DISQUS

Film School Rejects: Terminator Salvation: 20 Things We Didn’t Like, 10 We Did

  • chris · 6 months ago
    I actually thought the music, Christian Bale and Ironside were the worst parts of the movie.

    Also, you nitpick too much. Everyone does.
  • Tim G · 6 months ago
    Your review is dead on. It really is a shame that Hollywood could care less about the fans and are more worried about putting out a piece of action packed tofu. And the big thing was hiring McG to do this film. As fans, we all know what he can and can not do and this was a film for someone who could work with the material and have the gut to tell the studio what is right and wrong. This guy was a bobblehead that did what he was told and now has made himself look like a fool. Honestly, I think David Twohy could have made a great Terminator Salvation given his track record with sci-fi.Sure.
  • chille · 6 months ago
    God the editing was terrible! Thats what happens when you shoot for an R rating then are forced to go PG-13.

    Lots of needless explosions too. The HK flies by Kyle and Marcus and causes a building to crumble. Really? What the hell is the point?

    Where was the T-1000 cameo? I missed it
  • Bob Saget · 6 months ago
    I agree with everything you hated about the movie, but I can't believe you though Christian Bale was good int this. He was one of the worst parts of the movie. He overacted in EVERY freakin' scene. I love Christian Bale but it was obvious he never even saw the previous Terminator movies and that he put no effort into this role. Just horrible. Yelchin, Worthington, and Bloodgood all impressed me and I'll be looking forward to other movies they are going to be in.
  • 790 · 6 months ago
    You guys are too kind. I could nitpick 40 things I didn't like. Lol,,

    Anyone have a problem with how Connor reacted when he first saw the Arnold model.

    I'm hoping the dvd will have some worthwhile bonus features. Maybe a cool tribute to Stan Winston!
  • peterckrieger · 3 months ago
    Yes, he should have had a different reaction, like "Oh No here we go again" or something like that....all in all it could have been much better had they simply ran the script BY ME for final approval. After I was done with it you would have dancing bears, Giselle Bundchen portraying Richard Nixon and the cast of 'Hangover' wandering the desert looking for Vegas. But no, they didn't listen.
  • Garvin · 6 months ago
    Well, a $42 million weekend would normally be great, but due to its $200+ million budget, WB not having foreign rights, and mixed to bad word-of-mouth, it looks like a 5th movie is not likely anymore.

    My guess is we'll here rumblings about a straight up remake of the original - as awful an idea as that would be - before we hear about a 5th movie.
  • jonn · 6 months ago
    #4 shouldn't be on the list. the reason skynet didn't kill kyle reese, was to lure John. (killing reese only prevents connor from existing in another timeline, not the current one :). Marcus didn't kill John b/c he didn't know he was a terminator nor is he really a terminator (human brain w/ terminator type body) but, i totally agree with #5. I was expecting Worthington to say "he can't be your father. that's impossible". that was the worst part of this movie, along with the cgi crap that was Arnold, Connor on m/c, and flying disc thing.
  • RobertFure · 6 months ago
    Skynet could kill Kyle Reese but still have him in the computer as alive. Connor had no real way of knowing he was still alive. Or as soon as Connor walked in, they could have killed Reese.
  • Omek · 6 months ago
    I think the ideas were all good, but the execution wasn't that great.
  • Davebaxter1989 · 6 months ago
    "Connor accuses Marcus of killing his father, Kyle Reese. Marcus responds by saying Kyle Reese is still alive. Neither seem to address the fact that Kyle Reese is, like, 14 years old and John Connor is in his 30s."

    In fairness it is fairly common knowledge that Kyle came from the future as Sarah never hid it from John so his youngness wouldn't be the shocker to end all shocks.

    Also it is pointless saying why didn't they just kill Conner or Reese because that would mean they win. Even the first films would unravel under such scrutiny, like why didn't they just send the T-800 to find Connors great great great great great grandfather as a baby and smoosh his baby face? Because it means no film.
  • Rob_Hunter · 6 months ago
    "Also it is pointless saying why didn't they just kill Conner or Reese because that would mean they win."

    That's a cop-out. The answer is that the screenplay never should have allowed Skynet to capture Reese in the first place. The problem isn't that Skynet didn't kill Reese, it's that in the situation presented there's absolutely no reason why it wouldn't.
  • Jonathan · 6 months ago
    In regards to #4 not being on the list, how was Kyle used to lure John? They could've killed him, and John would've been none the wiser. John had NO WAY of knowing Kyle was still alive once he was captured. There is no reason given during the entire film as to why Kyle was allowed to live. Made no sense and that that plot hole alone was bad enough to ruin the whole movie. Not that there weren't a million other things wrong with it.
  • Davebaxter1989 · 6 months ago
    See my above comment to save a retype but did the same problems ruin the magnificent T2 for you? Because EVERY movie that contains time travel has the same problem and its just whether you want to get on board or not.
  • Vilhelm Black · 6 months ago
    Someday, Hollywood studios are going to learn that you don't produce science fiction films without a SCIENTIST on hand to say, "this is impossible... that is idiotic." Someday they may also learn that the fans will ALWAYS know more about what can and can't happen in a sequel than the writers or directors, so why not hire fans to review the script before filming? IMO the worst thing you can do in a sci-fi film is insult the intelligence of your audience, and T4 does it in spades. They also need to have someone versed in logic (not music videos) examine the script for logical impossibilities (e.g. heart transplants in impossible conditions.) I am sick of going to see big budget films that refuse to acknowledge that some of the audience has actually graduated from high school.

    And as for the dazzling effects in this film, I'll tell you what... rent the film Knowing with Nicholas Cage and tell me if the two main disaster effects don't totally trump EVERYTHING in this film.
  • John Strickland · 6 months ago
    But... it's a movie about time travel. A scientist would have been belting out "Impossible" before he even had his morning coffee...
  • Anonymous · 6 months ago
    Most film "critics" - and you guys are trying hard to fit into that mold - are either frustrated, failed filmmakers who like to think they can do better (but can't), or simply hate movies while pretending to be fans. It seems you are a bit of both. You are trying way too hard to find faults in what I consider an outstanding film that works perfectly with the world created by the previous three stories. This is an action film - a future war movie - not an intense Greek drama that requires detailed character evolution. It's also science FICTION - not a documentary on how machines would act if they did in fact wage war on the human race. You need to stop hating movies and try to enjoy them. You'll have a lot more fun. But then you can't stand it that other people's ideas are actually getting made while your ideas are, well, I guess pretty worthlesst.
  • Cole_Abaius · 6 months ago
    I'm actually a failed plumber, so don't lump me in with these yahoos, but you definitely made some strong arguments about the individual points they made in the article. And wait, am I responding to someone who signs as Anonymous on a comment thread? Damn it.
  • RobertFure · 6 months ago
    I didn't bother reading your post because I'm very important and rich because people pay me to write lists like this because my opinion is fucking awesome. In fact, I'm so fucking awesome that I'm not even writing this - I'm dictating it to my assistant, who still needs to get me a Diet Peach Snapple Green Tea, by the way, don't write that down just do it.

    Most "anonymous" commentators are just upset that we didn't like the same movies as they did. Tough nuts.
  • Venture82 · 6 months ago
    "The first true cinematic disappointment of the year"? What about "Watchmen"? That was a huge letdown, even though people had braced for disappointment.
  • elpatro · 6 months ago
    The whole character of Marcus Wright makes no sense. How could they make a Terminator with organs when they just figured out how to weld machine guns onto themselves?
    Did they ever even explain how Skynet knows Reese is John Connor's father?
  • Moss · 6 months ago
    I just thought of this a day after seeing the movie but if John already knows about his father than it is not impossible for Skynet to know. Skynet obviously knows a lot of things and it must know something about the events portrayed in the earlier movies.
  • GuiltyTrace · 6 months ago
    I just followed the movie from one explosion to the next. I thought Reese saying he never drove before and then driving was the dumbest shit - and that was after Marcus' bellowing in the desert. Why you cryin, Marcus? You don't know what happened? You don't know what's goin' on? How about you ask instead of just goin', "Oh, robots with chain guns, buildings on fire, this one kid and another kid are the L.A. branch of the Resistance and I'm gonna be a dick to 'em. Yeah."

    T2 > T1 > T4 > T3
  • Kunu · 6 months ago
    I don't know why everyone is hating this movie. It was entertaining as hell, exactly what is was meant to be. But on point, the complaint about the invincible terminator makes no sense to me. Aren't they supposed to be that way? Do you remember how impossible it was to kill them in the past movies? The whole Point is that they can't be stopped, so I don't see why you guys are mad about that
  • Ronnie_S · 6 months ago
    Depending on what you consider the theme music is. I was dissapointed that the original score from Brad Fidel wasn't in it. It music was sort of a variation from it, where they would play notes that sounded close, but weren't quite the same. The only thing that was identifiable to me was the famous clanging drum line.

    Also, someone, please explain to me why Cyberdyne is still a huge factor the creation of the terminators. Wasn't Judgement Day postponed because Cyberdyne's information on the terminator was destroyed, therefore leading the Air Force to create it. I guess we're supposed to assume that Cyberdyne had more facilities with the secret information, but it's never brought up at all. Why leave us in the dark when they could of covered that with a single line of dialogue.
  • Kunu · 6 months ago
    I don't get why people are so down on this movie. It was entertaining as hell, exactly what it was supposed to be. I loved it.
    But anyway, on point. Whats with the complaint about the indestructible terminator? Isn't that what these things are supposed to be? Do you guys remember the first movie, how impossible it was to kill it? The whole point of a terminator is that is unstoppable. I just don't see how you can complain about that
  • RobertFure · 6 months ago
    He wasn't that indesctructible in the first film. He didn't get hit with much other than bullets and then fire and then he got crushed and destroyed. In T2, molten steel destroyed the T-800. Period. Liquid Nitrogen messed up the T-1000. Flash freezing metal makes it supremely brittle. The T-800 is badass, I know, I love it. But in this movie they hit it with like 5 things that would have destroyed it in the previous movies.
  • MsAbominable · 6 months ago
    "T2 > T1 > T4 > T3" <----My thoughts exactly.

    I'm the type of person who doesn't put much money on sequels being any good, so when I heard that they were making ANOTHER Terminator movie (even after the horror that was T3), I groaned. I went in expecting a bad movie but I was proven wrong. Sure, there were plot holes, the dialogue inconsistently went from touching to cliche, and some characters were as dimensional as an index card (who else didn't buy the Kate/John romance?). But the bits that I liked allowed me to overlook the nonsensical so much so that I went to see it a second time!

    Eagerly awaiting the DVD...or, sh*t, maybe I'll go see it yet again. =P
  • 790 · 6 months ago
    The movie sucked but, Davebaxter1989, and John Strickland,

    There was no (0) timetravel in this film.
    Just fyi,,,,,
  • Davebaxter1989 · 6 months ago
    It is a cop-out but its also true that the same claims can be levied at T2 but people don't complain there because its not kosher to bash that film (because it's great)(Haven't seen T4 yet purely regarding this to time travel in films and whats given away here about T4.
  • Kunu · 6 months ago
    the thing did survive a pipebomb going off inside of it in the first one... and besides, it still can be explained pretty easily. When he first saw the plans, didn't Connor say it was different? Maybe they learned from what happened before and made it better...
  • Adam_Sweeney · 6 months ago
    The first true cinematic disappointment of the year? Wolverine wasn't exactly mindblowing. Also, how is it that we have the acting in both the liked and didn't like sections? Either Moon Bloodgood sucks or she doesn't, my friends. I agree with a ton of the commentary though.
  • RobertFure · 6 months ago
    Rob Hunter can only think with his boyparts. Moon Bloodgood was in no way, shape or form a good actress in this. Neither was Common.
  • Rob_Hunter · 6 months ago
    I don't only think with my boyparts, I just think best with them. Also, Fure's confusion and anger stems from jealousy over the fact that he has no boyparts of his own. I said Moon was an interesting actress and that she acted pretty well too... hardly glowing praise but I stand behind her. I mean it, I stand behind it.
  • Davebaxter1989 · 6 months ago
    No but it does because all the fathering and such happened in 84 and caused enough of a stir that skynet in its rudimentary state would have known about it so therefore would know to be wary in the future so in a kind of grandfather paradox way they always knew because it predated them.
  • JMoney · 6 months ago
    come again?

    skynet didn't exist in 1984
  • Davebaxter1989 · 6 months ago
    No they existed AFTER 1984 meaning they can know what happened before because it's in the past even though it has its roots in what will happen in the future.
  • JMoney · 6 months ago
    that is the stupidest thing I've ever read. I don't mean to attack you or anything, but your comment makes no sense. if i understand you correctly, you're saying all the stuff that happened in 1984 made the news or was in police files, or whatever, so when skynet comes into existence, it knows all about it? even if you could argue that was the case, there was no mention about the part where sarah connor puts an announcement in the paper about her new baby boy fathered by kyle reese. there is no way skynet would/could have known that.

    and even if they did, the only reason Reese is sent back is to stop the terminator. so if skynet knows in 2018 that kyle reese fathers john connor in the past then all they need to do to stop that from happening would be to not send a terminator back, bingo bango John Connor doesn't exist.
  • Davebaxter1989 · 6 months ago
    Mmmkay so not everything would be reported yes but files would be kept on people like Reese, Conner etc. and the events of T2 would certainly be reported and purely going on memory they track down someone working on the predecessor of skynet which places them in there spectrum and all of these files and such would be available to skynet when they take control and look up on the resistance.

    I'm not saying this all makes sense just that it's probable enough. And yes skynet should have, could have and otherwise would have done about 3000 different things that would have had them win very easily but we must suspend belief in order to enjoy films which involve time travel.

    And finally yes I know it's stupid but time travel in films is stupid because it makes no sense because it hasn't been invented so were rocking on rules of probability not definites.
  • JMoney · 6 months ago
    that's is a cop-out. I know you have to suspend belief to enjoy a time travel movie. but what you're suggesting could not have happened. i dont even know how to respond to you because nothing you said makes any sense. i know im bordering on abuse so i'll stop now but just try and coherently answer why skynet in 2018 is trying to kill kyle reese. i dont think you can, and not just you, i mean i dont think anyone can, and that is why the movie falls short, because there is no plausable reason for them to be trying to kill kyle reese. and you cant just say, "well it's fiction, it doesnt have to make sense" that's a cop-out.
  • Davebaxter1989 · 6 months ago
    This isn't abuse lol it's fairly fascinating actually and yes it's a cop-out but its the only reason flat out.

    And again my assertion is that they are trying to kill Resse because he fathered Connor and they know of this. If they didn't why send back people to kill Connor? They know of his existence ipso facto know about Reese.

    This isn't perfect obviously and I'm not saying that "because its fiction it doesn't have to make sense" I'm saying "because it's fiction it doesn't make sense." as there's no sense in time travel.

    I think we've fairly safely reached the agree to disagree stage though haha
  • JMoney · 6 months ago
    i think you're right, we have reached that stage.

    and my original point was "how do they know " so yeah you can say skynet knew who he was, but that is my point, there isn't any probable way for them to have known that.

    ok, i'm done arguing i swear.
  • Cole_Abaius · 6 months ago
    I'm seeing some good points on both sides, but ultimately, Dave, you're doing a lot of heavy lifting to explain something complex. You're doing all the heavy lifting that the screenwriters should have done.

    That's my ultimate point about this movie. If we sat down and argued for a full day, we could fill in all the plot holes and confusing situations (although I disagree that time travel can't be done well) and all the weird details. We could explain them all and make TS look like a decent movie - but shouldn't the writers have done that when they put pen to paper? Shouldn't all of that confusion been rectified through the exposition of the film? Why do I have to be the one to come up with explanations and excuses for why things don't make sense?
  • JMoney · 6 months ago
    I just re-read your answer and you're incorrect in that second paragraph. they sent people back to kill connor because he defeats them in the future, it has nothing to do with who his father is. that is my entir point of my argument. nowhere throughout any of the four movies does Skynet know that Kyle Reese fathers John Connor. they are just trying to kill John Connor because he eventually leads the resistence to victory.

    Now if in TS Marcus was actually a terminator from the future sent back to kill reese and connor, then that would have made some sense and would have been a way better movie. it would have explained why there was this plot to kill them and it would have explained the advanced cyborg that marcus was.
  • Davebaxter1989 · 6 months ago
    Ahh I had half another message written out but we are making a lot of the same points so I shall wrap this up on my end and say I agree heartily with what you say Coleit is a lot of heavy lifting and time travel shouldn't mean anything is explained away but much like 'alternate timeline' it is used that way.

    Rare though to have such a well thought out argument on the internet though so thank you Jmoney.
  • MaxTeezie · 6 months ago
    I think a article needed to be written about this film and that's why the hate factory was turned on. I hadn't seen T1 in 15 years and saw it again before I watched T4. This movie was great. It fit perfectly. All action movies have flaws. Most of the ones that are stated are over blown. Half the issues with the story are easily explained and the issues with the dialogue are silly. This is the franchise with "hasta la vista, baby".
  • Cole_Abaius · 6 months ago
    The more I think about it, the more I believe that I would have liked the movie if only it had had one huge humans vs. robots battle at the end. It could have taken place while John and Marcus infiltrated Skynet and could have featured Common and the troops busting out that electronic device they were testing (since, that's another plot device that never got brought again after it was meaninglessly added).

    Imagine a bunch of robots blowing up and humans dying while Moon Bloodgood's character yells, "There was a fire fight!!" Awesome.
  • Kunu · 5 months ago
    um cole, what do you mean plot device that was brought up and never mentioned again? you realize that was the signal that was supposed to shut them down, but was in fact a trap set by the machines right? I'd say it was brought up again when skynet used it to track down the resistance leaders and blow them up. but i guess you were too busy needlessly hating the movie to pay attention to what little story it had
  • Cole_Abaius · 5 months ago
    The electronic interrupter worked, and was something developed completely by the military - with no possible interference by Skynet. Their opening up full comm lines was the mistake that led Skynet to finding the command sub, not the electronic interrupter.

    Had IT been a trap set by Skynet, then when Connor used it at his base, Skynet would have know his location and been able to attack him. Or when Connor used it in the field to take down the HK, Skynet would have known his location and been able to kill him.

    Don't worry - I had my eye on the story no matter how thin it got.
  • peterckrieger · 3 months ago
    I think that Skynet deliberately sacrificed the hydrobots and the HK so that the Resistance would get some confidence in the signal. Connor should have been more doubtful though - skepticism should come naturally when fighting machines. Trap doors are left open for a reason.
  • jedimind_rick · 6 months ago
    McG went with what he know's best - spectacle over substance and that's why this movie isn't that great although, I found it entertaining. T4 was alright, good enough to garner discussions such as these. After reading everybody's posts, I kinda want to watch it again but, I know I'll wait til it hits DVD.
  • vikoy · 5 months ago
    On Bad Thing #17: That blowing up of the forest was not needless at all. They couldn't have allowed Marcus to get away, he's metal for crissakes.. They were infiltrated, they were thinking SkyNet had already found them.. So might as well destroy him (Marcus) before he actually goes back and inform SkyNet their exact coordinates..
    (What bothered me was why there were hydrobots there?)

    On Bad Thing #7: He's a terminator.. So yeah.. He could make that shot..
    (Although the T-600 had lousy aim.. So i don't know..)
  • legomaker · 5 months ago
  • butchermaggot · 4 months ago
    well, just saw the flick now (just came out recently where i live)... and i have to agree with close to everything pointed out in this article.

    the one thing that struck me most though (apart maybe from screen-gems like a helicopter outflying a shroom cloud + blast before an absolute cheesefest of an ending and such) is missing in my opinion: where was the overpowering feeling that there is an actual, down to the core struggle for humanities very survival against an all powerful enemy with limitless technology and resources at his disposal going on?

    2 kids killing robots (with conveniently placed railroad parts no less)? people strolling about the desert for days on end without being wiped clean off the sand? a headquarter with magnetic mines as the main defense (in a movie dominated by flying robots) and so on... where were the battlefields littered with human skulls? the crafty fighters that take down huge machines with just barely driving cars, high powered rifles and pipe bombs while just barely getting away with their life?

    the notion of utter destruction of the human race and the subtle hints to ways humans adapt to it - remember that scene from t1 where the kids watched the tube and were happy about the show that was on? priceless little detail and tip of the hat to coping with what remains, just before the whole place was torn to shreds by an ifiltrator. where did all that stuff go?

    all that apart from the fact that, evidently, these killing machines - built for one purpose only mind you - will wait for their target to recognise the threat, give them a second or two of terror and only then start shooting. and to top it off they are equipped with about the same grade of accuracy that bad guys in any given a-team episode have at their disposal. theyre killing machines for crying out loud. cold, mathematically steered killing machines. that, and only that, made them so menacing to begin with.

    and whilst a robot able to safely navigate through rubble, "cut" himself loose from slingtraps and recognize facial attributes to safely identify single targets in a sheer herd of people, doesnt seem to be able to calculate where an object moving at speed x is going to be by time y to aim a chaingun in the general direction z, a high speed bike detached from a robot's legs (the one place you would not want to place stuff that doesnt stabilize the machine) can easily calculate its drift'n'slide through a bunch of flying cars...

    dont get me wrong. i actually enjoyed that bike scene a lot. it was one of the few that actually showed off what kind of awesome machinery is trying to take down humanity.

    at any rate, the absolute lack of any feeling of danger really messed this movie up for me. also: pg13 is alright for spongebob, harry potter and the like... NOT a terminator movie. how come sly seems to be the only one to remember these days: movies about war need violence, blood and terror. its in these things that war manifests itself.

    but with many flicks in the last bunch of years one huge question imposes itself: where did the writers, directors & producers that actually had a pair go after the golden era?

    ps: awesome site! love the shouting matches.
  • Peter Krieger · 3 months ago
    Great points. If the opening sequence involved some combat, rather than a total 'white hat wipeout' I would have liked it more.

    Ideally, you would have had some platoons of Resistance fighters taking positions around the hole in the ground, Connor and crew making their way into the facility; obtaining information; rescuing civilians and fighting their way out.

    I was quite disappointed that the Hueys did not light up a formation of T-600's with their 5-inch rockets and miniguns, and calling in the Warthogs for air support. Scenes like these would have established Connor as a leader, particularly if he saved Barnes' brother and carried him to a Medevac helicopter. The opening sequence should have reminded the viewer a bit of "Saving Private Ryan" more so than "Independence Day."

    Marcus and Blair should have had more interaction; implied nudity could have worked just as well as a pair of shapely lust-orbs. Also, Marcus does not seem to realize there's something different about him; he treats his bashing of the three survivors with the same regard as finishing a cheeseburger.

    Also, why is he not in awe of his own survival? Why does Kyle ask him "Just what the hell are you talking about? Were you lost for the past 15 years or something? I mean 3 billion people were VAPORIZED, and all you can say is WHAT HAPPENED HERE?" I mean, post J-Day survival is likely more on Kyle's mind that how someone else made it through unscathed; but didn't his survival instinct set cause him to question Marcus' cluelessness?

    It is likely that Skynet was unable to successfully locate and attack Connor's Resistance base as they may not have had sufficient capacity. According to 'From the Ashes' they were still building up their numbers. And Skynet had only ONE functional T-800? Too much mustache twisting on the part of Skynet.

    Connor should have been beaten up, but not speared through the chest. Marcus should have stayed on, after saving him from the T-800. Not for nothing but the Project Angel script (see below)involved Connor dying and Marcus taking his place and skin - that would have mucked w/ the legend too much and alienated the audience.

    I always did wonder exactly how the resistance formed, how they obtained supplies (aviation fuel, food and water would not exactly be easily available post J-Day) and how the survivors first learned of Skynet's involvement. Not enough exposition here. Wasted opportunity.

    There was a portion of a script floating around called "Project Angel" in which Helena Bonham Carter/Kogen was supposed to be a 'one-off' Terminator similar to Marcus; they were supposed to have a conversation similar to what actually took place BUT that was booted and we had the mustache-twisting incarnation of Skynet instead.

    Also, just how did Skynet know about Kyle Reese? I mean he wasn't involved in any campaigns from which to gain a reputation. Did the machines sent into the past leave traces for future incarnations of Skynet to find? They were a little too omniscient.

    Connor should also have insistent on one element of the final attack plan: instead of broadcasting the message from the Command Sub, broadcast it from a decoy, and use air assets to take out the HK on approach. That would have made Command a bit more aware of Connor's strategic thinking; it would have gummed up Skynet's plans by sowing seeds of doubt.

    Had Skynet's programming Marcus been too obvious ('Find him and kill him'), he might not have been effective @ locating Connor and convincing him to break into Skynet Central. The Kogen screen talking-head did say they had to think radically.....the script writers clearly did not emphasize that Skynet's thinking was strategic in nature - take out Connor and the rest of the Resistance would falter.