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Terminator Salvation needs saving
Submitted by Capt. Xerox on May 20, 2009 - 8:53pm.
Another week and another Hollywood reboot of a once-popular science fiction franchise. This time it's the latest episode of the Terminator saga. Judging from early reviews, they probably shouldn't have bothered, not that bad reviews will necessarily stop it from doing boffo box office and prompting yet another unnecessary sequel.
I enjoyed the first two movies, but never bothered with the third. I guess I had had enough of the time paradoxes and gaping plot holes. I don't think I was the only one who noticed.
Now if only the producers of the movie would take their own advice from this viral campaign to "terminate yourself."
Another movie franchise that exploded on the scene with great fanfare only to lose its way in the subsequent two follow-ups was The Matrix.
Joe Pantoliano, who played Cypher in the first movie, explains how the series lost its way. I wonder if that means its now time for a fourth Matrix movie? You just know that it will happen one day.
The Matrix was recently chosen among the top 10 favourite science fiction movies among scientists. I guess science wasn't a criterion for their enjoyment because both Terminator movies also made the list and scored higher than the Matrix.
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But it will still make a fortune
Despite the tepid reviews that basically say the movie unspools like a video-game, it will still make gobs of money over the Memorial Day weekend judging from its opening numbers. Does it really matter what the critics say? Apparently not.
Terminator 4: Asignment Miami Beach
To be honest, I think the videogame structure of the film is kind of an afterthought. There's a number of periscopes in the film that indicate it was re-written rapidly and repeatedly and, well, obviously, sloppily as well. I think the basic idea is pretty good, and if the rumors about the original draft of the script are true, it could have been a brilliant movie, but the studio obviously got cold feet taking such a big chance with such a major franchise, and kind of bludgeoned the story in to a structure that didn't suit it at all.
That said, it's not a terrible movie, and it's far, far, far better than T3. There are elements to it I super-muchly like. If anyone's interested, you can read my review online here http://www.republibot.com/content/movie-review-terminator-salvation-2009
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