two leads, Christian Bale and especially Sam Worthington.

What it isn’t, however, is a game changer, like Judgment Day was. In fact, much of the movie seems very ... familiar.

As in the other films, the action begins in a different time period, with Marcus Wright (Worthington) on death row. He is convinced by a researcher, Dr. Serena Kogan (Helena Bonham Carter, in a small but crucial role) to donate his body to science.

Flash forward to the year 2018, where L.A. is a wasteland after "Judgment Day". Humanity’s final survivors spend their days scrounging for food, hiding underground from the Terminator killing machines.

During a raid on a Skynet facility, John Connor learns that the machines are harvesting human prisoners, using them as guinea pigs in their experiments to bridge the gap between the T-600s and the human-like T-800 Arnold Schwarzenegger portrayed in the first two films.

Still a front-line fighter and not yet the leader of the Resistance, Connor finds himself at odds with General Ashdown (Michael Ironside, crusty as ever), who doesn’t seem to buy Connor’s ‘I know what our future is going to be’ story.

The Resistance believes they have found a way to permanently destroy Skynet and prepare to mount an attack, with Connor leading the way.

[spoiler start][BIG SPOILER REVEAL HERE – although if you’ve seen any of the recent ads for the film, you already know this]

Marcus’ arrival throws everything into chaos. He’s a cyborg, a precursor to the T-800, with a human heart still beating inside his steel-encased body. And he claims to have no idea how he ended up this way.

Connor doesn’t believe him. He only knows that Marcus is a machine like the ones that have been trying to kill him – in the present and the past – as long as he’s been alive. Moreover, Marcus represents a new piece of Skynet’s history of which he was unaware, and it causes him to doubt what has driven him for most of his life – his knowledge of mankind’s future.[spoiler end]

Director McG talked early and often about how Worthington was cast because he needed someone who could hold his own against Bale.

The Aussie rewards McG’s faith in him by lifting the film from Bale like a skilled pickpocket.

Despite a shaky accent which comes and goes, Worthington lends heart to Marcus’ struggle to come to terms with who – and what – he has become. In doing so, he becomes the character audiences relate to.

Perhaps the least egocentric A-lister in Hollywood, Bale has the challenging task of portraying the prophet of the Resistance. John Connor is basically the ultimate party-pooper, a futuristic Schleprock who knows humanity’s future and well...let's just say he thinks Timbuk 3 was way off base with regards to a bright future and sunglasses.

The irony in Bale’s intense, steely-eyed performance is that it renders Connor more robotic than Marcus. Even his attempt at uttering a franchise catchphrase is uttered through gritted teeth. The filmmakers need to work on this character more if he’s going to be the anchor of a planned trilogy.

But just as in The Dark Knight, Bale is outshined by a more fleshed-out adversary. How much of that is his fault or the screenwriters’ fault, is up for debate.

As Connor’s wife Kate, Bryce Dallas Howard isn’t given much to do. We know she’s a surgeon who can dress a field wound in no time, but there’s barely any interaction between her and her onscreen husband. And her noticeable baby bump is barely acknowledged, which is peculiar, considering he’s the heir to the throne of Resistance Leader.

The scene which set off Bale’s infamous rant against the film’s cinematographer reportedly involved an emotional moment between Bale and Dallas Howard. We won’t know until the Director’s Cut DVD, since it was edited down to little more than a ‘Be Careful’ scene.

Common and Moon Bloodgood fare better as members of the Resistance. Bloodgood especially, gets to carry Linda Hamilton’s butt-kicking torch. But her romance with Worthington’s character felt rushed and reeked of a last-minute script addition.

Perhaps the biggest surprise was Anton Yelchin’s uncanny work as young Kyle Reese. Channeling Michael Biehn, who of course played the adult Reese in the first film, Yelchin delivers as the man who grows up to be Sarah Connor’s baby daddy.

If you were one of those online petitioners predicting Judgment Day when McG was entrusted with the keys to the franchise, you can rest easy.

The director shows a keen understanding of the film’s complex mythology, and ensures the story fits into continuity (though sometimes that is accomplished through lengthy chunks of expository dialogue).

In McG’s vision of the future, polish and shine are not high on the priority list for either side in this war. The machinery is battered and bruised, the landscapes charred and damaged.

The war between man and machine we kept hearing was coming, is played out in smaller skirmishes between the guerilla-style Resistance and Skynet’s machinery. McG’s decision to limit the CGI effects work pays off with some impressive sequences overflowing with bullets and explosives.

The ‘hardware worship’ that McG talked up during advance publicity is on full display, too. From the early version of the Hunter-Killer flying ships we caught glimpses of in the earlier films, to underwater Terminators, Skynet’s assembly line is impressive.

Then there’s the Harvester unit, a giant Terminator that has the misfortune of making its onscreen debut after Transformers, so the comparisons are inevitable. But Optimus Prime doesn’t have Terminator cycles as accessories.

These Moto-Terminators race after Marcus and Kyle during the high-speed chase-and-crash sequence that’s a franchise staple.

And that gets us back to what I said at the beginning. We’ve seen a lot of this before. Machines chasing John Connor, who tries to get away in – surprise! – a truck. Is it impressive? Yes, no question. And the accompanying sound effects are truly breathtaking.

But Terminator cycles aside, it’s nothing you haven’t seen before.

The same goes for the climactic battle inside Skynet’s R&D facility, which outside of a clever nod to past Terminator history, is a clear reminder of the T2 finish.

Screenwriters John Brancato and Michael Ferris (who also wrote T3) stick too closely to the Terminator template, as if worried about taking too many creative liberties.

The result is a movie that entertains but falls short of memorable. The moment you walk out of the theater, the explosions, the gunfights, all start to recede into the background, blending in with other moments in Terminator history.

Man vs. Machine. Judgment Day. Skynet must be defeated. John Connor is the future of mankind.

Tell us something we don’t know .

http://www.newsarama.com/film/090518-terminator-salvation-review.html

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

Okay, as a HUGE Terminator fan, these review have me severly worried, this is getting a worse critical response than T3 at the moment (which I didnt think was that bad, but no were near as good as the first 2) and I, for one, am worried.

 

[Caped Crusader]

TERMINATOR SALVATION - 9/10

I'm old enough to have been around when the original came out in theaters, and young enough to have thought when I came out of the theater in 1984 that I'd just seen the coolest movie ever...loved it! And if I were to evaluate this film the same way I did that one (with the mind of a 17 year old movie fan), then I have to say that this one kicks ass, too. And it does. Sure...there are some silly moments that made me groan, but nothing near as bad as some other scenes/moments in other franchises. So no, I really didn't want to hear the Sam Worthington character rehash the line that he does at the end, or have a romantic interlude. I'm almost positive that those decisions were made by a focus group or a roomful of suits...they were just way too cheesy. But along with the crap that McG no doubt was forced to do, he also GOT to do a ****load of cool things. The terminators are amazing. The one that looks kinda like a transformer and is harvesting humans, well, it has a few secrets that it unleashes that are just badass. And there are winks throughout to the other films in the franchise be it music, dialogue, or a familiar polaroid photo.

This is definitely a "summer blockbuster" type film and has enough amazingly awesome moments in it to outweigh any groan-inducing moments that it may also have. In fact, the good moments outweigh the bad about 20 to 1, and for me, they tied up the biggest plot-hole (one involving the Sam Worthington character) in a very satisfying way. If you wanna talk plot points, motivation, character development, and the through-line in the narrative, well...go somewhere else. Sure, that's at the heart of all good movies, and it IS all here, but it gets buried under what makes this movie a "flick" and not a "film". This is entertainment, pure and simple. So if you just want to go turn your brain off, see some incredible eye-candy, and watch what type of **** you can blow up when you have $200M, then you will be in the right mindset to see Terminator Salvation. It's solid...and is not the last one in the franchise. Terminator 5 is being developed right now. I look forward to it.
- veg

http://www.supercalafragalistic.com/terminatorsalvationreview.htm

Gotta get this back on the good side.

 

[Etienne]

The result is a movie that entertains but falls short of memorable. The moment you walk out of the theater, the explosions, the gunfights, all start to recede into the background, blending in with other moments in Terminator history.

Man vs. Machine. Judgment Day. Skynet must be defeated. John Connor is the future of mankind.

Tell us something we don’t know .

So it's more of a "criticism" where they don't understand the need for another Terminator movie despite it taking place post-judgment day.

 

[dude stannis]

So it's more of a "criticism" where they don't understand the need for another Terminator movie despite it taking place post-judgment day.

No, it's sounds like the movie didn't really move the story forward very well.

 

[Nivek]

Some of these negative to mixed reviews sound like they come from people who enjoyed T3, and don't grasp that this is a different type of Terminator based film.

 

[nintendo nerd]

I knew this movie was going to suck.

 

[Etienne]

No, it's sounds like the movie didn't really move the story forward very well.

The part of the review I quoted basically criticized the central and overall storyline/theme of the Terminator mythology. It's the equivalent of me saying that the Lord of the Rings trilogy was less than memorable because all three movies involve a quest in trying to destroy a ring.

 

[Octoberist]

but the Lord of the Rings trilogy was written as one big arc as a whole in one big collection.

I think the reviewer isn't bashing the franchise per say (not the first two) but more so part 3 and this one. To be honest, as a kid, I never saw the need for a part 3 and it happen..and it came and it went.

 

[Nivek]

Many of us want part 3 retconned comic style, but it's not going to happen.

 

[FlawlessVictory]

Movie Review
Terminator Salvation

Review: In 'Terminator Salvation,' Christian Bale, machines knock 'em dead

Tuesday, May 19th 2009, 1:05 AM

He said he'll be back - but who knew the best of '80s action flicks would come with him?

"He" is Arnold Schwarzenegger, whose CGI-created face turns up on a new body in a crucial battle in "Terminator Salvation," a fast-moving, rock 'em-sock 'em movie that continues the man-vs.-machines series begun 25 years ago.

Between this and "Star Trek," popcorn-movie reboots have hit high gear.
The last entry, 2003's "Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines," was the Governator's final starring role, and it ended with reluctant messiah John Connor and his girlfriend Kate in a fallout shelter as the sentient computer Skynet launched nuclear attacks.

Fifteen years after "T3" was set, Connor (Christian Bale) commands a network of resistance fighters battling robots that rule a post-apocalyptic world and corral people to make cyborg parts.

Connor has another goal: To ensure his own birth by saving teenage renegade Kyle Reese (Anton Yelchin, also in "Trek") who's fated to go back in time, save Connor's mother and then father the future leader, as seen in James Cameron's 1984 original.

Meanwhile, there's another chase to get Reese involving a prototype Terminator, Marcus (Sam Worthington).

Early on, we see Marcus on Death Row, signing away his body for postmortem experimentation. His story - a narrative graft from "Frankenstein" - has him seeking the scientist (Helena Bonham Carter) whose research blended his heart, mind and skin with an android skeleton. The indestructible Marcus believes he's a man, and his evolutionary journey is more interesting than Connor's, which requires him to be inhumane to save humanity.

Part of the strength of the storyline is due to Worthington's subtle, empathetic performance. Bale's rumbling "Dark Knight" voice is great for shouting, which works for the barking militarism, and may have scared crew members, but doesn't allow for the pop heroism of 1991's "Terminator 2: Judgment Day." (When Connor says "I'll be back," it's surprising, as it seems he's forgotten the good-guy Arnie of "T2.")

Yelchin, for his part, apparently got the right DVD rentals to prepare for his "Red Dawn"-like cub commando.

Which clicks, since at its heart, "Salvation" is a return to Reagan-era sci-fi.

Director McG even keeps the gripping, "Road Warrior"-lite action scenes linear and kind of retro, avoiding today's nervous, chop-shop editing style. When you add the mushroom clouds and Bale, Yelchin and even Schwarzenegger's brief turn, it all fits to a T.

[email protected]

​

​

http://www.nydailynews.com/entertai...machines_knock_em_dead_in_new_terminator.html

 

[Symbiotic]

I'd like to see this end up fresh on the Tomatometer. Even a low percentage fresh.

 

[Poeman]

the reviews are not encouraging for this movie...no wonder Bale was pissed off on set

 

[Nivek]

I'd like to see this end up fresh on the Tomatometer. Even a low percentage fresh.

Don't be so downbeat, a Terminator film is not going to be a critics darling.

 

[Figs]

I'm a pretty big Bale fan but I find it horse**** now about how he told McG that he would only do the film if the screenplay was good enough to read on an empty stage and keep the audiences attention.

From most of the reviews this sounds like a mindless action film.

I'm still excited to see it but I would have thought it would have been a bit deeper then just action.