Terminator Salvation: Review Central
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Even though most of the action scenes have been hinted at in the trailers, there will still be plenty to be surprised about during the movie. It's obvious that the movie is mostly action, so even with all the clips out there, the movie itself will have enough surprises.
I for one am not expecting huge characterization, despite what McG has said. In general, I am not really listening to what McG says anymore. He said they didn't aim for a rating, but clearly at the last minute some cuts were made in order to facilitate the PG-13 rating. McG has said that some gory and gruesome scenes were cut because they didn't add to the movie and were simply 'gratuitious' but I disagree. Leaving the gory and gruesome scenes in the movie would have added to a sense of horror, terror, and to the overall atmosphere of the movie. The plot and subject matter of this movie is very dark and bleak, so cutting the gore or gruesome scenes I feel detracts from the movie.
McG also said the movie would be released in IMAX, but that seems highly unlikely at this point, unless they release it several months from now in IMAX which would be silly.
Since I first learned about the plot of the movie, and the direction McG was going with, I expected a war movie with little characterization or development, but lots of intensity and action along with good acting. It appears this is exactly what we are getting. The machines never stop, they hunt humans day and night. Keeping action at a maximum and characterization at a minimum adds to this sense of urgency; that there is a constant threat of death from machines that humans must deal with. It keeps it realistic, in that we don't see humans sitting around for ages while watching exquisite characterization develop.
T1 and T2 had lots of characterization during the slow parts, but it was realistically possible since in each of those there was a single Terminator chasing them. Here is an entirely different context, with tons of machines and Terminators patrolling the Earth. Humans barely have time to even catch a breath, since most of the time they are on the run or in battle.
Kyle Reese and John Connor both had enough characterization in the first two films. Marcus does not really need a ton of characterization, and the other characters are not central to the story.
I'm glad this movie also focuses more on the machines, since it makes sense. Humans would be very interested in how some of the machines are made, or to follow Skynet's moves and progress in general, seeing as they are at war.
I don't expect this to be an amazing movie, but I think it will be good enough to warrant the other movies in this trilogy to be made. I have a feeling the next one could be really amazing if they keep Brancato and Ferris away from the script and let Jonah Nolan write it completely, as well as if they actually get Robert Patrick to play a part in the creation of the T-1000.
I must also add, I am getting sick of reading reviews where ONLY Brancato and Ferris are credited for the script. Jonah Nolan did some heavy revisions to the script, and even though he's not credited reviewers and journalists should know this, as it's their job.
I for one am not expecting huge characterization, despite what McG has said. In general, I am not really listening to what McG says anymore. He said they didn't aim for a rating, but clearly at the last minute some cuts were made in order to facilitate the PG-13 rating. McG has said that some gory and gruesome scenes were cut because they didn't add to the movie and were simply 'gratuitious' but I disagree. Leaving the gory and gruesome scenes in the movie would have added to a sense of horror, terror, and to the overall atmosphere of the movie. The plot and subject matter of this movie is very dark and bleak, so cutting the gore or gruesome scenes I feel detracts from the movie.
McG also said the movie would be released in IMAX, but that seems highly unlikely at this point, unless they release it several months from now in IMAX which would be silly.
Since I first learned about the plot of the movie, and the direction McG was going with, I expected a war movie with little characterization or development, but lots of intensity and action along with good acting. It appears this is exactly what we are getting. The machines never stop, they hunt humans day and night. Keeping action at a maximum and characterization at a minimum adds to this sense of urgency; that there is a constant threat of death from machines that humans must deal with. It keeps it realistic, in that we don't see humans sitting around for ages while watching exquisite characterization develop.
T1 and T2 had lots of characterization during the slow parts, but it was realistically possible since in each of those there was a single Terminator chasing them. Here is an entirely different context, with tons of machines and Terminators patrolling the Earth. Humans barely have time to even catch a breath, since most of the time they are on the run or in battle.
Kyle Reese and John Connor both had enough characterization in the first two films. Marcus does not really need a ton of characterization, and the other characters are not central to the story.
I'm glad this movie also focuses more on the machines, since it makes sense. Humans would be very interested in how some of the machines are made, or to follow Skynet's moves and progress in general, seeing as they are at war.
I don't expect this to be an amazing movie, but I think it will be good enough to warrant the other movies in this trilogy to be made. I have a feeling the next one could be really amazing if they keep Brancato and Ferris away from the script and let Jonah Nolan write it completely, as well as if they actually get Robert Patrick to play a part in the creation of the T-1000.
I must also add, I am getting sick of reading reviews where ONLY Brancato and Ferris are credited for the script. Jonah Nolan did some heavy revisions to the script, and even though he's not credited reviewers and journalists should know this, as it's their job.
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gwynplaine
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Didn't Paul Haggis do some rewrites on the script too ?
Yes he did, although his role was minor in comparison to Nolan. He should be mentioned as well, but point is the most important man involved with the script is not being mentioned in reviews, and that is just poor journalism.
Scarlet Spider
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I love Arnold just as much as any Terminator fan but really...what kind of "liveliness" could he bring to a story that no longer needs him as a main character?
gwynplaine
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Thanks.
And yes I agree Nolan is an awesome screenwriter and should be mentioned by journalists every chance they get.
As for the reviews, it's quite clear this movie will get mixed reviews, simply because it's not "fun". That is the reason why Iron Man, Star Trek (and other movies like Slumdog Millionaire) got such great reviews, since they were "fun" and "feel-good" movies.
TDK was an exception that rarely happens. It was a dark movie, not really "feel-good" but one that was highly praised by critics and loved by audiences.
Salvation seems to be quite dark and grim, and more reviews continue to mention the single-minded nature of the movie. I predict a lot of the general audience might not like it, and some reviews won't like it/get it.
What I do predict though is that this movie will be a great success in the eyes of Terminator fans. The more I read these reviews, the more I see that this movie was made for the fans, to redeem the franchise in their eyes and to give the franchise new life. This movie was not so much made for the general audience, although the movie was cut to facilitate a PG-13 rating to allow for a broader audience.
So in general, I predict mixed-to-good word of mouth for the movie, mixed-to-good reviews, and most Terminator fans loving it.
Fans have always been the ones that wanted to see the future war in all it's glory and scale. Fans have always wanted to see the full aftermath of Judgment Day, as well as how Skynet and the machines are finally defeated. Fans have wanted to see how the T-800 and T-1000 were created. The general audience is not, and never really was all that interested in seeing the previously-mentioned things on screen.
TDK was an exception that rarely happens. It was a dark movie, not really "feel-good" but one that was highly praised by critics and loved by audiences.
Salvation seems to be quite dark and grim, and more reviews continue to mention the single-minded nature of the movie. I predict a lot of the general audience might not like it, and some reviews won't like it/get it.
What I do predict though is that this movie will be a great success in the eyes of Terminator fans. The more I read these reviews, the more I see that this movie was made for the fans, to redeem the franchise in their eyes and to give the franchise new life. This movie was not so much made for the general audience, although the movie was cut to facilitate a PG-13 rating to allow for a broader audience.
So in general, I predict mixed-to-good word of mouth for the movie, mixed-to-good reviews, and most Terminator fans loving it.
Fans have always been the ones that wanted to see the future war in all it's glory and scale. Fans have always wanted to see the full aftermath of Judgment Day, as well as how Skynet and the machines are finally defeated. Fans have wanted to see how the T-800 and T-1000 were created. The general audience is not, and never really was all that interested in seeing the previously-mentioned things on screen.
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rashad
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I typed that with a hint of sarcasm towards that reviewer. lol You're exactly right though Etienne.
livrule
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"The plot of this “Terminator” is so minimal and unbelievable on any level, the dialogue so primitive and banal (the best stretches are silent), the characterization so underwhelming, that you could watch and listen to the picture as a strictly sensory experience, without paying any attention to the dialogue. As far as summer movies go, “Terminator Salvation” is a good companion piece to “X-Men Origins: Wolverine,” and at least two notches below “Star Trek.”"
Mmmmmmmmm ......... starting to worry about this.
Mmmmmmmmm ......... starting to worry about this.
livrule
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Problem is ..... this is all starting to feel VERY similar to the release of T3 .....
Lots of average reviews, some decent .... and all the Terminator fans saying as long as it was solid they were happy.
Now a few years later everybody hates T3 and claims it did serious damage to the Terminator series.
Lots of average reviews, some decent .... and all the Terminator fans saying as long as it was solid they were happy.
Now a few years later everybody hates T3 and claims it did serious damage to the Terminator series.
craigdbfan
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craigdbfan
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What I'm at least getting from the reviews is that both the writing and direction for the film weren't very good (two essential ingredients to make a good film).
The special effects looks top notch and have been acknowledged even by those who have given the film a negative review, and some of the actors have been praised (mainly Sam Worthington and Anton) for giving their shallow written characters some amount of uniqueness and life.
With a director like McG and the writers from T3 writing the script for TS I can't really say I'm surprised that critics are jumping on the direction and script behind this movie. If this gets enough money to spawn a sequel I hope they hire a better director and writer/s.
The special effects looks top notch and have been acknowledged even by those who have given the film a negative review, and some of the actors have been praised (mainly Sam Worthington and Anton) for giving their shallow written characters some amount of uniqueness and life.
With a director like McG and the writers from T3 writing the script for TS I can't really say I'm surprised that critics are jumping on the direction and script behind this movie. If this gets enough money to spawn a sequel I hope they hire a better director and writer/s.
Got ya.
Lemire is not one of my favorite movie critics. I'm wondering what kind of review Richard Roeper will give the movie.
Good "companion piece" for Wolverine yet only two notches below Star Trek? I'm guessing this critic didn't like Trek.
MAN O STEEL
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Dude calm down. You ain't even seen it yet. Your jumping to all kinds of conclusions. I judge a movie by what 'I' see on the screen, not by what some amatuer critic says about something they probably have no love or understanding for. If I see a steaming turd, then fine but untill then, i'm still psyched for this flick.
Steve
craigdbfan
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I was quite calm when I wrote that and the sloppy editing and pacing is obvious from the various clips we've received. I don't need to see the movie to be aware of McG's directing "style".
Your being apprehensive by reacting in a defensive way toward my post that wasn't targeted at anyone but the facts regarding this film. McG isn't a good director. The script was written by John Brancato and Michael Ferris (they wrote T3 and are far from being talented writers).
I'm sure the action sequences and the CGI (done by the folks over at ILM) look quite spectacular and thats really the only aspect I was looking forward to in this movie because the empty writing and awkward direction was already apparent to me from the footage we have seen and the reviews have only solidified this claim for me at least.
Not once did I say don't be hyped or excited for this movie. I'm simply stating that these negative reviews don't come to me as a surprise.
Not a very promising start, review-wise. I'm curious what Roger Ebert writes. He's a strange bird sometimes. He's one of the very few critics who didn't like Star Trek, but gave Knowing a glowing review. I remember he was one of the handful of critics who gave Bale's Equilibrium a positive review. You never know with him.
livrule
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Thats what I would give it ..... at best.
Its very good but the total love that is flowing its way has shocked me.
I SEE SPIDEY
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It's going to take atleast 50 reviews to know where this thing is going reviews wise. I'm going to be checking MetaCritic as well as Rotten Tomatoes. I'm a little surprised about the early reviews for this flick, I expected them to be a little better.
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