I’ll come right out and admit that I enjoyed Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. Do I think it was a great action flick, on par with the previous two installments in the franchise? Not at all, but there was enough good stuff in the sequel to entertain me. And I know I’m not alone in this opinion. Unfortunately, it doesn’t appear there’s much that’s good in Terminator Salvation, reviews for which are downright terrible. This deeply upsets me, because this was the blockbuster I looked forward to most this summer. Now I don’t feel there’s any reason to check it out.
Of course, I’m probably alone in that last statement. Wednesday night’s midnight shows were a hit and the movie is expected to be huge at the box office this weekend (the fact that it opened on a Thursday before Memorial Day should pad the gross very well). So, since many of you will be going to see this anyway, and hardly pay attention to scores at Rotten Tomatoes and Metacritic, I might as well reach around the blogosphere and pull out as many favorable quotes as I can find, even those buried inside primarily negative reviews. And hopefully you will do me the favor of commenting with any other good stuff that makes it worth it for me to buy a ticket.
Thanks in advance for that, and here’s the positive spin, after the jump:
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I have always tried to maintain low expectations for Hollywood product in general. But when it comes to highly anticipated movies, particularly blockbuster sequels to popular sci-fi action franchises, my excitement can get the best of me. Whenever I need to calm down my expectations, though, I simply recall all the disappointments of 1997 (Alien Resurrection, The Lost World, the Star Wars Special Edition), and I can get through the hype pretty safely. Considering I’m one of the few who actually loved both Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines and (yes, even) McG’s Charlie’s Angels movies, it’s hard for me to believe that I’m also one of the few who isn’t now expecting Terminator Salvation to be the second coming of Christ The Terminator after watching the new trailer (embedded below).
Sure, Christian Bale could very well be a lucky charm to franchise reboots (though does anyone believe this will be even a tenth as good as Batman Begins?) and T4 could easily be better than rival summer blockbuster Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (though “easily” is an understatement, because Transformer 2 will suck just as bad as Transformers 1). But with two and a half months left until the movie opens, it’s just too early for us to be going so ga-ga over one piece of marketing. The only thing left to happen now is a backlash, which I guess I’m sort of starting right now?
Here’s a sample of the most extreme gushing to hit the blogosphere since the trailer’s premiere last night:
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We don’t ask much from science fiction movies: entertaining plot lines, competent acting, huge explosions, and accurate predictions of the future. Many films fail to deliver on that final request, prognosticating about the world to come and screwing it up again and again. Many of these movies rely on the believability of their premise, but when that premise involves a prediction about the state of the world at a specific future date, they’re setting themselves up for failure when that day comes to pass without incident. Here are five films that forecasted doom and gloom that did not happen.
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Today’s video isn’t new, so don’t get your hopes up too high; this isn’t a companion to the new Terminator Salvation trailer (which you can watch here), nor does it confirm whether or not Arnold Schwarzenegger has a cameo in the new installment. It’s just a hilarious deleted scene from Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines. Or, maybe it’s just a gag. I’m not even sure if it’s from the film’s DVD.
Two reasons why I’m sharing this now: first, I’d never seen it prior to this past weekend; second, it’s a fun alternative to the seriousness of the Salvation trailer. I love Christian Bale as much as the next guy, but he really knows how to put a straight face on an otherwise enjoyable franchise. If Sean Penn can give us a great big smile, Bale can too. I know, Terminator Salvation should appropriately be dark, but it doesn’t need to be depressing. That giant, clunky robot at the end is laughable enough to allow intentional comic relief.
Then again, the terrifically amusing scene below, in which Schwarzenegger makes fun of his voice, was obviously even too over the top for Terminator 3. And that one was the most playful of the Terminator films. So, there’s certainly no hope for something so fun in the new sequel.
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Terminator Salvation, due in May of next year, stars Christian Bale as John Conner. The film will be a quasi-reboot of the series, picking up after the machines have destroyed civilization and Conner is leading a small band of survivors in a war against the machines. The following is an open letter to McG, the director of the film.
Dear McG,
Lots of people have been talking about your new movie this week. Several sites have posted some leaked material featuring the work of production designer Martin Laing. Many sites had a behind the scenes featurette with Laing and a gallery of concept art, most of which were taken down at the request of the studio. One of the only ones to survive at time of this writing is on io9. Ain’t it Cool News reported that while James Cameron did not have a hear-to-heart with you, as you claimed in July, he still has high hopes for the film.
When I saw you at Comic-Con in July, I was very pleased with the early footage and what you and the cast had to say about the film. One thing you said was that you were interested in what we thought about the early images and the direction the film was heading. I hope it’s not too late, because I have a few suggestions.
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