Terminator Judgment Day

[Galahad]

My son saw it and the first thing he mentioned was the continuous helicopter shot, so it must have been impressive. As for Arnold, what you saw was a complete CGI recreation which was based on scans done on a lifecast taken of Arnold at the Stan Winston studios for the first film. Those effects guys never throw anything away.

Did it look better than the CGI Patrick Stewart in Wolverine?

 

[Recoil]

Without seeing Wolverine, I'd have to say "Yes"

 

[Alluveal]

Did it look better than the CGI Patrick Stewart in Wolverine?

Yes. Quite a bit better.

 

[for the one]

Recoil, you didn't really expect a modern action movie, especially one that's part of a franchise, to end with closure, did you? Of course it would be open for sequels.

I haven't seen this yet but at least a sequel would make sense here: they could easily wrap a decent plot line around the exact circumstances that lead to Connor sending Reese back to 1984.
If I wrote that movie, I would send him back to prevent Sammy Hagar from joining Van Halen.

GkarsEye I got a really good snorting laugh out of the Van Hagar comment, thanks.:guffaw:I loved the original group too. I did however like the Van Hagar song 'That's what dreams are made of'.... or whatever it was called. But it was for a pop rock band and not Van Halen they should have left it alone. To bad they all couldn't just get along, (Eddie & David). Egos, what can you do with them.


>>SPOILER ALERT!!!<<

OK,

So I just saw this movie today. Honestly, Alluveal, while I haven't always had exactly the same thoughts as you on movies and such, usually I am in the same ballpark you are in. But this time I really have to wonder...did you and I see the same movie?!?!?

It wasn't the best movie ever. It might not have been the best of the Terminator franchise. But "sucked ass" and "festering turd" DO NOT APPLY to this movie in my opinion. I actually really liked it. Hell I thought the plot/story was better than Star Trek!

Clearly this movie was a visual masterpiece. The storyboards for the action sequences were all done very well. And, lets face it, Terminator is really an action movie franchise, and always has been. This movie blows the others away, and well it should given how technology has improved. Visually, this movie was stunning, but I guess I expected that. One of the scenes that I actually thought was one of the most unique/best done, but probably not one that will linger in people's memories, was where Connor was flying the helicopter and was shot down. Most of it is filmed from inside the cabin, and you think you see the ground moving as the helicopter spins, then it hits the ground. You think it was a safe crash landing and that Conner got it down in one piece....until he undoes his seatbelt and he falls to the ceiling and you realize the helicopter is upside down. I thought that whole sequence was just cool.

But the story and plot I also thought was VERY well done, and reminded me a lot of the themes of Terminator 2. The plot made sense, and it flowed, and when I was done watching the movie, I clearly understood where it fell in the Terminator timeline. In fact their were only two scenes in the movie that really left me with the "huh? really?" feeling.

SPOILERS BELOW

So here are some things I especially liked about it.

Lots of references to the prior movies --- mostly the first two. IMO casting Bryce Dallas Howard as Connor's girlfriend was the only close homage to the third movie...given Claire Danes was in that role as a red head and those two look somewhat similar. Aside from that reference (and maybe it wasn't intentional but I made the connection) the third movie wasn't really overly acknowledged. I liked Connor's "Ill be back" line. Obviously Reese's "Come with me if you want to live" was fun to hear especially given his age. But some other little things made me smile. When Connor was trying to bait one of the motorcycle terminators, he turned on a Boom Box that was playing the same Guns N Roses song "You Could Be Mine" that was the staple of Terminator 2. I thought that was just plain cool. Then....near the end seeing the T800s being built for the first time was cool enough...but when Arnold walked around the corner and gave that look I loved it. I don't know if it was actually him...and just heavily airbrushed. Or his likeness was taken from prior movies and CGId in....but it looked VERY REAL. It was just great seeing Arnie on the big screen in that role again until they burned the flesh away and we were left with the classic T800 skeleton. Still, loved that they did that.

I thought the story itself was great as well. This was almost more the story of Marcus Wright, and his struggle after finding out what he really was. Given his past in real life, his choices were great and central to the story. In the end we were left with a similar message as Terminator 2. Along the lines of "If a machine can find out the value of human life...maybe we can too." I thought his redemption story was very well done, well written, and well acted.

The other main part I liked was that this movie FIT very well with the franchise. When it was over, I realized what we just watched was the period in time where John Connor BECOMES the leader of the resistance. It is a few years before Connor ends up sending Reese back in time, but is one of the "major wins" over Skynet referenced in prior movies. But clearly, his role at the start of the movie and at the end, really emphasize that this is how he became the leader of the resistance that we heard about in the first movie. I liked seeing that come to pass.

Two things that didn't work for me:

The first, and MAIN thing that didn't work for me was the very end, when Marcus Wright's fate is determined. So the message of this movie was how a machine that thinks he is a human can choose his human spirit and choose to side with humanity and fight for John Connor and the cause. This was more powerful to me than the Terminator in T2 choosing to be lowered into the molten metal. Very well done and played out. But...at the end of the movie...John Connor is dying and his heart is giving out. So Marcus basically says "take mine." My problem with this isn't him offering it up. I thought that delivery was done well, and for his character I get it. He is choosing to save an important HUMAN's life...one who is critical to the cause. His line about "everyone deserves a second chance" was also very well placed and he feels that by doing this and given his recent actions, he is atoning for his prior sins as a human. I get this. What bothers me is John Connor, our big hero, basically going "OK" without a second thought and everyone going along with it. After his speech about humans shouldn't think like machines, and how he "saw the man" that was Marcus and trusted him...why would the great John Connor LET Marcus sacrifice himself to save John? So I guess it wasn't the act that bothered me, it was that John Connor was so easily willing to do it. Just seemed a bit off to me after seeing the whole thing.

The other part of the movie I wasn't wild about, and it wasn't critical, was HOW it ended. Basically, we are somewhat told that "we won a big one, but Skynet's global network is still out there and we will never give up." So no closure to the franchise. I was hoping I was going to see the FINAL installment in the terminator story. What I ended up seeing was the story of how John Connor became the leader of the resistance, and its still a few years before Reese goes back in time...but basically that this all already happened. While on one hand I thought that was neat, on the other, I wanted some closure to the franchise, and I THOUGHT this movie was going to be it. So its not disappointment in the movie itself, but that my expectations were wrong and not met. I really did like the movie, but was hoping for a finle versus another middle chapter of sorts.

So all in all I thought it was really solid. One final interesting note...the part in the movie trailers where John Connor says "this isn't the future my mother warned me about" was NEVER SAID in the movie that I remember. And the way the story played out...it really WAS the future she knew about and prepared him for. The only unknown part was Marcus Wright....but if Reese never completely understood it, and he was a one-off creation, its logical Reese would have never told Sarah and Sarah never told John. So its funny that was in the trailers but not in the actual movie.

Anyway, really liked it. I'd bet a majority of you here will as well.

This is an amazing piece, (your writing exert) Recoil. Wow Recoil I've never seen this side of you before. A very warm compassionate comment. I'm touched by your concern for John Conner's lack of compassion about Marcus's sacrifice. Well met and I totally agree, John Conner seemed to take the sacrifice to lightly. However, the more I think about what he's been through, he was right to still not trust him. See next statement-


>>SPOILER ALERT:<<
Remember, Marcus did end up being after all a Skynet's ploy to kill John. There was no friendship there even if he saved his life. The distrust was to great. Skynets trickery is to vast, after all they wiped out all the major leaders with one fell stroke.


Yet again I agree with Recoil. [What am I saying I must be coming down with a fever what's wrong with me. Hah, Just kidding Recoil. I'm joking.] Did any of you blasting apart this movie actually see this movie or did you just sleep through it? Okay so it wasn't T1 or T2 but that wasn't the point. This is a fresh look at that future just prior to T1. They still are using bullets not lasers and Kyle is a young man.
As for the acting I thought it was adequate, Bale was not by far my favorite character though. The Marcus character played by Sam Worthington was. He was simply superb, the very glue that held this film together. Spectacular!!! He did a great job, a real movie star and yes his story line was by far the strongest.

Alluveal you thought T4 sucked and was dung? What? You didn't think the story was dynamic Alluveal?!

>>SPOILER ALERT:<<
Common on people, what about how we didn't know what the heck was going on with Marcus and then we find out that he isn't just a cyborg proto type; he was the very first Infiltrator [like Summer Glau's character on The Sarah Conners Chronicles]. He was created for the soul perpose of trapping John Connor deep inside Skynet. CHECK MATE!!! Before that I was convinced that he was just a human proto type, because his innards have a different metal endoskeleton then terminators do. That was a good writing twist. What's wrong with that?
Also the action scenes rocked: the Jeep VS the Moto Terminatrixs , the Jets VS the Hunter Killers, the T-800 VS Kyle Reese & the mute girl. The Seeker Recon sent from Skynet, Arnolds CG cameo and on and on.

The only negatives: No Terminator score (Brad Fiedel’s original percussive compositions) and what gives killing Marcus off? You better find a way to bring him back MCG.

Can you say "obligatory mute-child who won't speak because of traumatic experience" cliche a few times for me?

Aaah actually no offense but my dad when he was a boy witnessed his sister being hit by a car. He was so mentally tramatized by it, he wasn't able to speak for years. When he finally could speak he stuttered for like seven more years after that. This condiction is quite common. It maybe a cliche in movies but it is a fact of life. Not to mention very sad and it is a symptom of someone very young who has been through a post traumatic stress situation. War could do that to a child. How would you like to be seven and watch one of those gigantic monstrosities steal your parents. Cliche aside, she's just a little girl. It was appropriate; sorry Alluveal but I think your being a little hard on this movie.

All and all I was satisfied. It was different and a totally fresh unique new take. Kinda like every Aliens is a new take on the franchise. To me that's what keeps it fascinating. As Forest Gump would say, "You just never know what your gonna get." You say it's crap. I say fine to each his own. But I was on the edge of my set. To anyone who hasn't scene it, go see it. (Don't read my spoilers first though). TWO THUMBS WAY UP!!! 9 out of 10 stars...

 

[Alluveal]

Alluveal you thought T4 sucked and was dung? What? You didn't think the story was dynamic Alluveal?!

Aaah actually no offense but my dad when he was a boy witnessed his sister being hit by a car. He was so mentally tramatized by it, he wasn't able to speak for years. When he finally could speak he stuttered for like seven more years after that. This condiction is quite common. It maybe a cliche in movies but it is a fact of life. Not to mention very sad and it is a symptom of someone very young who has been through a post traumatic stress situation. War could do that to a child. How would you like to be seven and watch one of those gigantic monstrosities steal your parents. Cliche aside, she's just a little girl. It was appropriate; sorry Alluveal but I think your being a little hard on this movie.

First off, I'm sorry about your father, but we're not talking about your father here. It doesn't mean that I'm being insensitive to people who suffer from this. It's tired and over-used in all kinds of narrative fiction, especially genre fiction like sci-fi/fantasy/westerns, etc. What's amusing is that I went to google to try and find a list of movies where I have seen this mute/kid character, so I typed in "mute child" cliche. In the first ten hits, over half are Terminator 4 reviews. Go figure. Even though the character is overdone, I still liked the character. She was interesting, but cliche. But when I think of kick-ass kid, I think of Newt from Aliens here.

Other cliches....

The hot-looking, ass-kicking chick that hooks up with Marcus gets approached by a gang of thugs. Of course they won't make a deal and share in her loot, they have to rough her up.

Oh, it's so cold, let's cuddle and get some body heat going. (Insert wise-ass remark by her to make her look tough because she's "just trying to stay warm.")

She falls for the cyborg because "he's really like a human!" She's the only one who can see into his "real" self.

I could go on, but I just see no point. Whoever wrote this should be kicked in the junk, period.

Doesn't mean the action scenes weren't badass--they were. And the special effects were far out.

Also, why do they promise to show us a movie about John Connor in the previews and John Connor isn't the main character? Marcus is. Fine, I'm cool with that. His storyline was actually more interesting. But don't dress it up in a John Connor cloak here. Bale fought to have MORE screen time because the original script called for less of him.

The Sarah Connor Chronicles are by far better written, and we're talking serial television here.

It just sucked--even for a mindless action flick. The writing, acting and dialogue was better in DOOM than this. That says a lot.

Transformers? Loved it. Storyline? Yeah, kinda. Lots of cheesey parts and dialogue, but it worked for me. The Fast and the Furious. I'm there. I love me some awesome action crap. But I couldn't get into this one.



P.S. I'm not getting down on peeps for liking it. I wish I could have just gone along and had a good time. I couldn't. I'm sure I like a few flicks that others would look at and say, "holy crap, you've lost your bloody mind, woman."

 

[for the one]

Alluveal that was very decent of you. I respect your opinion and understand you better now.
Thanks for saying that about my father too, your alright.

 

[Alluveal]

fortheone, I wouldn't wish that on anyone. I'm sorry he had to go through that. No child deserves to!

Chances are, I'll watch this again on cable and like it better.

 

[for the one]

Well met.

 

[Galahad]

Irrespective of what people think of the film, there's a pretty nifty free app on the iPhone that was used to help promote the movie virally:

It's called Terminate Me... and you can do this to yourself:

 

[crazyhorse]

I quite liked it.Left me wanting to bitchslap some robots.

I want to see the next two :thumbsup:

 

[Ranger1]

i kinda dug the movie, but i doubt the other two parts will ever see the light of day.

 

[crazyhorse]

i kinda dug the movie, but i doubt the other two parts will ever see the light of day.

Why is this

I thought it made money and that is all that is needed for a sequel isn't it