You’re Terminated

Well hellooooo Sam Worthington. Where have you been all my life? Damn.

Terminator Salvation was actually a lot better than I was expecting, given the reviews I’ve read and my opinion of McG. It wasn’t bad. Nowhere near as good as the original, but then it wouldn’t be, seeing how I love Terminator so.

The good stuff? Well Sam Worthington as Marcus Wright, obviously. Seriously though, the man is brilliant in this. He wipes the floor with Bale acting wise. Granted, John Connor isn’t given a lot to do other than stand around saying ‘We are the Resistance’ in a gravelly voice. (Dear Christian, leave the Batman voice at home. I’m begging you, please, enough already.) Marcus was the emotional core of the story for me, he was one of the only ones I gave a damn about. They should have done more with John, because Marcus steals the show. I know I’m supposed to be rooting for John. He’s John frickin Connor, we want him to win, that’s the whole point, but at the end I was all ‘Screw John Connor, come on Marcus!’ Which, I think you’ll agree, is a bit of a problem.

I was also very nicely surprised by Anton Yelchin as Kyle Reese. I am very protective of my films, as you might know, and the characters, so Kyle Reese was always Michael Biehn for me, nobody could be him. But Yelchin is scarily like him in places, down to the voice. I think he’s one to watch out for. He was also very good in Star Trek.

The bad? Way too much action and explosions in relation to down time. Not nearly enough character development, other than Marcus, and to a degree Kyle. Bryce Dallas Howard as Kate Connor does almost nothing but stand around looking angelic and pregnant. They should have had more scenes together, so that we actually care about their relationship. And then there’s the issue of female characters in general. Other than Howard and the delightfully named Moon Bloodgood, there aren’t any. I know Bloodgood is allegedly some kind of badass pilot, but she’s ultimately saved by Marcus, and after that disappears into the background. I should be used to it by now, women in action films are there to look hot and fill a cleavage quota after all, they’re a romantic side note and little else, but since this is the franchise that gave us Sarah Connor, it’s extra shitty not to have a strong woman in the mix.

I pretty much hated the stuff with the Resistance too. All the bits on the submarine, and bloody Michael Ironside. He’s just Michael Ironside in everything! I rolled my eyes every time he was on screen. It was so hammy and over done. I did like the bit with Arnie though. I thought it was quite well done. So yeah, it could have been a lot worse. Well, you just have to look at the previous film that will not be named, to see how bad it can be. This was slightly more a return to form, but oh how I do miss Cameron.

I think they should have left the story as it was before Bale got his hands on it. It’s really not terrible, but take out John Connor, rename it The Adventures of Marcus Wright, and I’d happily watch it all day.

Tentatively Optimistic

I keep saying I’m not remotely interested in the latest Terminator film, because it is bound to be rubbish and break my heart and I’ll just have to pretend that it doesn’t exist, like I do with the last two Alien films and the Star Wars prequels. It’s easier on me that way. But:

So Christian Bale and the fact that the music still gives me chills are they only things that are making me look forward to this. Possibly. Maybe. I reserve the right to hate it on sight.

It’s All About the Money

Oh guh.

So, there is, most likely, going to be a new trilogy (or an attempt at one) of the Terminator films. It will have John Connor in it but news is shaky at the moment and it may in fact focus on another, completely new character. Arnie may have a cameo but will not be the main Terminator. It follows on from Rise of the Machines into the post-apocalyptic world…and I already don’t care. T3 was an ok film, but it was not at all a good Terminator film. Why can’t they leave things well enough alone? And if they can’t, why oh why couldn’t James Cameron stop divorcing his wives and losing precious film rights in divorce settlements? Because I would watch a Cameron Terminator film in a heartbeat.

I was feeling slightly optimistic about the new film, seeing as it is set to star Christian Bale, who is a great actor and who generally doesn’t seem to sign on for shit stuff. And then the optimism was killed when I learned it was to be directed by McG. Of Charlie’s Angels ‘fame’. Hoo-frickin-rah.

Anyway, here’s a wiki link to some Terminator: Salvation info

I’ll go silently weep in the corner now.

(Of course, if it turns out to be fabulous, I will be eating my words. I’d actually prefer that to be honest.)