Movie Review: TERMINATOR SALVATION: THE FUTURE BEGINS – McG still Sucks
Comments(32)
- By drvenkman
You all know how much I wanted ‘Terminator Salvation’ to kick-ass and be the Terminator movie we have all been waiting for. We finally get to see the battle of future, John Connor all grown up leading the resistance to take down Skynet, thus releasing the world from its burning iron grip. I liked most of what I saw in the film clips and movie trailers, and I thought this movie was going to be awesome! I even thought that the director McG could have pulled it off! Well, he didn’t. He is still a crap filmmaker and he managed to brutally kill the Terminator franchise for me, much like Brett Ratner utterly destroyed X-Men 3.
Before I go on and tear this movie apart, this is a movie that the average movie goer is going to love. It has all the big action special effects that Hollywood is grooming the audience to accept, rather than watching a good story. In the theater I went and saw it in the majority of audience cheered and applauded when the movie ended. I sat in my seat wondering why. Then realized these were the same people that brought a couple of beach balls into the movie theater and everyone was annoyingly hitting it around.
I was so disappointed with the majority of the movie. The action sequences in the movie were the best part, but even the special effects were still very much on the cheap side, some looked like they were unfinished and there were these very obvious blue screen background effects that were not blended well with the live action. I wasn’t even trying to look for that stuff, it just stuck out like a sore thumb.
I am convinced the script was written by a 12 year boy. The dialogue in the movie was atrociously bad. I can’t even describe to you how bad it was, you will have to see it for yourself. The timing of the dialogue and the way it was delivered by the actors didn’t help either. It just fell flat. I couldn’t help but laugh several times through the movie while the actors were delivering their lines. I swear they must have been reading strait from the script.
This is by far Christian Bales worst performance in a film. I did not like him at all in the role of John Connor. My first seed of excitement for this movie was planted when he was cast in the movie, but he was as mediocre as an actor can get. As for Sam Worthington as Marcus, the guy kept going in and out of accents in the film, and there were times where I couldn’t even understand what he was saying. Common was just a wooden puppet delivering one of the worst lines in the movie “It’s Beautiful”. Moon Bloodgood did the best with the material she was given, Bryce Dallas Howard wasn’t in the movie enough to make a judgment, but Anton Yelchin as Kyle Reese was the best actor in the film. He was the only one that took the dialogue and made it somewhat real. Honestly, I was embarrassed for the actors that had to act from this awful script.
McG is still on my douche director list. He was obviously the weakest link. A movie is only as good as it’s director and McG failed. Some of the scenes in the film were right out of ‘Charlie’s Angels’. And he obviously can’t direct actors or develop a good story.
Yes, Arnold Schwarzenegger made his short little CGI debut and it looked like it was really good video game cinematic. I wasn’t really impressed by it, but the audience was. I didn’t think it looked like him at all. They made him much wider. On top of that there was really no point to add him in the movie. It was just a way to connect him with the other movies it could have been done without it, and you would have never missed it.
As for this controversial ending McG has been hyping up I have no idea what in the hell he was talking about. After the movie ended the only thing worth discussing was how bad it was and how he ruined the Terminator franchise for the fans.
If you go back and watch the original Terminator films you will see a huge difference because they are actually great well rounded movies that have everything that Terminator Salvation lacks… most importantly a good story.
The movie had its moments, mostly in the action sequences. But you can see most of those on all the clips that have been released. McG’s version was jumping all over the place with awkward cuts, which didn’t help the fact the the movie had a bunch of holes in it. Everything else in the movie, such as the story and drama, just didn’t go beyond a laughably bad script.
So did I enjoy it? Believe it or not… yes, but not in the way I would have liked to. This wasn’t the movie I wanted, but it still offered some decent action and a few laughs. I have no need to ever watch this movie again. If I watch it again it will just piss me off even more. Like I said earlier, the average movie goer has a better chance of liking this movie more that the hard core movie geeks like myself.
Damn! I wish this movie would have been better!
How was the lighting? Was it professional?
"Yes, Arnold Schwarzenegger made his short little CGI debut and it looked like it was really good video game cinematic. I wasn’t really impressed by it, but the audience was. I didn’t think it looked like him at all. They made him much wider."
Dude…give me a break. You are complaining about the width of Arnold Schwarzenegger. I dont know which movie you saw, but it wasn't the same one I did. This movie was much better than T3 (Which if you thought this ruined the franchise, I would love to hear your view on T3, because Jonathon Mostow rammed this franchise into the ground) but I think anyone who dislikes this movie simply expects another T2.
Another thing, your dialog complaint…have you watched the first Terminator? As much as I love the movie, the dialog in that movie makes me cringe. McG did a good job connecting this to the Terminator franchise, something I wish the people who created Wolverine would have done. I'm also sorry you can connect with the characters in the film. Connor, who's fathers life is on the line, who is worshiped by some people, and others don't believe a thing he says. Marcus who is a convicted murderer, struggling with the good and bad, man and machine fighting within him. I just don't know what you wanted, but I am sorry you didn't get it.
P.S. While I look on the web page, I noticed you reviewed the movie "TERMINATOR SALVAION" whatever that is…and you think the movie needs better script writers…good game
HA, so I take it that you do like T3 better than this! Just as I predicted to you before the flick, McG McScrewed up the franchise!
"I'll be back!"
That's just how I roll. I'm happy you liked it. I know there are going to be people out there that really do and that's great. This is my opinion on the movie and you are entitled to yours, that's what makes life awesome. And yeah! Arnold was wide! I was just sayin.
Oh yeah, the lighting was very professional. Did I forget to mention that?
So sad to hear this – I too was looking forward to seeing it. I'm still going to take my 11 yr old son on Friday, can't back out of that one – but I was hoping for a trifecta, as far as summer movies are concerned. Loved X-Men Origins Wolverine! Love Star Trek even more and I was hoping that Terminator Salvation would have brought it all home – guess I'll have to wait for Transformers 2 to do that – hopefully that won't disappoint. But there is a funny thing about watching a movie with an 11 year old boy. In the movies that I go to with my husband only or the few that I sit through solo, largely because I only wish to see them for their technical merits and no one else does, I tend to sit back as the critic I am and tear it apart piece by cinematic piece. But for the big budget Sci Fi or Comic Superhero flicks (which are my favorites too) I find myself watching my children more than the movie itself. I watch through their eyes and get excited when they get excited and scared when they get scared and once again I'm 11 or 12 and feel the thrill of the ride of it. So, hopefully my son will enjoy Terminator and so will I, through him.
I'm glad for Christian Bale in that case.
I've been a long time reader of this site, but I've never commented on anything until now. For the most part, a lot of times i read your reviews just to get a sense of what the movie is like before i go to it. I'm what you would say is regular movie goer, going nearly every weekend with my girlfriend and spending tons of money there. I haven't seen Terminator yet but from how you described it, i think i will love it and here's my reasoning for it.
I'm not the biggest critic of movies. i go for the entertainment and for the fun. I love it if there is a rowdy crowd in the movie theater cause i think it ups the experience(kinda like at a ball park). Like i stated, I think i will love this movie cause it will be fun to watch and have tons of action. Yeah im a big fan of action that's why my fav director is Michael Bay, but horrible acting will kill a movie for me. What i consider horrible acting though is usually movies where i feel i could have done it better, thats how bad it has to be. From what you said about Terminator, it just feels like in terms of your critique, it was horrendous but to me an everyday movie goer, i think it will be fine. I'm watching the movie tonight and i think i will love it, because it has everything i look forward to.. hopefully. A decent to good story, a decent to good acting, and great action. I will watch it, love it, buy the dvd when it comes out, and forget about it for the next 4 years untill the next sequel comes out.
Great Movies will still be great Movies, i could never forget the Dark Knight though. I still understand the difference between Perfect Movies and movies i just love to watch.
He really did need it to be good so he could get into character and give an incredible performance.
Oh man you son is going to love it! And I agree about watching your kids, I do the same thing with my own. Good call!
Dude I totally understand! Your really are going to like this movie. I hate that I am so critical sometimes. I just had way to high expectations for it, had they been lower I probably would have liked it more. At the same time, like I said i did enjoy it, but I was ultimately disappointed. Have fun when you go see it!
i guess i'm an average movie goer too cause i can't wait to see it saturday afternoon! i respect your opinion dr.venkman and i'll be expressing mine afterwards.
I'll be waiting to hear it!
I have to wait until June to see this movie (Because for some unknown reason thats when it's being released here) but I'll be back afterwards with my opion, be sure of that
I have to side with you, Doc. I am overally critical of the films I grew up with and love to the nth degree. I'm sure upon seeing it it's going to be like watching Wolverine with the crowd that loved it and me pitching fits because of all the horrid things they did to the Marvel/XMen universe. Some geeky people just really delve too deep and I know I am one of them, but one thing I do respect from you is you handle the people who come at ya cause they think your "Wrong" for your opinion, very well.
I enjoyed your review and I thought it was well informed and well balanced – I always do though cause my opinions are much like yours.
Reading your review will actually help me, and in that, I thank you.
One of the things I enjoyed about Salvation was the tie-ins to the previous films and even the television series. The plot was somewhat predictable and the dialog did feel stilted, and I kept thinking that the writers from Sarah Conner Chronicles would have given us a better story. However, like the TV series, there wouldn't have been anywhere near as many satisfied viewers. It's sad, like the humans who didn't join the resistance for one reason or another, but it's a fact: some people just don't like to think when they go to the cinema anymore.
AHA! I just got back from watching it and i feel like adding input:
I honestly liked it and enjoyed it, just in a weird way, like you said. The action was cool but the movie was lacking a lot. It felt very slow. It relied solely on the action to make it a good film. The thing that also irritated me is that there was no shock factor in the movie; there werent any scenes that made me go "WOAH! Did you see?!?! did you see that?!?!" which i enjoy doing when i watch an action movie. It was all just lacking imagination i think. However, I thought the acting was good though, but im also not a critic. =/ You wont leave the film going "Wow! That was amazing!" but youll still leave saying it was a decent movie. Id say its worth seeing it on the big screen.
Venkman, I've been reading your site for quite a while and usually enjoy it but MAN did you miss the mark here. Killed the franchise?!?!? Did you see T3? Between the male stripper and the crybaby John Connor the franchise was dead already.
The acting was what it was (I think Bale needs to get a better "I'm rough and tough" voice to cement his career), but frankly, I don't think it was that bad. John Connor has finally decided he's going to fight the war and he does it with one hell of a chip on his shoulder. Sam Worthington acted his ass off. I was ok with the accent in this because he actually is Aussie around non-Aussie's so it happens, nothing like Gambit losing his cajun accent 3 lines into the movie.
The action here was grand and fun without being as large as T2 or 3 because the lead isn't indestructible. The fact much of the last 4th of the movie is an homage to T2 (the movie that first made me love movies) just made it so much better!
Different strokes for different folks I suppose.
I went into the theatre blind. No reviews, no expectations. Nothing.
…And my sarcastic comments and glances to my friend started about 5 minutes in. You're right it was embarrassing to watch. You're also right about the crowd reaction as several moments and lines (including "Its beautiful!") got a burst of laughter from me and nothing from the rest of the audience. Which got me thinking, "are they enjoying this?
For me, big action without at least a decent story is just annoying and insulting to the audience's intelligence. I watch a movie because I want to be told a story. I expect each scene to develop that story and the plot. I'm tired of CGI and dizzying action scenes taking the place of story and dialogue. And yes, I am a fan of action movies. I just believe there is a balance that should exist within them. I mean if I just wanted action scenes I would watch "World's Best Police Videos" on Spike TV.
PS I found your review by Googling "Terminator Salvation Sucks" haha
My quick review: I liked the movie, didn't love it, but liked it. The ending left me wanting more (the time travel issue?), which I'm sure they'll make another one. The little nods to the first two movies were cool, I got a little chuckle out of them. Yes, some of the lines were bad, but it's an action movie directed by McG (can't stand that dude). Sam Worthington was pretty cool and seems like he'll be the next big action star (Clash of The Titans). Moon Bloodgood was sexy and Anton Yelchin was easily my favorite character in the movie as Kyle Reese. 6.5/10
DrVenkman, can we trash McG some more? I've got a bone to pick with that dude. I
Dude! That was my exact experience! 5 min in I started the eye rolling, sarcastic comments, glances, and slapping my hand on my forehead. Thats awesome that you found my review under Terminator Slavation Sucks. Ha!
We can trash McG as much as we want! We're Geek Tyrants!
I found this review by googling "terminator sucks" as well. Because it did and I wanted to vent my frustration.
The problem was two major things. The first, too much in too little time. For instance, why was Common's character even played by Common? You could have had an extra play the role since he only had three lines. So by spreading out the screen time between Bale, Howard, Yelchin, Worthington, Ironside, Carter, and on and on and on… It was more like a never ending montage of characters from the mythology of "Terminator." There was no time to get involved with any of them on an emotional level. Even Hamilton's voice and Schwarzenneger's face. Enough already. And without the investment in any of the characters… who cares?
The second major problem was the technology felt off. In the original terminators, the people were running around with "LASERS!" That's right. That was one of the coolest parts about that vision of the future, besides the incredible fast paced music/action/atmosphere Cameron was able to create. Everyone had laser guns. All sorts of futuristic weapons and gear.
But in this movie? An occasional metal man walks around the wasteland randomly picking off people. Does that make any sense? Is Skynet retarded in this movie? Mototerminators? Giant Harverster Robots? It just felt hokey. I mean, the only reason that the Terminator was even called a "terminator" was because it was an "infiltration" unit. Like, assassin, or something. So why would you call motorcycles mototerminators? The name is too long to be a real nickname for something. Bikebot would have sounded more real.
That was the true downfall of this movie. No imagination AT ALL. The liquid metal terminator was mind blowing. Time travel, artificial intelligence. Terminator was always pushing the envelope. So why did the script for this blow so bad! Couldn't they have thrown in SOME of the obvious technologies that would exist in such a situation? Exoskeletons, lasers, electro magnetic pulse weapons, nano bots.
I will give them credit for the cyborg played by worthington. In a war with robots, cybernetics is an obvious adaptation. My one gripe is… why doesn't everybody have cybernetic parts? Like Will Smith's arm in irobot? Give me two weeks and I could have written a better script.
This movie was crap.
It's not preparing us for the real robot uprising when the technological singularity comes AT ALL. lol. We should sue!
DrVenkman,
I completely agree with you that Terminator Salvation does indeed suck. It was for me perhaps the biggest cinematic disappointment since the Star Wars prequels. This movie confirms that the Terminator franchise is dead. Unfortunately, it took the recycled T3, a consistently awful TV series, and now this absolute summer flop to convince me of that. I might otherwise have been spared the disappointment.
Want to see some awesome Terminator action, catching good glimpses of the primitive-yet-brutal T-600 series? Well screw you, Terminator fan! Instead, you're in for about half a scene of that. The rest of the Terminator action is going to be the metal endoskeletons that we've seen for years walking and crawling around. Oh yeah, I also hope you like the stupid water terminator Matrix rip-offs, because there's plenty of that.
Want to see some credible, yet terrifying future war scenes, with humans struggling to keep their heads above ground, avoiding Skynet's killing machines, the likes of which we've gotten excited over in the earlier three installments? Well screw you again, Terminator fan! You'll get that in the first five minutes or so, but the rest is going to be shot in wide open, well-lit hangars that look like something out of the Iraq war.
Want to be frightened by Skynet, the super-intelligent computer system that launches a reign of terror on the human race? Want to leave wondering how the meager resistance can possibly ever overcome this digital menace? Well screw you, Terminator fan! Better get used to this Skynet, whose defense systems are apparently so poor that John Connor can just prance around Skynet central, and where the resistance, who could hardly touch ground at a communication facility in the first scene, can apparently land a crapload of helicopters and hang out for about ten minutes, while the human prisoners just simply run out. And for everyone who realizes how stupid the old plot device is where the bad guy thinks he's won and so spills all the details of his diabolical plot to the protagonist—well you're just going to have to shut up and get used to a Skynet who apparently thinks that this is one hell of a strategic move.
Time would fail to also point out the countless stupid scenes—John Connor jumping into the middle of the ocean, Marcus Wright's little "secret" being a surprise, the gaping plot holes, the poor character development, the poor editing from scene to scene, the CGI Arnold, the stupid beginning, the stupid ending, etc., etc., etc. When the most the people who sat around me can say is, "Well, I suppose it wasn't awful," the answer suddenly becomes apparent: This is a Terminator movie, it should have been AWESOME. My recommendation to anyone who hasn't seen is yet is to watch the four minute trailer and the eleven or so short clips available online, because it really doesn't get any better than that.
Well Jon, I'll give ya the acting point but give me a break about lasers. This movie is set 10 years before Kyle Reese's memories. The resistance still has a decade to reach the point we've ever seen it start, why would we assume the nukes go off and suddenly technology advances to give everyone a laser rifle? Chances are in the next film Skynet will build another new weapon and the resistance will get it and then you get your lasers.
So many people are complaining this movie goes back to the first 2 (I don't think anyone misses the 3rd) but then get upset there's not more new. Sorry guys this is the beginning of the end. The point here isn't to give you a new model of Terminator, it's to bridge the story gap from when the bombs explode and Kyle is sent back to spread whatever kind of STD we have in the future to the 80s.
It seems this movie was mostly destined to be panned because of the success of the first two. I'll admit T2 is still my favorite movie of all time but this Terminator managed to give me what I wanted, the story of how we got there.
I AGREE. In the first two flicks the future was downright terrible. Skulls line the floors, everything seems unnaturally dark. The bluish black horizon reminded me of a sad evening in Honolulu, Hawaii. Terminators killed everyone and everything, kids, gramps, whatever they could get their hands on. Oh, and the future events had signature plasma cannons that were a MUST in the Terminator Universe. The least the T-S team could have done was keep the future effects, cinematography, and environment in line with the original game-plan, to make way for a T-5 or T-6 to redeem the entire franchise, why even the ultra-forgettable Star Trek V did this, even under the helm of William Shatner (OUCH!)
i am a hugh terminator fan and one of the reason why i like it was james camron style of special effects, action, good actors and most importantly of all, a good story.
terminator 3 lacked it all and it sucked.
terminator salvation, same old story. it sucked.
only james camron could fix this awful shit. and i would disregard the t3 and t4 and start all over with a story that starts sometime after t2.
sadly, james camron has stated that he is done with the terminator series because he felt that he told the whole story on t2.
let us all die hard terminator fans hope and pray that camron has a change of heart…
jonathon mostow sucks!
McG SUCKS!
JAMES CAMERON, PLEASE FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, MAKE A ANOTHER TERMINATOR MOVIE, YOUR OWN WAY! T3 AND T4 WAS WORSE THEN BUSH/CHENEY'S "ENCHANCE INTEREGATION TECHNIQUES".
I totally agree 100% with you dude! And I dont get those who said otherwise in the comments. I watched T1,T2 & T3 over & over again & I cant count how many times. And to be frank, I watched T2 & T3 equally much. T3 ended very well to open a new FUTURE we've been waiting for and thats what we expected from T4, but it failed miserably. Yes it failed. I am a hardcore fan of terminator & I know what I'm saying. I watched T1 as I was a kid & I grew up thinking "the storm is coming" because how it really hit me in the heart & I felt it as part of my life. Anyway, I hoped it was Roberto Orci who have written it. The only great thing happen recently was that Star Trek went beyond expectations, while T4 suck badly. Dont get me wrong it is a good movie, but it is not a Terminator movie it deserves.
I saw it, knew the reviews were bad, but was willing to give T4 every chance. I even liked T3 OK. I could push aside some clunky dialogue and sub-par acting aside if the story were compelling (think T1). The central problem is that there isn't a single clear compelling story. there's what seem like five or six and none fo them get any depth. John Connor's kind of running around with his set of problems. SkyNet is up to something. The resistance high command is up to soemthing. Kyle Reese is fighting in the LA streets. He's got a child with him who seems to have no reason to be in the movie. A man convicted murderer shows up, befriends a downed female pilot, and is moving around for some reason not known to himself until the end. It tues up a liittle at the end, but mostly it jumps everywhere like a frenetic child playing in a sandbox. It's not really the actors; it's the premise and script – a problem so basic, it can't be ignored or glossed over.
:::I AM AWARE. AWARE OF BEING LAME. MCG, YOU ARE TARGETED FOR TERMINATION. MEANING, THE TERMINATION OF DIRECTING ANY MOVIES.