Terminator Salvation - Was it really that bad?
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Commander Max
Sr Member
Whenever I say this I'm quite serious, what was it about?
I thought it was written by an eight year old.
It was all action, no real perceivable story. That's my first definition of a really bad movie.
So yes, it was really that bad.
It was ask for your money back bad. I'm very glad I didn't pay much to see it, thank God for Netflix.
I thought it was written by an eight year old.
It was all action, no real perceivable story. That's my first definition of a really bad movie.
So yes, it was really that bad.
It was ask for your money back bad. I'm very glad I didn't pay much to see it, thank God for Netflix.
3-4/10
streetjudge79
Master Member
I really enjoyed it. I thought another one with Bale would be cool.
I liked Bale and hope he comes back.
It suffered from a split focus. As others have said, Christian Bale as John Connor, and some other guy as some other guy. Nothing marcus did was important and yet he had so much screen time.
The plot points were;
Kyle meets Connor.
Connor rises in the leadership.
The Terminators appear.
Marcus could have been totally cut out of the movie and those things would still happen.
Everything else was cgi fapping.
It suffered from a split focus. As others have said, Christian Bale as John Connor, and some other guy as some other guy. Nothing marcus did was important and yet he had so much screen time.
The plot points were;
Kyle meets Connor.
Connor rises in the leadership.
The Terminators appear.
Marcus could have been totally cut out of the movie and those things would still happen.
Everything else was cgi fapping.
DITTO!!
JMChladek
Sr Member
I don't think it was bad at all. Sure, putting the focus on Marcus was a bit different. But all things considered, if the film just had focused on Connor and Skynet, people would have panned it for that reason by complaining "Yes, we know all this, what else happened?" Yelchin as Reese was a nice breath of fresh air from him having to do the Chekov accent in JJ Trek. He's a good actor. Bale's Batman voice was a bit annoying (why they chose that I have no idea). I think as they probably could have gotten away with a relative unknown in that role. But they probably casted a star to bring other fans in.
Having Connor being a relatively minor commander in the resistance was a nice tweak and it makes sense. No matter what knowledge he has, people don't follow until a leader begins to show what he can do. As such, the commanders of the resistance being already established commanders makes more sense. Kill them and you get a power vacuum. Bring Connor in and he becomes the rallying cry.
Yes, it was indeed better than T3. It was different from T1 and T2 (and even T3) because those films were chase films. This one was a war film and that I believe is why it feels different. Even Sarah Connor Chronicles is essentially a variation of the old Fugitive theme, although it has been turned around there as Sarah tries to stop Judgement Day and expand on the themes of T2. Of course, one of the things I liked about T3 even though it was a hard pill to swallow was they did blow up the world. They didn't pull the old Star Trek timeline reset button.
Having Connor being a relatively minor commander in the resistance was a nice tweak and it makes sense. No matter what knowledge he has, people don't follow until a leader begins to show what he can do. As such, the commanders of the resistance being already established commanders makes more sense. Kill them and you get a power vacuum. Bring Connor in and he becomes the rallying cry.
Yes, it was indeed better than T3. It was different from T1 and T2 (and even T3) because those films were chase films. This one was a war film and that I believe is why it feels different. Even Sarah Connor Chronicles is essentially a variation of the old Fugitive theme, although it has been turned around there as Sarah tries to stop Judgement Day and expand on the themes of T2. Of course, one of the things I liked about T3 even though it was a hard pill to swallow was they did blow up the world. They didn't pull the old Star Trek timeline reset button.
I saw it once in the theater and just didn't get it. I had seen T1, T2, and T3 and loved them, but it had been a while.
I just watched it again last night on Blu Ray after a recent Terminator marathon and really loved it. In fact, it has stayed with me most of the day. T1 is a great film for a dozen reasons, but T2 took it to the next level by humanizing the T-800. While T3 had it's problems (I think 65% of which would have been alleviated with a different actor as John Connor), I think Terminator Salvation was very much about being a war film with a soul- something it succeeded at being.
I very much liked watching the rise of John Connor and preferred the T1 Kyle flashbacks to remain just that. I think the fall of the machines and and older John Conner would be an interesting flick to see, but not before T4 and maybe even a T5.
T1 was about a machine who, although looking like a human, had no semblance of humanity. It was very much about the difference between humans and the machines.
T2 made us realize that in Terminator world, it was possible for machine to feel and perhaps the human soul was not exclusive to flesh and bones, and was more about the capacity to care.
T3 lacked similar concepts but the nuclear blast happening was a necessary plot point in the Terminator saga and I think it's forgivable just so that can take place in the time line. I do love the idea that the T-800 ultimately kills John Connor. It is hard to believe Connor's connection with the T-800 wouldn't shape his future actions in the future in some way (and as T3 explains is his undoing).
Terminator Salvation was not a chase film like T1 and T2, but it did return to the question of humanity. Connor realizes the war isn't just about surviving, its about winning by staying true to what matters. And in this case, we see a machine who is perhaps more human than Conner himself for most of the film. Echoing T2, we see a machine sacrificing himself for the greater good.
I just watched it again last night on Blu Ray after a recent Terminator marathon and really loved it. In fact, it has stayed with me most of the day. T1 is a great film for a dozen reasons, but T2 took it to the next level by humanizing the T-800. While T3 had it's problems (I think 65% of which would have been alleviated with a different actor as John Connor), I think Terminator Salvation was very much about being a war film with a soul- something it succeeded at being.
I very much liked watching the rise of John Connor and preferred the T1 Kyle flashbacks to remain just that. I think the fall of the machines and and older John Conner would be an interesting flick to see, but not before T4 and maybe even a T5.
T1 was about a machine who, although looking like a human, had no semblance of humanity. It was very much about the difference between humans and the machines.
T2 made us realize that in Terminator world, it was possible for machine to feel and perhaps the human soul was not exclusive to flesh and bones, and was more about the capacity to care.
T3 lacked similar concepts but the nuclear blast happening was a necessary plot point in the Terminator saga and I think it's forgivable just so that can take place in the time line. I do love the idea that the T-800 ultimately kills John Connor. It is hard to believe Connor's connection with the T-800 wouldn't shape his future actions in the future in some way (and as T3 explains is his undoing).
Terminator Salvation was not a chase film like T1 and T2, but it did return to the question of humanity. Connor realizes the war isn't just about surviving, its about winning by staying true to what matters. And in this case, we see a machine who is perhaps more human than Conner himself for most of the film. Echoing T2, we see a machine sacrificing himself for the greater good.
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I didn't think it was that bad.I enjoyed it (overall).I thought it had good entertainment value.I must admit, I was reaching my limits with seeing Sam Worthington all of a sudden in a bunch of *big* films.I still don't know who he is or why all of a sudden he became populare overnight?I must admit,during the movie I became pre-occupied. I was trying to figure out which scene it was where Christian Bale went Ape S&%#!? and tore that poor bugger who was working on the set a new one.
StevenRogers84
Sr Member
It was better than 3 for sure. 
It was better than 3 for sure.
That is about as much as I can give it. It was better than 3, but not by much.
SSgt Burton
Sr Member
It wasn't for me. Not by a longshot.
(By the way: that wasn't meant as the intro to an argument- just that I actually "liked" T3. Not as much as 2 or most certainly 1, but a helluva lot more than 4. YMMV)
Kevin
(By the way: that wasn't meant as the intro to an argument- just that I actually "liked" T3. Not as much as 2 or most certainly 1, but a helluva lot more than 4. YMMV)
Kevin
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mothmonty
Sr Member
I really enjoyed T4 way more than T3. Everything just started to get that recycled feeling and seemed really forced in T3 i.e. lines, plot, terminator vs terminator, story arc etc. T4 gave the story a different perspective. I liked seeing all of the different Terminators, and I like Bale as Connor
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im going to hang myself out here, 1 and 2 great, 3 was truley a waste of film - a female terminator and an awful john connor ruined it. then salvation pops along............i loved it, have seen it a few times now and still im not tired of it. definetly graced my bluray collection
Westies14
Master Member
I tend to pretend T3 didn't happen. Such a weak, silly remake of T2 - and worse, it threw out the fundamental philosophy ("no fate") of the series. Things CAN be changed, and the fact that judgment day took place later than it originally would have is proof of that. It was a contradiction within itself.
T4 was watchable at times. It was nicely shot, but overgraded. The human harvesting stuff is good. The machines were a bit slicker than they should have been. Not a lot of need for semi-clunky infiltration robots with living tissue when you've got such advanced weapons/machines!
I would have really enjoyed seeing Reese as the central character, with Connor relegated to the radio in this episode. It'd build him up nicely, for both Reese's character and us as the audience - a bit like the Emperor in Star Wars/ESB. Let him be this distant, inspirational legend that Reese is trying to find. They can meet in another chapter.
I feel like T4 could be re-edited into a decent terminator film, if you excised some serious stuff (all of the ridiculous Helena Bonham Carter parts need to go). It might need a few pickups to string it all together seamlessly, but I think there might be a good 45-60 minute story in there that'd be fun to watch as a fan of the first two movies.
- Doug
T4 was watchable at times. It was nicely shot, but overgraded. The human harvesting stuff is good. The machines were a bit slicker than they should have been. Not a lot of need for semi-clunky infiltration robots with living tissue when you've got such advanced weapons/machines!
I would have really enjoyed seeing Reese as the central character, with Connor relegated to the radio in this episode. It'd build him up nicely, for both Reese's character and us as the audience - a bit like the Emperor in Star Wars/ESB. Let him be this distant, inspirational legend that Reese is trying to find. They can meet in another chapter.
I feel like T4 could be re-edited into a decent terminator film, if you excised some serious stuff (all of the ridiculous Helena Bonham Carter parts need to go). It might need a few pickups to string it all together seamlessly, but I think there might be a good 45-60 minute story in there that'd be fun to watch as a fan of the first two movies.
- Doug
I didn't view T3 as saying fate didn't happen, but they definitely shifted the theory of time travel a bit.
In Sci fi, you have (1) fate controls and even if you know something is going to happen you cannot change it ("The Terminator" theory of time travel); you have (2) the fate ultimately controls and even if you change events, fate has a way of postponing the outcome - but it will happen like it is supposed to eventually (the "Final Destination" theory of time travel; then finally, you have (3) where the future can be changed completely (no judgment day, not just postponed) and it is what you make of it, so make it a good one (the "Back to the Future" theory of time travel).
And here's the thing. Technically, each of the three Terminator films were a DIFFERENT theory.
Terminator 1 was (1). Everything happened as predicted.
Terminator 2 was (3). Fate DID change in 2. JD was averted.
Terminate 3 was (2). Fate ultimately won.
And TS was the consequence of all three.
In Sci fi, you have (1) fate controls and even if you know something is going to happen you cannot change it ("The Terminator" theory of time travel); you have (2) the fate ultimately controls and even if you change events, fate has a way of postponing the outcome - but it will happen like it is supposed to eventually (the "Final Destination" theory of time travel; then finally, you have (3) where the future can be changed completely (no judgment day, not just postponed) and it is what you make of it, so make it a good one (the "Back to the Future" theory of time travel).
And here's the thing. Technically, each of the three Terminator films were a DIFFERENT theory.
Terminator 1 was (1). Everything happened as predicted.
Terminator 2 was (3). Fate DID change in 2. JD was averted.
Terminate 3 was (2). Fate ultimately won.
And TS was the consequence of all three.
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