Terminator Salvation: Review Central

[Spider-Fan]

To be honest, it kind of is. Lets assume the T-800 and Reese never come back and John in this different time line has a different father. With a different father, Sarah would've never been hunted by the Terminator. She would've never known of the horrors of the future, and never trained John to be the leader of the resistance. Thus there would've never been the need for John to send Reese back as John wouldn't have been the leader without Sarah's knowledge and training and the machines would've had no need to kill her. Everything John is and everything the future is are all a result of the future traveling to the past. Its trippy, granted...but looking at it as a loop is the only way it even makes some sense

Agreed. It's a giant loop. I personally think instead of John being a "prophet" he should have just been a driven soldier, whom helped the humans in dire times find efficient ways to kill the machines (and preserve what little ammo they have) as well as take many risks due to the fact the he, unlike Skynet or the Resistance, knows he'll pull through and what his destiny is. I think having Skynet know this was a very bad choice, and John should have been seen as a decorated war hero instead of a prophet.

 

[JaD]

I loved TS but I wish it had the creepiness factor like in T1

Like I said earlier, the Skynet Prisoner scenes were great, but they came-and-went like that. These kinds of images of the machines could give you nightmares,

Those scenes were very well done but before you know it they'd be over and back to huge Transformers hehe sending "Moto-Terminators" after an indestructible Jeep. By the way, how the hell would John be able to drive one of those bikes? Why would they have handlegrips?

 

[hitmanyr2k]

73% user rating on RT, 8/10 IMDB rating with over 4,000 votes.

The imdb rating was 8.7 a couple of days ago before wide release and it's down to 8.0 already. Trust me when I say that number is going to take even more of a dive in the next week or two lol. I wouldn't be surprised to see it end up with about the same rating as T3.

 

[Matt]

Like I said earlier, the Skynet Prisoner scenes were great, but they came-and-went like that. These kinds of images of the machines could give you nightmares,

Those scenes were very well done but before you know it they'd be over and back to huge Transformers hehe sending "Moto-Terminators" after an indestructible Jeep. By the way, how the hell would John be able to drive one of those bikes? Why would they have handlegrips?

I'd say the bigger question is, how would someone who has never driven before (Reese) be able to drive a stick shift without stalling like crazy?

Still, great post. You're right. There were some scenes that nailed it. Unfortunately, most didn't

 

[Kane52630]

To be honest, it kind of is. Lets assume the T-800 and Reese never come back and John in this different time line has a different father. With a different father, Sarah would've never been hunted by the Terminator. She would've never known of the horrors of the future, and never trained John to be the leader of the resistance. Thus there would've never been the need for John to send Reese back as John wouldn't have been the leader without Sarah's knowledge and training and the machines would've had no need to kill her. Everything John is and everything the future is are all a result of the future traveling to the past. Its trippy, granted...but looking at it as a loop is the only way it even makes some sense

yea, and to go back to the theory if they havent gone back to the past, the original timeline would still have the T-800 which means skynet is activated and the end of the human race, but then who is John Connor's real father, i bet whoever he was he had to have combat training or a top military guy.... ugh i got a headache lol

 

[Matt]

Agreed. It's a giant loop. I personally think instead of John being a "prophet" he should have just been a driven soldier, whom helped the humans in dire times find efficient ways to kill the machines (and preserve what little ammo they have) as well as take many risks due to the fact the he, unlike Skynet or the Resistance, knows he'll pull through and what his destiny is. I think having Skynet know this was a very bad choice, and John should have been seen as a decorated war hero instead of a prophet.

Well said. Plus I feel like John should've been more compassionate, caring, and charasmatic. A characterization like Hector from Troy would've been far more fitting, IMO. A fierce warrior and also a kind and compassionate man. The type of man you would follow. The type of man, as Reese described in T1, that you would die for.

 

[Solidus]

I'd say the bigger question is, how would someone who has never driven before (Reese) be able to drive a stick shift without stalling like crazy?

Still, great post. You're right. There were some scenes that nailed it. Unfortunately, most didn't

Yea there were scenes in the book that were great that just came off so odd in the movie. And there were parts of the movies that were great, it was just the flow of the whole film and the deep details that they failed on. The book had a great outline that could have been a great movie. To a point. The Kyle Reese thing was so lightly talked about in the book through what Skynet completely wanted with it, it left more to the mind.

The flow and the details and environment as a whole really bugged me. And the Resistance living like kings which I never imagined either.

 

[Matt]

yea, and to go back to the theory if they havent gone back to the past, the original timeline would still have the T-800 which means skynet is activated and the end of the human race, but then who is John Connor's real father, i bet whoever he was he had to have combat training or a top military guy.... ugh i got a headache lol

Yeah The only time travel story that has not given me a head ache is Back to the Future because the message essentially is, even if you do time travel, you really ought not change anything. Deal with it.

 

[I SEE SPIDEY]

I made a deal with myself long ago that I would never ponder the Termnator movies storyline to deeply because it doesn't make sense and I'm afraid that T2 would be hurt as a film to me if I did.

 

[Spider-Fan]

Well said. Plus I feel like John should've been more compassionate, caring, and charasmatic. A characterization like Hector from Troy would've been far more fitting, IMO. A fierce warrior and also a kind and compassionate man. The type of man you would follow. The type of man, as Reese described in T1, that you would die for.

Definately agreed. My model for his personality would have been very much the same and is how I always pictured him

 

[Kane52630]

imo i hope they will get Nolan to write the entire script for T5 so it will give John Connor more emotion

 

[Solidus]

In the end as a big Terminator fan you always hope for the best, but the film can be the only thing that speaks for itself. And I was disappointed I could spend so much time to as why, and in greater detail but I'm off for the night.

 

[I SEE SPIDEY]

In the end as a big Terminator fan you always hope for the best, but the film can be the only thing that speaks for itself. And I was disappointed I could spend so much time to as why, and in greater detail but I'm off for the night.

Sorry you didn't like it as much as you wanted too.

Good night.

 

[Solidus]

Sorry you didn't like it as much as you wanted too.

Good night.

Thanks Spidey, it does stink but oh well. As the T-800 would tell me: "He'll live."

Night to all.

 

[Kane52630]

yea im out too, i have to wake up tommorow morning to see it again for only $4.50 see ya

 

[FCEEVIPER]

In the end as a big Terminator fan you always hope for the best, but the film can be the only thing that speaks for itself. And I was disappointed I could spend so much time to as why, and in greater detail but I'm off for the night.

Wow the biggest TS defender goes down, after fighting tooth and nail with every hater here. Wow.

TS wasn't great, but I liked it, and as a Terminator film I thought it passed.

7/10

 

[dude stannis]

imo i hope they will get Nolan to write the entire script for T5 so it will give John Connor more emotion

I agree, but I think it's up to Bale to put some more effort into his bigger movies. His performance in Rescue Dawn should've been how he played Connor. As a soldier who just refuses to give up and die, who's enthusiam and hopefulness inspired the other prisoners. His Connor is not very likeable at all, but his Dieter Dengler is one of the most inspirational performances I've ever seen.

 

[AnorexicBatman]

I think T3 really soured everyone's taste so when this movie was announced, everyone was like, "God! Another one?"

Yet it is at 70% on RT. I must say we have some truly wonderful and talented critics!

I think we all an agree on what he best direction would be for T5.... BETTER SCRIPT!!!
I don;t even care if John goes back in time 5 days before Judgment Day along with an entire army of Terminators (HK's in flesh cocoon like the T-1000 anyone?) as long as it tells a compelling story...

 

[batmop]

So it is okay for him to be a robot when it fits your argument, but not when it doesn't? Interesting.

Actually, based on the size of our population, it is. Plus it is insignificant poll data without knowing the sample types and size of each type of sample.

So ... you've added nothing further to your argument, or added nothing to counter what I said? Interesting. What I stated about Connor not being formally army-trained, and about army guys never having to train with fighting a T-700 still stands.

It is not insignificant when you are comparing apples-to-apples; RT user score to RT user score, or IMDB user score to IMDB user score. The IMDB user scores are a bit more accurate since they show the number of votes. IMDB also shows a specific demographic breakdown on the number of votes, and whether they fall into male/female categories or what age group the votes are a part of.

IMDB is not some joe-shmoe AICN-type of website. IMDB is industry-renowned as a reputable movie industry site.

Out of the 4,000+ votes on IMDB for Salvation, the highest scores are from Males and Females aged 30 or younger. Also non-US users on average are giving Salvation a higher score than US users.

The lowest scores for this movie are coming from females aged 40 or older. Understandable, since this is not the movie's main demographic.

The imdb rating was 8.7 a couple of days ago before wide release and it's down to 8.0 already. Trust me when I say that number is going to take even more of a dive in the next week or two lol. I wouldn't be surprised to see it end up with about the same rating as T3.

Anything can happen. TDK's IMDB score at one point was 8/10 when the movie first came out, but in the weeks and months following the score never really dropped.

Wow the biggest TS defender goes down, after fighting tooth and nail with every hater here. Wow.

TS wasn't great, but I liked it, and as a Terminator film I thought it passed.

7/10

An example of having different expectations. It sounds like Solidus expected the movie to be too much like the novelization, as well as too much like what he invisioned in his own imagination. That of course did not match what this movie provided.

 

[Caped Crusader]

Wow the biggest TS defender goes down, after fighting tooth and nail with every hater here. Wow.

TS wasn't great, but I liked it, and as a Terminator film I thought it passed.

7/10

I gave it a 10 before I saw because I was so pumped lol

But after seeing it, I would give it a 9. Really would have been a 8 but seeing Arnold look so bad ass that bumps it up to a 9. t:

 

[Drizzle]

Well, first things first, this movie is WAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAY better than T3. I'd even say it's more entertaining than T1. But of course it could never touch T2.

Christian Bale was "okay" as John Connor. I also thought Sam Worthington was "okay" as Marcus. Bale didn't really seem into it for the most part and what distracted me about Worthington was his accent kept coming out in a few scenes. Both of them did fine, I just wasn't blown away by either of them in the roles. However, the same cannot be said for Anton Yelchin. He kicked ass as Kyle Reese. I thought he was totally channeling Michael Biehn. As for the other actors, besides Moon Bloodgood, they all had minor roles. It felt like Bryce Dallas Howard was barely in it. Hell, I feel like she got more screentime in "Spider-Man 3".

The action sequences were great, but the ones that stood out the most to me were Marcus and Kyle vs. the Harvester/mototerminators and the fight between John and the T-800 at the end.

I did like the throwbacks to the previous movies. Hell, I even enjoyed John playing the Guns N Roses song from T2 to attract the machines.

Spoiler

I also loved the two "HOLY ****!" moments in the movie. The first was when "Arnold" showed up and the second was when the T-800 impaled John. I really thought he was a goner.

Overall, I give it a 7.5/10. A solid entry to the franchise.

 

[Crook]

An example of having different expectations. It sounds like Solidus expected the movie to be too much like the novelization, as well as too much like what he invisioned in his own imagination. That of course did not match what this movie provided.

An unexpected clash against one's expectations doesn't necessarily bring forth a sour reaction. For example, I fully expected TDK to be good, and had my own vision of what the film would be like. The product was almost nothing like I expected it to be, it was still good, and I loved it regardless of how Nolan's execution didn't fit my ideal representations.

 

[AnorexicBatman]

Wow I hope Arnold is in T5 as well otherwise you guys will still rip it no matter how good or bad it
is. Judging by responses, the 3rd Act is the most well received. Hopefully they go the Nolan route and make one long climax like TDK (not a bad thing)

 

[Matt]

So ... you've added nothing further to your argument, or added nothing to counter what I said? Interesting. What I stated about Connor not being formally army-trained, and about army guys never having to train with fighting a T-700 still stands.

It is not insignificant when you are comparing apples-to-apples; RT user score to RT user score, or IMDB user score to IMDB user score. The IMDB user scores are a bit more accurate since they show the number of votes. IMDB also shows a specific demographic breakdown on the number of votes, and whether they fall into male/female categories or what age group the votes are a part of.

IMDB is not some joe-shmoe AICN-type of website. IMDB is industry-renowned as a reputable movie industry site.

Out of the 4,000+ votes on IMDB for Salvation, the highest scores are from Males and Females aged 30 or younger. Also non-US users on average are giving Salvation a higher score than US users.

The lowest scores for this movie are coming from females aged 40 or older. Understandable, since this is not the movie's main demographic.



Anything can happen. TDK's IMDB score at one point was 8/10 when the movie first came out, but in the weeks and months following the score never really dropped.



An example of having different expectations. It sounds like Solidus expected the movie to be too much like the novelization, as well as too much like what he invisioned in his own imagination. That of course did not match what this movie provided.

Yikes. So apologetic it hurts. Also, since when is IMDB respected? IMDB is about as respected in the film industry as Wikipedia is respected in academia.

Show me a scientific poll that proves audiences are loving this and I will concede your point. In the mean time, don't try to write off internet polls as any more than they are.

 

[Caped Crusader]

Wow I hope Arnold is in T5 as well otherwise you guys will still rip it no matter how good or bad it
is. Judging by responses, the 3rd Act is the most well received. Hopefully they go the Nolan route and make one long climax like TDK (not a bad thing)

Would love for Bale to scream a little more. Felt like he was holding back a bit..