Terminator Salvation: Review Central

[That-Guy]

Sorry to change topics here, but one scene that bugged the hell out of me was when Connor and the other soldiers were testing the frequency on the hydro snake Terminator thing.

I remember Michael Bay blogging about how "other" summer films were copying his Transformer designs (and it was really obvious which movie he was referring to) and I thought he was being a total *****e because it's not as if his movie was the first film to feature giant robots kicking ass. However, I think that if Bay was referring to THIS scene in particular, he has every right to complain.

I don't think it was intentional, but I swear, either McG or the screenwriters subsconsciously had the scene from Transformers in their minds where Josh Duhamel has Scorponok's tail strapped down to a table after the skirmish in the desert. The scene in T:S is damn near identical... the hydrobot thing looks suspciously like Scorponok's tail, and it's surrounded by a bunch of soldiers experimenting on it. And it almost takes out the leader.

Like I said, I don't think this was at all intentional; I think that they thought that they had this brilliant scene up their sleeves and forgot that it was in a different movie.

 

[American_Hobo]

Ok finally saw it last night.
the movie was non-stop action, one of the best non-stop action movie i've ever seen in last few years.
Overall I enjoyed it, but like everyone is saying right now, the story and character developments are on the low points.
It was e interesting to see only 2 terminators (T2,T3) than hundreds of terminators. (Salvation)

This movie kidna felt like Wolverine and Hannibal Rising, because when you show origin of character that were better off as hiddena nd unknown but once you show too much of them, it gets uninteresting.

 

[Etienne]

Seems to me the way to go would have been to have Connor become a Terminator but not just be replaced by one. He could have been badly hurt, and somehow saved by becoming one of what they're fighting against. That's powerful stuff. Yes, it sort of makes him a pseudo Robocop, but it also gives him an interesting angle that future films could play well. He'd still be himself, not just a random robot.

I mean, Christian Bale as a nigh unstoppable Terminator? Trying to come to terms with what he is after his disgust at Marcus' nature, hiding it, etc? That's box office gold.

So it would still be John Connor only "advanced"? Yeah I like it. I also like John being a straight up human (without any advancements) thus having his success mean that much more. But I like the idea of Connor being the six million dollar man, ironic as heck but would make for some great conflict and action.

 

[Steyin]

Saw it Saturday night, and it was pretty much what I expected it to be: a setup/filler film, like Iron Man. Lots of action, but nothing really centralized. As for what critics have saying is a lack of story/plot, I say three things:

1) The overall story has been established by T1-3, we don't need much more.

2) The plot is so simple that people were probably looking for something deeper and missed it.

3) Yes, while being a tour of Marcus' story, the film is more so about establishing the relationships between Kyl and John, and more so seeing how John becomes the leader of the Resistance.

My main disappointment with the film was not seeing the effects of Judgment Day and Skynet throughout the planet, versus just in LA. Yet we still have that, along with time travel and further T-XXX model developments to come. I would also like to dive further into the whole stem-cell angle and actually see how the hell the terminators get coated with their skin and such.

Overall, it was a simple, action packed, enjoyale film. 8/10 for me.

 

[TNC9852002]

Have there been any T-900s in the series yet?

and with the introduction of the T-800s being made, does that mean that there will be a bunch of prosthetic/digital Arnolds running around in the next movie or something?..I guess not, as some T-800s are made for infiltration and have living tissue and some do not?

 

[AnorexicBatman]

Arnold is only model T-101
There are several others...
Expect variety in you naked killing machines....

Also, all T-XXX's are even numbers, so no T-900, T-500 etc...

 

[chaseter]

They already had the perfect infiltration machine in Marcus. Why they decided to make a cold version in the form of Ahnold makes no sense to me. They could have just made 1000 Marcus'.

 

[AnorexicBatman]

Hybrids are too unstable. A good orator would literally be able to talk them into joining the Resistance. Skynet can't control them. They are only good under the survelence of other Terminators and in that case you might as well use the robot

 

[Ol'Canucklehead]

Because it had not been proven a success yet. Plus he was mostly human, why would the machines want a whole army of free thinking human soilders???

 

[Paradoxium]

I agree with Guard. About Connor being a hybrid.

But I think the best compromise might be to keep Connor as a McGuffin, and make Marcus the wild card hybrid lead. This counters the predictability with an element of uncertainty and suspense. You don't know what Marcus will face and where he will end up. Will he die? Will he survive? Will his secret get leaked even more openly? How would he deal with this? Is there any lingering programming that confounds his humanity? This is a classic case of what the most effective narratives could be, versus what fan boys wants it to be. If he is well written and is conducive to a good story, it won't matter.

I think a film about Connor - which T1 pretty much already sums up the conclusion - makes for a boring and inconsequential story. Connor wins the war by bombing Skynet central. The prophetic leader angle already ruins any dramatic buildup towards Connor earning his stripes.

I am saying he was the McGuffin for all the other films, why change it? More importantly, it makes more damn sense for the inclusion of "Terminator" in the title.

It's called Terminator, not John Connor.

 

[AnorexicBatman]

But out plot is... what if ... Terminator = John Connor...
The time line has changed, who knows? Anything can happen
It could end with the explosion of a large electromagnetic bomb that kills both machines and humans... a no-win scenario... (Spock Voice) A Kobayashi Maru...

 

[craigdbfan]

I agree with Guard. About Connor being a hybrid.

But I think the best compromise might be to keep Connor as a McGuffin, and make Marcus the wild card hybrid lead. This counters the predictability with an element of uncertainty and suspense. You don't know what Marcus will face and where he will end up. Will he die? Will he survive? Will his secret get leaked even more openly? How would he deal with this? Is there any lingering programming that confounds his humanity? This is a classic case of what the most effective narratives could be, versus what fan boys wants it to be. If he is well written and is conducive to a good story, it won't matter.

I think a film about Connor - which T1 pretty much already sums up the conclusion - makes for a boring and inconsequential story. Connor wins the war by bombing Skynet central. The prophetic leader angle already ruins any dramatic buildup towards Connor earning his stripes.

I am saying he was the McGuffin for all the other films, why change it? More importantly, it makes more damn sense for the inclusion of "Terminator" in the title.

It's called Terminator, not John Connor.

Everything stated in this post I agree with wholeheartedly.

While the idea isn't to popular with the fanbase it makes for a much, much better film. I would much rather have this go forward instead of having the franchise in an endless standstill in story progression/development.

 

[AnorexicBatman]

But Marcus

Spoiler

IS DEAD!!

right?
If not, then you are suggesting that we AGAIN put Connor in the background and make a new character as the protagonist

 

[Paradoxium]

But Marcus

Spoiler

IS DEAD!!

right?
If not, then you are suggesting that we AGAIN put Connor in the background and make a new character as the protagonist

Yes I already know. It's more like what T4 could have been. It's not that crazy because T4 was supposed to be a Marcus driven story.

Besides it's not looking likely T5 is happening, unless some miracle happens this coming weekend.

 

[craigdbfan]

repetition.

 

[chaseter]

Because it had not been proven a success yet. Plus he was mostly human, why would the machines want a whole army of free thinking human soilders???

He proved to be succesfull The part of him that was human was the convincing part and as skynet said, he was able to do what no other robot has been able to do. Instead, they commission a cold non human Arnold to be made. They could have built another Marcus and he would have gone through the exact same circumstances. The first person he meets he becomes attached too and when they are taken by transport, he goes to see what he is at Skynet HQ. Thus leading more people in with him. It is the ultimate death trap.

Skynet's plan in this movie was ridiculously stupid anyways. They could have killed Kyle and John so many times yet they didn't. Hell, they could have killed Kyle and John would cease to exist.

 

[WeaponXProject]

I enjoyed the movie surprisingly enough. I thought McG was showing some bad signs and story telling with Marcus and Moon Bloodgod. I could care less about android love but at the same time it humanizes the character so...I just thought they did too much of it.

The only other gripe I have is some of the large scale action sequences were not as interesting in losing its realism.

Spoiler

Kyle and the little mute girl fall off that bridge and the giant robot catches them and it doesn't seem to harm them.

I would have prefered some smaller scale battles of the soldiers on a battlefield battling T-600 and T-700s.

One other gripe I had was with the outside design of Skynet. They had a tower and video screens. To me, it seemed made for man and not more simplistic. But that's up to anyone's interpretation so mine would vary from mosts'.

I also thought there was focus on too many characters. I was more interested in just John, Kate, Marcus and Kyle. I would have been interested in seeing discussions in why/how the machines decided to eradicate mankind. What makes them tick? Perhaps just ideas to why and not the machine themselves explanations...

What I loved was the last act of the movie. A exciting end to the movie with homage scenes to the original two.

Spoiler

The skeletal t-800 walking up the staircase after John while he is reloading his gun and firing. The machine never stops, it takes the blow and keeps moving...pretty cool.

A point I thought of is now that

Spoiler

John has Marcus' heart, so will there be a Luke Skywalker realization that he is slowly becoming one of them...I remember him having a scene saying that we are no better than the machines if we leave our own behind and that was where it finally hit him and the realization came into play. Will John become one of them to destroy them or will he slowly realize they could co-exist if he stops Skynet at its heart...

well who knows...just some ideas.

I said an 8 out of 10 mostly because of the last act saving it.

 

[chaseter]

The last act to me was the worst.

 

[I SEE SPIDEY]

The last act to me was the worst.

I thought that it was the best and worst. It had some great action and nostalgic moments but it also featured some terrible acting and awful exposition.

 

[co2]

How do the machines know who John Connor's father is when they haven't yet built the Terminators to send back in time and Reese has neither traveled back in time yet to impregnate Sarah. Wouldn't John keep it a secret that Kyle is his father so that the machines wouldn't know this fact?

That is part of public record. Police station interview with Reese in T1 shows that he came back. And Sarah went on record with that statement which is what landed her in the mental institution. Skynet probably ame accross that information at some point. Plus, if you want to include T3 (and I really hate to), didn't the T-X inject nanobots in machines in the Skynet network that possibly had that info.

 

[co2]

But out plot is... what if ... Terminator = John Connor...
The time line has changed, who knows? Anything can happen
It could end with the explosion of a large electromagnetic bomb that kills both machines and humans... a no-win scenario... (Spock Voice) A Kobayashi Maru...

Exactly. "This is not the future my mother warned me about". The timeline has been altered as a result of the time travel itself. Now, the humans may not win. It's all new territory. Obvisously the timeline is unfolding differently than the previous as judgement day istself was pushed back. If one thing can change, then any thing can change.

 

[chaseter]

I hate time travel and paradoxes unless it is specifically outlined to us like in Lost. They had a mediocre story built on huge action sequences and their explanations were lacking. Also, John just now found out that Reese was their #1 target. Wouldn't skynet have had Reese as their #1 when they became self aware? And, then to finally have him they don't kill him immediately was stupid.

 

[Carnotaur3]

The next film should focus on Kyle Reese as the main character. How he's moving up the ranks as a simple soldier in his 132nd unit under Perry. And the relationship that develops with John Connor.

 

[WeaponXProject]

The last act to me was the worst.

Really, you liked the middle part with Marcus and Moon Bloodgod and then his escape? That was essentially the middle act. Everyone I know agreed with me that John Connor entering Skynet was the best scene. It felt like Aliens and Terminator 1 & 2 in some parts. I thought the movie was saved by the last 45 to hour of the film...whatevs though...

 

[DorkyFresh]

saw this movie on Friday and i had a pretty 'meh' feeling walking out of it. maybe it's me just preferring more substance to go along with the style, but there wasn't much in this movie that really grabbed me. the action was great (of course) but the humanity, the characterization, even the events (John Conner and Marcus being able to sneak into enemy headquarters so quickly and easily) didn't seem very fleshed out. i thought it was interesting seeing them play with a man's humanity like that, but it was only surface disturbance. they didn't delve deeply into what makes a man and a machine.

anyway, there were certain parts i liked (most of Kyle Reese's scenes and Marcus doing his thang) but most of the movie falls flat for me. 5 out of 10 and btw...

Spoiler

Arnold's appearance in the movie felt more to me like a parody than anything. that scene felt thrown in there just to show him off.