Terminator Salvation: Review Central

[Visceral]

Why is that so hard to understand? I am a fan of the Terminator series. T2 is one of my all time favorite sci-fi movies. I thought T3 was a letdown, and I thought this was going to be the movie to make up for it.

I personally don't know anyone who goes into a movie theater with no opinion, and just sits and waits to decide if they like it or not. If I'm laying down ten bucks to see a film, I want to enjoy it. I want to be entertained.

It's that I want to like something I don't like, it's that I care about this franchise, and I hate to see a less than mediocre film like this made out of it. The best I can say about this film is that it's not as bad as T3.

exactly its a given that you go into a movie looking for enjoyment. but now that you have seen it you didn't want to love this film, you wanted a different film.

 

[FCEEVIPER]

I don't pay money to watch tolerable.

Paradoxium you may want to look into downloading free movies.

 

[batmop]

How do you know that?

So what does McG mean when he never met them and when he painted a picture to fans that Nolan was the true writer and onset and changed a lot and Haggis did re-writes?

Not all you research is right as Brancato and Ferris wrote a script before Halycon was even involved.

Cameron never gave his blessing though. McG lied at Comic Con and said Cameron gave him his blessing.

You are basically implying that McG was forced into this because he wanted to make more movies about the future wars but was stuck making an inferior script into a movie as a result. That makes no sense.

How do I know this? It's common sense and it was also confirmed by McG as well as Halcyon. Do you want to call Halcyon execs and ask them yourself? THINK for a minute. Do you HONESTLY believe McG wanted to keep the original script or liked it?

The WHOLE reason there were rewrites was:

1.) Both McG and Bale hated the original script.
2.) McG HAD to work with the script, it was a condition Halcyon gave him.

Yes, McG never met Brancato and Ferris because the script was ALREADY written before McG signed on. Brancato and Ferris never did any work on the movie during filming.

I'm not talking about the lie about Cameron's blessing. I'm talking about when McG met Cameron, and Cameron agreed it was an interesting idea to show the Future War and the world post-Judgment Day.

McG has proven to be a good salesman, and a liar on occasion. What he said about Nolan seemed to be an exaggeration. Perhaps he was embarrassed that most of the script still contained Brancato and Ferris material and he didn't want to tell that to fans.

 

[Tony Stark]

exactly its a given that you go into a movie looking for enjoyment. but now that you have seen it you didn't want to love this film, you wanted a different film.

Well that's true. I will admit my expectation for what I thought I was going to see, didn't meat what I actually saw.

But even putting that aside, I thought the film was just very poorly made, and poorly acted, namely by Bale, Ironside, and Howard.

 

[batmop]

The damn trailer and the synopsis is my proof. John Conner in the trailer says "This is not the future my mother warned me about".

Here's the synopsis if you missed it:

I'm not just grabbing all these expectations from my ass. Its what the trailer and the synopsis implied.

... Which proves nothing, only implies things. What context does Connor say the quote in the movie?

What if the synopsis simply implies that Connor thought it wouldn't be this difficult to fight Skynet, or that Connor's mother never warned him that hybrid half-human, half-machine experiments would exist in the future.

The trailers and the synopsis can mean and imply multiple things. It is not concrete proof that this a completely different war to the one witnessed in T1 or T2.

If you want to believe McG, he has stated in interviews that Salvation shows the Future War that T1 and T2 teased about, which implies this is the same war.

Then why have Kyle Reese in it at all?

Perhaps to show how he became the man that he was, and how he came to be a friend of Connor, as well as how Connor became his mentor? Hmmm just a thought.

exactly its a given that you go into a movie looking for enjoyment. but now that you have seen it you didn't want to love this film, you wanted a different film.

Exactly. People are complaining because they wanted a different film than what they got. A lot of people apparently didn't want a Terminator war movie.

 

[Tony Stark]

How do I know this? It's common sense and it was also confirmed by McG as well as Halcyon. Do you want to call Halcyon execs and ask them yourself? THINK for a minute. Do you HONESTLY believe McG wanted to keep the original script or liked it?

The WHOLE reason there were rewrites was:

1.) Both McG and Bale hated the original script.
2.) McG HAD to work with the script, it was a condition Halcyon gave him.

Yes, McG never met Brancato and Ferris because the script was ALREADY written before McG signed on. Brancato and Ferris never did any work on the movie during filming.

I'm not talking about the lie about Cameron's blessing. I'm talking about when McG met Cameron, and Cameron agreed it was an interesting idea to show the Future War and the world post-Judgment Day.

McG has proven to be a good salesman, and a liar on occasion. What he said about Nolan seemed to be an exaggeration. Perhaps he was embarrassed that most of the script still contained Brancato and Ferris material and he didn't want to tell that to fans.

This is arguing in circles. The bottom line is, despite the rewrites or whatever else, this was the film that was made, and it's not a very good one.

 

[Paradoxium]

Paradoxium you may want to look into downloading free movies.

Wolverine for example, I won't even waste my bandwidth for the alleged work print. I usually rent the majority of the time. I seldom buy because I don't like to collect clutter, unless I use it as a reference or study.

Although I have on some occasions have the morbid curiosity of watching really really bad movies, like "Alone in the Dark" by the master evil genius of fail, Uwe Boll. I gotta say, while he is creatively bankrupt he must be a hell of a negotiator to get the type of funding he does.

 

[batmop]

I will post my thoughts on it tomorrow after watching it. From all accounts, this does seem to be a better Terminator movie than T3, and you can't criticize McG for that.

For what it's worth, Salvation currently has an 8.4/10 rating on IMDB with over 2,000 votes. Metacritic has it at 50/100, and RT is still ridiculously low at 38%. RT community rating is at or above 65%.

Clearly, there is a huge gap here between what the critics think of this movie and what fans think of this movie. Further evidence that the movie was made with fans in mind, but not so much with the general audience in mind.

 

[TheVileOne]

Wow, 65%.

 

[Tony Stark]

Wow, 65%.

They must have only talked to 10 people, and one of them was 50/50.

 

[Episode29]

I will post my thoughts on it tomorrow after watching it. From all accounts, this does seem to be a better Terminator movie than T3, and you can't criticize McG for that.

For what it's worth, Salvation currently has an 8.4/10 rating on IMDB with over 2,000 votes. Metacritic has it at 50/100, and RT is still ridiculously low at 38%. RT community rating is at or above 65%.

Clearly, there is a huge gap here between what the critics think of this movie and what fans think of this movie. Further evidence that the movie was made with fans in mind, but not so much with the general audience in mind.

If they made it for the fans, then, in my opinion, they failed.

I don't understand your feverish and arrogant arguments in defending a film you haven't even seen. I can understand if you had a basis for your points, but arguing with people who have actually seen the film is the worst kind of fanboy-ism. You remind me of the legions of Narnia fans, who barraged me with hatemail when I gave Prince Caspian a negative review, declaring that the movie "will be awesome because the trailers were great!" I don't know how old you are, but this constant antagonism against people who were iffy on the film is extremely childish.

 

[Sarge 2.0]

I'm too lazy to read through the thread, what is everyone fighting about?

 

[TheVileOne]

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/41140

Harry Knowles review. You know, all complaints or criticisms of Harry Knowles aside, I agree with many of his points, and I think he's right for the most part. I didn't hate it as much as he did. I was more disappointed then I hated it.

But I mean, I don't think Sam Worthington gives an all time great performance in the movie. He does sad eyes yeah, and he's treated like the star, but I don't think his material is that good. He doesn't come off as this great actor with the performance of the year.

 

[Episode29]

I'm too lazy to read through the thread, what is everyone fighting about?

Basically, a few of us are displeased or slightly let down with the film, while Batmop (who hasn't seen the flick) is telling us we're not really fans and don't get it.

 

[Sarge 2.0]

I'll have to take the Harry Knowles review with a truckload of salt - even if I have a bad feeling about the film at the moment - because knowing Harry, he probably hated it because he didn't get anything from WB. If they had let him on set and gave him a screening and some moolah, he'd be salivating like he usually does.

 

[Episode29]

http://www.aintitcool.com/node/41140

Harry Knowles review. You know, all complaints or criticisms of Harry Knowles aside, I agree with many of his points, and I think he's right for the most part. I didn't hate it as much as he did. I was more disappointed then I hated it.

But I mean, I don't think Sam Worthington gives an all time great performance in the movie. He does sad eyes yeah, and he's treated like the star, but I don't think his material is that good. He doesn't come off as this great actor with the performance of the year.

I could see the validity in his arguments too. Like you, I didn't hate the film (I have it a 2.5/5), but can totally see how some would be infuriated by the movie's many problems.

 

[Sarge 2.0]

Basically, a few of us are displeased or slightly let down with the film, while Batmop (who hasn't seen the flick) is telling us we're not really fans and don't get it.

That debate seems to be happening with almost every "blockbuster" so far. It's not shaping up to be a good summer. Two major films were already varying degrees of bad, and the buzz from this film isn't exactly inspiring hope in me.

 

[craigdbfan]

... Which proves nothing, only implies things. What context does Connor say the quote in the movie?

What if the synopsis simply implies that Connor thought it wouldn't be this difficult to fight Skynet, or that Connor's mother never warned him that hybrid half-human, half-machine experiments would exist in the future.

The trailers and the synopsis can mean and imply multiple things. It is not concrete proof that this a completely different war to the one witnessed in T1 or T2.

If you want to believe McG, he has stated in interviews that Salvation shows the Future War that T1 and T2 teased about, which implies this is the same war.

The trailer might be implying but the synopsis is official information from WB.

The fact that Marcus Wright shows up already changes the events of the original "Future War" along with Skynet advancing with their technology at a much quicker rate than what was expected.

It isn't the same war. Its been altered by some event that apparently doesn't even offer progression but just puts the franchise in a static stage again.

All I'm saying is if they actually developed the characters and added a story that would have allowed the franchise to move on they would of had a solid film. Critics aren't just making up the lack of overall development for the hell of it. Even the positive reviews note this negative aspect of the film.

 

[Episode29]

That debate seems to be happening with almost every "blockbuster" so far. It's not shaping up to be a good summer. Two major films were already varying degrees of bad, and the buzz from this film isn't exactly inspiring hope in me.

Yeah, well, there was a lot of insider talk on the effect that the Writer's strike would have on 2009's releases and, judging from Wolverine, Night At The Museum 2, Star Trek and Salvation, it appears that we've got a shaky few months ahead of us.

 

[Tony Stark]

I thought Star Trek was really good. Best film I've seen this summer. It's certainly miles ahead of this film. I know alot of the die hard trekkies hate it, but that almost makes me like it more, lol.

Anyway despite all that this movie isn't as bad as Harry describes it, but it is inherently silly. The skynet scene he describes is exactly the scene I had in mind when I called it silly.

 

[craigdbfan]

Terminator: Salvation now stands at 41% on RT with 64 reviews counted. 26 Fresh 38 Rotten.

 

[Doctor Jones]

Oh, damn. I would at least hope for it to be fresh.

Anyone who has seen it answer me this: Is it better than T3?

 

[Episode29]

Oh, damn. I would at least hope for it to be fresh.

Anyone who has seen it answer me this: Is it better than T3?

In my opinion, no. Despite its campiness and lack of intensity, T3 still contained better performances and at least a half-baked theme of predestination and acceptance of fate that made it semi-interesting. Plus, the ending and crane-truck chase were really great.

T4 just feels kind of empty, one-note and isn't really that entertaining to sit through.

 

[Infinity9999x]

That debate seems to be happening with almost every "blockbuster" so far. It's not shaping up to be a good summer. Two major films were already varying degrees of bad, and the buzz from this film isn't exactly inspiring hope in me.

Two? Are you talking about Star Trek? Because the only people who didn't like that film seemed to be Trekkies, and they're by far in the minority of the general audience.

 

[souvlaki]

Oh, damn. I would at least hope for it to be fresh.

Anyone who has seen it answer me this: Is it better than T3?

There is no competition as far as I'm concerned. Salvation is a billion times better than T3. Still not even close to the first two Terminator films but it's a huge improvement.