Terminator: Salvation
So, the wife and I went to see Terminator: Salvation last night. All in all, I think it was alright. I enjoyed the first 1/2 to 3/4 and then the end kinda fell apart for me. Spoilers and ranting below.
Looking forward to seeing Star Trek and Drag Me To Hell.
Why does this franchise insist that the super-advanced AI that became self-aware and nearly destroyed humanity is also completely inept? Are they trying to say something about humanity or can the writers not keep a coherent idea going for very long? Just in case it really is the case that the AI actually cannot figure these things out on it's own, I've decided to provide some helpful tips for our future overlords:
There were some other obscenely stupid things that were done for plot reasons. I don't care if a Terminator saves you from almost certain rape and murder, he's clearly trying to infiltrate your base and you have gone most of your life fighting the bastards. Why would you break one loose? Maybe you wouldn't kill it, but you wouldn't let it go either.
Beyond that, it felt to me that the movie was really about the hybrid character and somebody said, "You can't have a Terminator movie without John Connor. People want to see John Connor. Add more John Connor!" The original script was probably better (I hope) because the main character, Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington), was fairly interesting. And so they went off and invented John Connor and a pregnant wife into the mix. And then the same asshole said, "What is this movie about? How will people understand that the theme is about the human heart and mind?" So, the writer, exasperated and down to the wire, screamed, "Fuck it!" and added 15 minutes of really bad heart metaphors at the end. And the producer said it was good.
Overall, the movie was alright. I liked seeing different types of terminators for different types of jobs and how vast the world had grown. The artistic vision seemed incredible to me and very consistent with prior versions. The wife took this as a way of making more sellable toys, but, even if she's right (and she always is), I enjoyed it.
Looking forward to seeing Star Trek and Drag Me To Hell.
Why does this franchise insist that the super-advanced AI that became self-aware and nearly destroyed humanity is also completely inept? Are they trying to say something about humanity or can the writers not keep a coherent idea going for very long? Just in case it really is the case that the AI actually cannot figure these things out on it's own, I've decided to provide some helpful tips for our future overlords:
- If you're trying to kill John Connor, and you have you big metallic hand around his throat, crush it. Don't try to strangle him.
- If you're trying to kill John Conner, and you have Kyle Reece, just kill him. And don't get creative about it either. Just take care of business like the methodical killing machine you are.
- While I'm on the subject, if you're trying to make Kyle Reece into an infiltrator robot, kill him first. Clearly he doesn't have to be alive to become one. I don't care if it's harder. You're a nuclear powered machine. You have loads of time and you're in the future.
- Don't let John Connor escape without at least trying to catch him. Just because he blows a hole in a wall and jumps through it doesn't mean you can't follow him. You're ambulatory and can clearly jump. Just because you look like a naked man doesn't mean it will make you gay.
- Don't give away secrets that undermine your plans. I mean, it's like this AI never watched movies. Why tell him where the chip is or that you played him? I don't care if it means you get to be Helena Bonham Carter. Quote Fight Club instead!
There were some other obscenely stupid things that were done for plot reasons. I don't care if a Terminator saves you from almost certain rape and murder, he's clearly trying to infiltrate your base and you have gone most of your life fighting the bastards. Why would you break one loose? Maybe you wouldn't kill it, but you wouldn't let it go either.
Beyond that, it felt to me that the movie was really about the hybrid character and somebody said, "You can't have a Terminator movie without John Connor. People want to see John Connor. Add more John Connor!" The original script was probably better (I hope) because the main character, Marcus Wright (Sam Worthington), was fairly interesting. And so they went off and invented John Connor and a pregnant wife into the mix. And then the same asshole said, "What is this movie about? How will people understand that the theme is about the human heart and mind?" So, the writer, exasperated and down to the wire, screamed, "Fuck it!" and added 15 minutes of really bad heart metaphors at the end. And the producer said it was good.
Overall, the movie was alright. I liked seeing different types of terminators for different types of jobs and how vast the world had grown. The artistic vision seemed incredible to me and very consistent with prior versions. The wife took this as a way of making more sellable toys, but, even if she's right (and she always is), I enjoyed it.