Come with me if you want to live...
I watched Terminator: Salvation yesterday and came across a few issues I'd like to voice out.
1.) The whole issue of Sarah Connor telling John about the importance of sending Kyle Reese back in time in order to ensure his continued existence is totally absurd. If we looked at the second Terminator movie, the existence of Skynet was due to the destroyed T-800's chip being discovered by Cyberdyne eventually being used to create Skynet . So if John didn't send Kyle Reese back in the first place, sure he'd cease to exist but at least there wouldn't be a war to fight to begin with.
Therefore, the only reason either John Connor or the machines exist is because the Terminator went back in time, and the only reason the Terminator went back in time is because the machines and John Connor exist. Get it? Very unsettling paradox, if you ask me.
2.) I can't grasp the fact that Skynet would send improved Terminators only when John Connor has improved his awareness of their existence. The reason why a complex computer would do this timely mistake still eludes me.
During the first movie, the T-800 was sent back in time to terminate Sarah Connor in the hopes of preventing the birth of John Connor. She eventually thwarts the governor with the help of time traveler Kyle Reese. Same plot ensues during the second and third movie with T-1000 and T-X respectively probably because Sarah and John already know of the machines' plot to end their existence.
Skynet has the technology to send back organic matter in whatever time it so chooses. Why not send T-X during the first movie when Sarah Connor still doesn't know anything; better yet, why not send a Terminator when Sarah was in diapers? The government entrusted all military elements and systems into Skynet and it still couldn't grasp the element of surprise.
3.) Determinism is a very touchy subject. The second movie goes along with an underlying motif: There is no fate, but what we make. Judgment Day is said to have been avoided at the end of the second movie but due to some indescribable force (aka the potential for more cinematic cash-in's) another movie is created.
Terminator 3 completely went against the main premise of the second one. T-800 in the second movie states that the future can be changed according to one's actions in the present/past. T-800 in the third movie tells us that Judgment Day cannot be prevented, only postponed. It is inevitable. Free-will and Determinism are two ends of the spectrum, you either place your cards in one or the other, not both. If you do, you not only pose serious issues, you significantly weaken the structure of your plot.
Terminator: Salvation is an "okay" summer movie in the sense that they've managed to squeeze in all the action, advanced machinery and explosions reminiscent of past Terminator movies. To me, the series lost its plot credibility after the second movie; the succeeding ones were just explosions with a little bit of drama. If the creators wanted to expand the movie's quality further, they should have addressed some key plot points that can make the suspension of disbelief easier for more people.
1.) The whole issue of Sarah Connor telling John about the importance of sending Kyle Reese back in time in order to ensure his continued existence is totally absurd. If we looked at the second Terminator movie, the existence of Skynet was due to the destroyed T-800's chip being discovered by Cyberdyne eventually being used to create Skynet . So if John didn't send Kyle Reese back in the first place, sure he'd cease to exist but at least there wouldn't be a war to fight to begin with.
Therefore, the only reason either John Connor or the machines exist is because the Terminator went back in time, and the only reason the Terminator went back in time is because the machines and John Connor exist. Get it? Very unsettling paradox, if you ask me.
2.) I can't grasp the fact that Skynet would send improved Terminators only when John Connor has improved his awareness of their existence. The reason why a complex computer would do this timely mistake still eludes me.
During the first movie, the T-800 was sent back in time to terminate Sarah Connor in the hopes of preventing the birth of John Connor. She eventually thwarts the governor with the help of time traveler Kyle Reese. Same plot ensues during the second and third movie with T-1000 and T-X respectively probably because Sarah and John already know of the machines' plot to end their existence.
Skynet has the technology to send back organic matter in whatever time it so chooses. Why not send T-X during the first movie when Sarah Connor still doesn't know anything; better yet, why not send a Terminator when Sarah was in diapers? The government entrusted all military elements and systems into Skynet and it still couldn't grasp the element of surprise.
3.) Determinism is a very touchy subject. The second movie goes along with an underlying motif: There is no fate, but what we make. Judgment Day is said to have been avoided at the end of the second movie but due to some indescribable force (aka the potential for more cinematic cash-in's) another movie is created.
Terminator 3 completely went against the main premise of the second one. T-800 in the second movie states that the future can be changed according to one's actions in the present/past. T-800 in the third movie tells us that Judgment Day cannot be prevented, only postponed. It is inevitable. Free-will and Determinism are two ends of the spectrum, you either place your cards in one or the other, not both. If you do, you not only pose serious issues, you significantly weaken the structure of your plot.
Terminator: Salvation is an "okay" summer movie in the sense that they've managed to squeeze in all the action, advanced machinery and explosions reminiscent of past Terminator movies. To me, the series lost its plot credibility after the second movie; the succeeding ones were just explosions with a little bit of drama. If the creators wanted to expand the movie's quality further, they should have addressed some key plot points that can make the suspension of disbelief easier for more people.